Why did the Jews want to kill Jesus?

Answer 1

AnswerThe Jews did not kill Jesus. The Jewish leaders were instrumental in getting Him executed, but they did not crucify Him.

The Jewish Sanhedrin was able to try Jesus for blasphemy under Mosaic law (Luke 22:71) and succeeded, but could not pass the penalty of execution because they did not have the authority to do so. (John 18:32)

Jesus was then taken before the prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, who although noting that he found Jesus innocent of any charges (Luke 23:4,16)- at least under Roman law; religious law was handled by the relevant religious authority, in this case the Sanhedrin, with any major punishment subject to Roman control - but signed the warrant for fear of causing riots as the crowd had been worked to fever pitch by the Sanhedrin. (Luke 23:24)

He was then crucified by Roman soldiers, in a decidedly Roman way. Had Jesus been executed by the Sanhedrin, He would have been stoned to death.

The chief priests saw him as a threat to their "power". But the Truth is that it was the Father's will that he die for our sins and Jesus loved the Father and the Father was in him and so it was done. By doing so God defeated the devil for us and showed that there is victory over death to this world.

It was by divine plan. God's plan is as always perfect - the Jew's are the only people that would not have to answer for the killing of Jesus. They are his "chosen people" Thereby the perfect atonement for the rest of the world's transgressions.

It was Romans who actually killed Jesus.

Though, certain Jews may have wished he were dead, Jews did not do the actual killing.

Jesus had a criminal trial before being put to death.He was charged with the following crimes...

"And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

- Luke 23:2

As you see, there are two or three criminal charges made against Jesus.

Regarding the charge of claiming to be a king, Jesus himself said...

"My kingdom is not of this world." - John 18:36

But, regarding the charge of opposing paying taxes, there is considerable evidence this is the reason why Jesus was killed.

What evidence?

1. Jesus taught, "the subjects are exempt" ... from paying taxes to "kings on the earth."

- Matthew 17:26

2. Tax collectors, specifically, were very big fans of Jesus.

"Now all the tax collectors and sinners kept coming to listen to Jesus."

- Luke 15:1

3. But, Jesus also sought out the tax collectors himself. He described himself as a friend of tax collectors.

'a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

- Matthew 11:19

4. Jesus said tax collectors are sick and wanted to heal them.

"Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick."

- Luke 5:30-31

5. Jesus interfered with the tax collector's at work, at least twice.

A.

A chief tax collector, who Jesus was teaching, actually returned some of the taxes he had taken from other people. This would be something Romans, and a few other tax collectors, could not appreciate.

"Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

- Luke 19:8

B.

Jesus persuaded another tax collector to abandon his duties to follow him. Again, this was not appreciated by Romans.

"As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him."

- Matthew 9:9

6. Jesus was so well-known for being followed by tax collectors, and speaking to, and teaching tax collectors that his persecutors used the very subject of taxation in an attempt to entrap him into giving out "illegal" tax advice.

"The Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk. They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter who you teach, for you aren't partial to anyone. Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

NOTE:

Many believe that because Jesus answered, "give to Caesar what is Caesars", he meant we should pay taxes to Caesar. Unfortunately, every Bible version completely fails to mention something which those present already knew, that Caesar's coin had an inscription saying Caesar is divine, a god. So, Jews could not carry or use this coin without breaking the first commandment (and in some bibles the second commandment), to have no other gods, no graven images, and no bowing down to them, nor serving them. (Ex. 20:3, Deu. 5:7)

Jesus escaped entrapment, temporarily, by stating the obvious...

"Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." - Matthew 22:21 (WEB)

The obvious part was that God made everything, and so everything belongs to God.

7. Jesus threw the moneychangers, i.e. bankers, out of the temple. This would mean, if there is no money being "changed", there are no taxes being paid. (Mark 11:15, John 2:15, Matthew 21:12)

You'll find that Jesus was dead within just three days after throwing the moneychangers out of the temple.

8. According to Caesar, Caesar is god. But, this is not what Jesus was teaching to tax collectors and other "sinners".

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

- Luke 16:13 (Mammon is the god of riches)

Jesus said, "it is written"...

"You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only."

