(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

And the Bible reads, For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain. But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated. As you know at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who is triath our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God as witness, nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how wholly and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe. As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father doth his children, that ye walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom in glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both kill the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always, for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavor the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore, we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For ye are our glory and joy. Let's pray. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the truth of your word, dear God. We thank you for this church you have given us, and we thank you for our pastor, dear God. Please bless him this morning as he preaches your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Okay, we're in 1 Thessalonians 2 this morning, and the title of my sermon today is The Jews Killed Jesus. The Jews killed Jesus. Now, that statement should not be controversial, especially if you're a Christian, because the Bible literally says it. It's not something that it's cryptic. It's not something that is controversial. It's literally a doctrine in the Christian Bible, and in fact, it's something that has been widely accepted even amongst non-Christians. Historically, not just biblically, people know that those who are responsible for killing Jesus are the Jews. Now, why am I preaching this this morning? Well, a recent bill was passed through the House called the Antisemitism Awareness Act, okay? And it's a bill that is made to combat these college protests, these Palestinian college protests out there, but it's also a bill that's seeking to expand the definition of what antisemitism is. And part of that expansion, part of that definition is to include that saying the Jews killed Jesus is considered antisemitic. And so obviously that's a wicked bill because of the fact that it not only infringes upon our constitutional right to free speech, but far more important than that is the fact that it's trying to make preaching the Bible illegal. Why? Because the Bible literally says that the Jews killed Jesus and so by doing so, it's essentially causing Christians to, or should I say, trying to cause Christian doctrine to become illegal, to teach, to preach, to talk about things of that nature. Now, let me give you a couple reasons why I believe that they're doing this because a lot of people will look at this, even Christians, and say, no, it has nothing to do with attacking the Bible. They're not trying to attack Christian doctrine. They're just trying to tax these college students and blah, blah, blah. But you know what? At the end of the day, you think too small, okay? Let's view this through the lens of scripture and recognize we need to prove all things, hold fast to that, which is good. Let me give you three reasons why I believe they're doing this. Number one is the most obvious and that would be to censor truth, right? People don't want, the people who are the higher ups, the principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world don't want the truth to get out there because you can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. Another reason why they would seek to pass such a wicked bill is to normalize demonizing the Bible. Right? They wanna normalize saying that the Bible, the things that the Bible says is evil, it's antisemitic, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you say to yourself, well, that's not gonna happen. Well, in the Northern Kingdom known as Canada, that's already illegal. So they can't say stuff like that in Canada that's already illegal. So it's already taken place there and who's to say that it can't take place here as well? It's essentially trying to normalize demonizing the Bible and here's the problem is that in the United States, most Christians do not read the Bible, okay? They don't walk with God, they're not reading their Bibles consistently, they're not memorizing scripture. So you add on top of that, the fact that there's this law that makes it illegal to say certain phrases of the Bible then essentially you're adding, you're creating more space between the Christian and the Bible, you understand? And by doing so, they can become deceived, they can be lied to, they can believe false doctrine and that is ultimately Satan's agenda is to remove Christians from the Word of God because it's a powerful weapon in the hand of a Christian to combat heresy, deceit and of course, just to fight the flesh and the world. So number one would be to censor the truth. Number two, to normalize demonizing the Bible and number three, the reason this bill is being passed is to remove the stigma that the Jews carry, okay? And what stigma is that? That they killed Jesus. That is a major blotch on their record, okay? And you think to yourself, well, you can't really accredit that to every single Jew. But here's the thing, if Jews adhere to Judaism, they're