- Matthew 4:10

Hearing all this did not make the Romans very happy, so followers of Jesus, i.e. tax collectors, sinners, ... Christians ... were persecuted.

A final note:

Many people quote Romans 13 as the reason to pay taxes, but...

a. Paul wrote Romans 13.

b. Paul was a Roman.

c. Paul did not quote Jesus.

d. Paul never knew Jesus.

e. Paul did persecute followers of Jesus.

Jesus, however, specifically said, "the subjects are exempt."

And so, when the Roman Governor Pilate ultimately (obviously) found out, perhaps from other tax collectors, that Jesus was indeed leading a successful tax revolt, he was scourged and killed ... by Romans.

Another Answer

Actually they did not. Although a certain group of Jewish people at that time were instrumental to carry out the circumstances, this was a group of what today we would call ultra-liberal aristocrats. They were the Saduccees and the appointed leaders that engineered this were the vassal priests Ciaphas and his father in law Annas who were appointed by Roma and not the legitimate High Priests at all. Why would they believe the many prophecies, they do not believe the word of God (John 17:17). It was either the truth or not and they thought not...but what did Jesus think (John 17:17)

There are a few things we should note. It was the Father's purpose to send forth His Son (the Servant, and Lamb of God) to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Next Christ (Messiah) of His own free will (His will and the Father's were one) gave Himself and tells us "no man takes my life I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to raise it up again. Then we have the Romans who actually did the deed and of course you and I who made it necessary for Him to have to come and die in our place.

The first 5,000 or so followers of Christ were all Jews and after the Resurrection we are told many (even Priests and Pharisees and Scribes) became disciples of Messiah Y'shua (Jesus). Also note the 1st Bishop was not Peter (a Jew) but James (also Jewish) in the real "mother church" which was located in Jerusalem (of Judea/Palestine)

Want to get to heaven? Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; John 3:3-8; Acts 2:38

To believe (verb form of the greek noun pistis translated faith and it means to be totally trusting in, relying on, and cleaving to someone or something...and this someone is God's Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ and in His work on the cross which is proven to be justified by the historical fact of His bodily resurrection from the dead.

Answer 2

Because Jerusalem was under the rule of Pontius Pilate. The Romans thought with Jesus coming into the picture declaring himself a teacher/preacher/ruler, it would make Pilate very unhappy. So Pilate sentenced him to be crucified.

Answer 3

Jesus was killed because the Jewish rulers said he had blasphemed,

Mat 26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

But actually Jesus' death was in God's plan of redemption. Jesus was the 'lamb of God'

Joh 1:35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.

Joh 1:36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

Throughout the history of fallen man God's way for man to come to Him has been through the sacrifice of a lamb. So God gave His son as a sacrifice for mankind. Who ever believes this can have eternal life.

1Jn 5:11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

1Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Answer 4

Answer 1Because Jesus Christ claimed to be THE prophet and judaism rejected this.

Answer 2

Because Jesus was slowly gaining more power than them over the people. It was only the Jewish priests that wanted Jesus dead.

Answer 3

This is a Christian blood libel and perhaps the most central one. Is it true that Jews disagreed with Jesus? Yes, and quite fervently. There is even a discussion in the Talmud on the issue of Jesus (although it is unclear if this is a later edit-job or part of the original text). The Rabbis come to conclusion that he is heretic and that he merits stoning.

However, the act of plotting to actually commit murder is far removed from these discussions and more serious. There are many debates in the Talmud concerning both historical individuals and alleged stories like the Oven of Achnai. This does not mean that those events actually happened, only that the thought experiment of "what would happen under these circumstances" was done. The New Testament makes a number of simple errors about Jewish jurisprudence on such matters. For example, it claims that the Sanhedrin convened on Passover to condemn Jesus. However, the leaders of the Sanhedrin followed the letter of the law to a fault (Jesus even reprimands them for it) and one of the laws is that the Sanhedrin can never meet on a holiday, especially one as central as Passover. Secondly, they allude to a connection between the High Priests and the Sanhedrin in agreeing on what actions to take on Jesus. There was an intense political fight between the High Priests and the Rabbis of the Sanhedrin as to the future direction of Judaism. The High Priests were more corrupt and elitist. The Rabbis were more earnest and populist. There is no reason that the High Priests would not wish to keep Jesus preaching if his populist approach would weaken the appeal of the Rabbis.