adhering to a religion that takes credit for killing Jesus. And to say, well, you know, that's anti-Semitic, you can't say that the Bible is anti-Semitic because of the fact that the Bible is literally in favor of everyone getting saved. And the Lord loves people and He wants them to be saved and so that is obviously a hijacking of what that phrase is supposed to mean or what it is because it doesn't include the Bible. Now, this isn't anything new. Obviously, in times past, you know, people have sought to remove that stigma from the Jews that they're essentially the ones responsible for crucifying Jesus Christ and in fact, Pope Benedict XVI in 2011, when he wrote a book called Jesus of Nazareth, the second part, he essentially stated that biblically and theologically, there is no basis in scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death. Now, that's surprising because I thought Catholics were a replacement theology. But yet you have their Pope, okay, you know, stating that you can't really prove that biblically and theologically and of course, every single Catholic will agree with that because they don't read the Bible. And in 1965, the Catholic Church said that the Jews could not be held collectively accountable for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Now, obviously, those are complete lies and at the end of the day, all you have to do is literally just read the Bible, read the New Testament and you can see as clear as day that the Jews, Israel, are responsible for killing Jesus Christ. That's not controversial and so it's a wicked thing to say that it's wrong, that it's illegal, that it shouldn't be said because it is literally what the Bible says. The Bible tells us that he came into his own and his own received him not. And it's specifically referring to the fact that he came to Israel, he came to the Jews. You know, Israel is essentially the nation from which salvation comes from but yet he came into them, they completely rejected him and they crucified the Lord of glory. Now, let me also say this by way of introduction is that this is the reason why, listen to me, this is the reason why the nation of Israel is literally cursed. Not just the religion of Judaism because Judaism is obviously a false religion just like any other religions out there and I would even say that Judaism is the worst religion out of all false religions, okay? But here's the thing is that the nation itself is literally cursed according to the Bible and this is what we read here in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, look at verse 14 again. The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica which by the way is a Gentile church, okay? It's not a church of Israel, there's not former Jews there. These are literally Greeks, okay? People of Greece and you know, obviously these people are living godly lives and the Bible tells us, yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So the byproduct of them living a Christian life is that they're getting persecuted. So when the Apostle Paul writes to them, he is essentially telling them, he's relating to them that what they're suffering is the same thing that the churches in Jerusalem have suffered as well because they live godly lives. He says in verse 14, for ye brethren became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen. Listen to this, even as they have of the Jews. Now, who's they? He's referring to the churches which are in Judea. So the believers that are in Judea have suffered persecution of the Jews. And I want you to notice how he kind of just expands on that point just a little further. In verse 15, who both killed the Lord Jesus? So there we see that it's literally says that the Jews killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. And he kind of just goes on a rant here. It kind of doesn't have necessarily anything to do with the topic at hand but we appreciate that the apostle Paul wrote this. He's preaching is what he's doing, okay? He said who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us and they please not God and are contrary to all men. Now people are saying, well, that's antisemitic. Paul is a Jew. He's of Israel. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. You know, this man is essentially one who was a doctor of the law. He was zealous of his religion. In fact, there's other portions of scripture, for example, in Romans chapter 10, where he calls the physical nation of Israel, his brethren, according to the flesh, right? So these are people he cares about but yet he's telling them that these are the same individuals that are responsible for killing Jesus. They're responsible for killing the prophets that God sent unto them. They're responsible for persecuting the apostle Paul, the apostle Peter, Stephen, all the apostles, all the disciples. And then he goes on to say, and by the way, they don't please God and are contrary to all men. Why are they like that? Look at verse 16. It says, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved. Now that's a wicked thing to try to do, is it not? What does it mean to forbid them to speak unto the Gentiles? Meaning, anytime the apostles and the disciples were going out there and preaching the gospel, and you can read this in the book of Acts, there's always some sort of Jew there trying to stop them from getting saved. So they're trying to give