As for exacting the death penalty, even if the events leading up Jesus' execution were as the New Testament records them, no Jew would sanction an execution by crucifixion. There are only four acceptable implementations of capital punishment in Judaism that are strongly regulated: decapitation, quick strangulation, quick strangulation with internal burning, and stoning. There is complete rejection of any form of capital punishment that uses piercings to kill or leaves the criminal to suffer for hours on end. Crucifixion is in both categories and was a uniquely Roman punishment.

The claim that the Romans plotted against Jesus and had him crucified is much stronger. The Messiah of that period was understood the way that Jews still understand this concept: an Earthly King who would establish a Jewish Kingdom. Necessarily, therefore, Jesus was going to have to raise an army or commit some political intrigue to achieve this goal. The Romans were likely afraid that Jesus would try to lead a rebellion to free Judea from Roman occupation. This fear would prove justified when another Messianic Candidate, Bar Kochba, would actually lead a revolt against the Romans that ended disastrously for the Jews. In order to prevent Jesus from taking that power, the Romans pre-emptively sought him out and questioned if he was the King of Jews, i.e. someone actively trying to create a Jewish Kingdom in defiance of Rome. When they received answers that troubled them, they chose to execute him in the traditional Roman manner of execution. Pontius Pilate is mentioned in several sources outside of The Bible. In each, he is considered a cruel and vicious man who delighted in executions. Why would he spare the rod here when there was such an obvious threat?

As Rome was the dominant world power during the period of the early Church and Judaism was seen as the "adversary" of early Christianity for rejecting Jesus' Messianic Nature, the Church transferred what should have been hatred for the Roman Leadership into hatred of the Jews and worked assiduously to create a narrative that would paint the Romans as weak and powerless to stop Jewish tyranny when it was Jews as a population who were unable to stop Roman tyranny.

Answer 5

Jesus was crucified because He upset the Jewish leaders of His time. But it doesn't matter if Jesus was crucified by the Jews or the Romans because this was part of God's plan of redemption for mankind. God has said without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.

"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation". - Hebrews 9:28

Answer 6

Answer

According to their law and belief they crucified Jesus.__________

According to the Christian Bible, Jesus was killed by the Romans. There would have been no reason for the Jews of the time to want him dead, he would have been one of many different men who had followings at the time.

Answer 7

If we accept the record of the New Testament as accurate, Jesus was killed by the Romans, not by the Jews. Although Jews have collectively been attacked for centuries as Christ killers, there is no scriptural basis, or any other basis, for this accusation. Jesus was a Jew, and there was no apparent reason why Jews would have wanted to kill Jesus.

Another Answer:

Not all the Jews, just some of the religious hierarchy in particular. Jesus was viewed as a 'challenger' to their elite status and position. Like any men who lust for power and wealth, they looked to secure it for themselves. They charged Jesus and brought Him before the military power then - Rome - who reluctantly crucified Him when the crowd chose Barabbas over Him to be freed:

Acts 2:22-24New King James Version (NKJV)

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know- 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Answer 8

Because the Jewish leaders of the time felt that Jesus' teachings threatened their leadership.

Answer:

On more than one occasion, Satan tried to take Jesus' life before the proper time. On one of those occasions, the reason the Jews were moved to kill Jesus was a matter of discussion:

"...ye seek to kill Me, BECAUSE MY WORD HATH NO PLACE IN YOU. I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father... But now ye seek to kill Me, a man THAT HATH TOLD YOU THE TRUTH..." (John 8:37-40).

"Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the Truth, because there is no Truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the Truth, ye believe Me not." (verses 44-45)

"Then took they up stones to cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the Temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (verse 59)

That was an incident in the Temple.

Once, when He "went to church" one Sabbath day in His hometown of Nazareth... the church service was disrupted when Jesus' Words hurt the pride of the local congregation, who believed themselves to be 'God's special, chosen people'... more blessed by God than most. Their pious attitude turned to instant hate, when Jesus cited a couple of incidents in their history, when God blessed some Gentiles while His 'chosen people' were suffering:

"...Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I TELL YOU A TRUTH, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias [Elijah], when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land ['God's people were dying of starvation]; but unto NONE OF THEM WAS SENT ELIAS, save unto Sarepta [Zaraphath], a [Gentile] city of Sidon, unto a [Gentile] woman that was a widow [I Kings 17].

"And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus [Elisha] the prophet; and NONE OF THEM WAS CLEANSED, saving Naaman the Syrian [II Kings 5].

"And ALL THEY IN THE SYNAGOGUE [in church], when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong. But He passing through the midst of them went His way." (Luke 4:24-30)

Again... Jesus told them 'a Truth'... Words which 'had no place in them.'

People are no different today, when it comes to human pride. When God's Truth brushes it aside... people become offended and often react by lashing out at the 'messenger' for daring to speak it aloud.

It wasn't just the Jews, of whom Jesus was one, who hated God's Truth. People have always hated it... and still do. And have always killed or tried to kill those who would dare utter it.

"'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you...

"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father as well... this is to fulfill what is written in their law: ''They hated Me without reason.'' '" (John 15:18-25 NIV)

God's Word [Truth - John 17:17] is offensive to man's vanity and pride... which is why it's so maligned and hated. It offends and affects more than just the Jews. It's just that Jesus was sent to "His own" first [John 1:11]... and it was they who were merely the first to attack Him... which is what opened the door for the Gentiles to have the Truth offered to them.

And "...as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME..." (John 1:12).

Those Jews in the Temple 'believed on Jesus' [John 8:30]... but they didn't "believe what He said"... and tried to kill Him. That hatred is still alive in the world among men.

Answer 9

This is a Christian blood libel and perhaps the most central one. Is it true that Jews disagreed with Jesus? Yes, and quite fervently. The Related Question (Why did the Jews oppose Jesus Christ even though he performed many miracles?) provides the reasons underlying the Jewish disagreements with Jesus and his activities and assertions. There is even a discussion in the Talmud on the issue of Jesus (although it is unclear if this is a later edit-job or part of the original text). The Rabbis come to conclusion that he is heretic and that he merits stoning.

However, the act of plotting to actually commit murder is far removed from these discussions and more serious. There are many debates in the Talmud concerning both historical individuals and alleged stories like the Oven of Achnai. This does not mean that those events actually happened, only that the thought experiment of "what would happen under these circumstances" was done. The New Testament makes a number of simple errors about Jewish jurisprudence on such matters. For example, it claims that the Sanhedrin convened on Passover to condemn Jesus. However, the leaders of the Sanhedrin followed the letter of the law to a fault (Jesus even reprimands them for it) and one of the laws is that the Sanhedrin can never meet on a holiday, especially one as central as Passover. Secondly, they allude to a connection between the High Priests and the Sanhedrin in agreeing on what actions to take on Jesus. There was an intense political fight between the High Priests and the Rabbis of the Sanhedrin as to the future direction of Judaism. The High Priests were more corrupt and elitist. The Rabbis were more earnest and populist. There is no reason that the High Priests would not wish to keep Jesus preaching if his populist approach would weaken the appeal of the Rabbis.

As for exacting the death penalty, even if the events leading up Jesus' execution were as the New Testament records them, no Jew would sanction an execution by crucifixion. There are only four acceptable implementations of capital punishment in Judaism that are strongly regulated: decapitation, quick strangulation, quick strangulation with internal burning, and stoning. There is complete rejection of any form of capital punishment that uses piercings to kill or leaves the criminal to suffer for hours on end. Crucifixion is in both categories and was a uniquely Roman punishment.

The claim that the Romans plotted against Jesus and had him crucified is much stronger. The Messiah of that period was understood the way that Jews still understand this concept: an Earthly King who would establish a Jewish Kingdom. Necessarily, therefore, Jesus was going to have to raise an army or commit some political intrigue to achieve this goal. The Romans were likely afraid that Jesus would try to lead a rebellion to free Judea from Roman occupation. This fear would prove justified when another Messianic Candidate, Bar Kochba, would actually lead a revolt against the Romans that ended disastrously for the Jews. In order to prevent Jesus from taking that power, the Romans pre-emptively sought him out and questioned if he was the King of Jews, i.e. someone actively trying to create a Jewish Kingdom in defiance of Rome. When they received answers that troubled them, they chose to execute him in the traditional Roman manner of execution. Pontius Pilate is mentioned in several sources outside of the Bible. In each, he is considered a cruel and vicious man who delighted in executions. Why would he spare the rod here when there was such an obvious threat?

As Rome was the dominant world power during the period of the early Church and Judaism was seen as the "adversary" of early Christianity for rejecting Jesus' Messianic Nature, the Church transferred what should have been hatred for the Roman Leadership into hatred of the Jews and worked assiduously to create a narrative that would paint the Romans as weak and powerless to stop Jewish tyranny when it was Jews as a population who were unable to stop Roman tyranny.

Answer 10

This is a Christian blood libel and perhaps the most central one. Is it true that Jews disagreed with Jesus? Yes, and quite fervently. The Related Question provides the reasons underlying the Jewish disagreements with Jesus and his activities and assertions. There is even a discussion in the Talmud on the issue of Jesus (although it is unclear if this is a later edit-job or part of the original text). The Rabbis come to the conclusion that he is heretic and that he merits stoning.

However, the act of plotting to actually commit murder is far removed from these discussions and more serious. There are many debates in the Talmud concerning both historical individuals and alleged stories like the Oven of Achnai. This does not mean that those events actually happened, only that the thought experiment of "what would happen under these circumstances" was done. The New Testament makes a number of simple errors about Jewish jurisprudence on such matters. For example, it claims that the Sanhedrin convened on Passover to condemn Jesus. However, the leaders of the Sanhedrin followed the letter of the law to a fault (Jesus even reprimands them for it) and one of the laws is that the Sanhedrin can never meet on a holiday, especially one as central as Passover. Secondly, they allude to a connection between the High Priests and the Sanhedrin in agreeing on what actions to take on Jesus. There was an intense political fight between the High Priests and the Rabbis of the Sanhedrin as to the future direction of Judaism. The High Priests were more corrupt and elitist. The Rabbis were more earnest and populist. There is no reason that the High Priests would not wish to keep Jesus preaching if his populist approach would weaken the appeal of the Rabbis.

As for exacting the death penalty, even if the events leading up Jesus' execution were as the New Testament records them, no Jew would sanction an execution by crucifixion. There are only four acceptable implementations of capital punishment in Judaism that are strongly regulated: decapitation, quick strangulation, quick strangulation with internal burning, and stoning. There is a complete rejection of any form of capital punishment that uses piercings to kill or leaves the criminal to suffer for hours on end. Crucifixion is in both categories and was a uniquely Roman punishment.

The claim that the Romans plotted against Jesus and had him crucified is much stronger. The Messiah of that period was understood the way that Jews still understand this concept: an Earthly King who would establish a Jewish Kingdom. Necessarily, therefore, Jesus was going to have to raise an army or commit some political intrigue to achieve this goal. The Romans were likely afraid that Jesus would try to lead a rebellion to free Judea from Roman occupation. This fear would prove justified when another Messianic Candidate, Bar Kochba, would actually lead a revolt against the Romans that ended disastrously for the Jews. In order to prevent Jesus from taking that power, the Romans pre-emptively sought him out and questioned if he was the King of Jews, i.e. someone actively trying to create a Jewish Kingdom in defiance of Rome. When they received answers that troubled them, they chose to execute him in the traditional Roman manner of execution. Pontius Pilate is mentioned in several sources outside of the Bible. In each, he is considered a cruel and vicious man who delighted in executions. Why would he spare the rod here when there was such an obvious threat?

As Rome was the dominant world power during the period of the early Church and Judaism was seen as the "adversary" of early Christianity for rejecting Jesus' Messianic Nature, the Church transferred what should have been hatred for the Roman Leadership into hatred of the Jews and worked assiduously to create a narrative that would paint the Romans as weak and powerless to stop Jewish tyranny when it was Jews as a population who were unable to stop Roman tyranny.