them the gospel, they're trying to get them saved, and the Jews would often hire those of the baser sword to raise up a false accusation against the disciples to keep them from getting these Gentiles saved. Now that's wicked. Now look, there's a lot of religions that we don't agree with, right? That we would consider to be false and wicked. But you know what? If I come out there in the street, taking care of business or going to stores, and I see some false prophet giving their false gospel to a person, I'm not gonna go there and just shove them out of the way and just get involved in their business. You say, well, how do you combat it? By preaching the truth. I'm not gonna hire a baser sword to lie about them because all we have to do is just tell the truth. So this requires a certain level of iniquity and evil worker to actually go out of their way because that's exactly what they did. They left Jerusalem, they left Judea to go into these outskirts, these regions in Asia Minor and Greece to literally follow the Apostle Paul and stop him from preaching the gospel so that people can get saved. That's a wicked thing to do. He says, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always. Now what's another way of saying fill up their sins always? It's basically saying that they're treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. So anytime they try to stop Christians and believers from preaching the gospel, they're essentially adding more wrath upon their lives is basically what it's saying. And I want you to notice this last phrase here. For the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost, the Bible says. Meaning that God's curse is on that people no matter how far they run, no matter to what nation they flee to, no matter where they migrate, no matter where they're kicked out of, no matter what part of the world they're in, the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. And so it takes a special kind of wicked nation, it takes a special kind of wicked religion for God to hone in on you and say my curse is upon you to the uttermost. Now obviously that curse can be uplifted for the individual Jew, if what? If they call upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ in faith, they get saved, they reject Judaism and they become a Christian. Oh, you mean a Judeo-Christian? No, there's no such thing as a Judeo-Christian in the Bible. Well at that point, don't they become a Masianic Jew? No, the only Masianic Jew in the Bible is Jesus. Cause he's actually a Messiah. That title should only be designated for the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's no Judeo-Christian, that's like saying I'm a Mormon Christian. I'm a Jehovah's Witness Christian. I'm a Catholic Christian. They don't mix. It's like I'm a Muslim Christian. They don't go together, okay? They're two separate religions, one is right, one is wrong, Christianity is right, the others are wrong, okay? And so he's pouring out his wrath upon him unto the uttermost and we can see there's plenty of evidence in the Bible to prove this but even historically you see this. This is one of the reasons why Jews in general have been booted out of approximately 109 countries throughout the ages because of their predatory lending practices and their rejection of Jesus Christ. And you know, advocates of Zionism and advocates of Jews will often say no, it's because they're being persecuted. And you know what, to that, I agree with that. Yeah, they are. They're being persecuted by God. God is the one persecuting the Jews. And so he said well no, they're being persecuted cause they're God's people. But you can't really point to a verse that states that now, can you? There's far more evidence in the Bible to substantiate the claim that the reason they're suffering these things throughout the generations is because they have forsaken the God of the Bible. They're reared up to themselves, the tabernacle of Moloch. They're taking up the star of their God, Renfan. And therefore God says okay, now my wrath is gonna be against you then. You say why was he so focused on pouring out his wrath on them? Well because to whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. And you know what, they wanna claim well the word of God was given to us first and Israel is the place from which salvation comes from. Yeah, that doesn't help your case. Because until you were committed to the oracles of God, if the laws of God were given to you, if great signs and wonders were done among you, if the Christ came from Israel and you still reject it, and you still hate it and you're still not converting, then guess what? Then you will suffer a far more severe consequence because of that because God gave you a lot of light to work with. You understand? And so this is the reason why the nation of Israel is cursed. Now let me just make myself clear is that I don't take the position that Jews cannot be saved. There's people that take that position, it's a dumb position because it goes against what the gospel actually teaches. Now obviously if there is a Christ rejecting Jew out there who hates the Lord Jesus Christ, who embraces the Talmud and believe that Jesus Christ is burning in hell in his own escriment and they believe he's a blasphemer and a sorcerer, okay yeah at that point, then yeah for sure they can't be saved because you can't believe that. You understand? To be saved. But I'm sure that there's been many Jews out there throughout the centuries who have actually gotten saved and you know at that point, they're no longer a Jew religiously because of the fact that the Bible says that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female but you're all one in Christ Jesus, okay? And years ago, I got an opportunity to witness to a Jew as a person that I got along with greatly. She was an elderly woman and I gave her the gospel. She received it and then I gave the gospel to her husband and he received it and they got saved. But you know what? They're not necessarily the most perceptive group of people out there because of what I'm gonna show you today, okay? Now go to Matthew chapter 21 if you would. Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21 if you would. So the nation of Israel is cursed. This is why they have perpetually had this stigma, okay? And you know people look at us and say, oh you got replacement theology from the Catholics because the Catholics also have hold that view as well. Well it's because they're pretty much, it's the most obvious thing, that's why. So you know it's no surprise that even a false religion like Catholicism understands even of the most obvious thing, okay? That God's curse is upon them. Now you're in Matthew 21. Let me read you a couple of verses here. How do we know that the Jews killed Jesus? In the Bible, and in fact I'm sorry, you're in Matthew 21, go to Deuteronomy 19. Hold your place in Matthew 21. Go to Deuteronomy 19. And if you have a pen or a pencil, just keep it there in Deuteronomy 19 because we're gonna come back to that at the end of the sermon, okay? Deuteronomy 19. This is how we know we killed Jesus if, excuse me, this is how we know that the Jews killed Jesus if we were to use the Bible as the evidence to prove that. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 19 verse 15, one witness shall not rise up against the man for any iniquity or for any sin, and any sin that he sinneth, at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established. And this is a basic practical law that God instituted in order to convict someone. He said that there has to be at least two or three witnesses that are bringing up this accusation in order for it to even be valid or to be taken into consideration for inquiry, okay? So that an investigation can be made, the person can be condemned. There has to be at least two or three witnesses. Well, we have three witnesses in the Bible that testify that the Jews killed Jesus. Number one, Jesus said it. Number two, the apostles said it. And number three, the Jews said it themselves. So here are your three witnesses that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Jews killed Jesus. Now, obviously no one's in here thinking like, oh man, I didn't know this, right? No one's in here like, what? No way. For real? Nuh-uh. You know, everyone pretty much knows this, right? But it's always important to go through the scriptures to substantiate these claims. Now, put a pen or a paper in Deuteronomy 19. We're gonna come back to that at the end of the sermon and go back to Matthew 21, if you would, Matthew 21. So let's look at what Jesus said about the Jews seeking and killing him. Now, when you read the book of Matthew, people often tell you, oh, that gospel is geared towards the Jews, right? So they'll have this dispensational outlook on the gospels and say, a lot of what's being said in the book of Matthew is only geared towards the Jews. And they often think about it in a positive manner because Jesus Christ is constantly preaching, a phrase you'll commonly find in the book of Matthew is the kingdom of God, okay? But what they fail to realize is that, yeah, the book of Matthew is geared towards the Jews, but in a very negative way, okay? And in fact, he spends an incredible amount of time talking about these parables or using parables to illustrate how wicked the Jews are. Okay, if you read chapters 20 through about 25, you'll see many parables that he's relating to the Jews. This is one of them here in Matthew 21 and verse 33, it says, here another parable, there was a certain householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and dig the winepress in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. Now, the parable that's being talked about here is referencing God, okay? God is the certain householder, Israel is the vineyard that's being hedged, it's being digged, there's a tower, and the husbandmen are Israelites, okay? Throughout the centuries. Because he's essentially hiring these husbandmen, these Israelites, to take care of the vineyard. In other words, to go and preach the word of God to others, to expose the light to the people of this world who are in darkness, this is their job. So the husbandmen is referring to the Jews, the Israelites. And of course, it says that he goes into a far country and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Now the question is, who are the servants? Well, if you're to draw a parallel between this and the history of Israel, it's referring to the prophets. Throughout the history of Israel, there's been many prophets who have gone out to condemn Israel for the things that they're doing today. Telling them that they've forsaken God, they're involved in abominable acts, and you have a long list of people, Isaiah, Jeremiah, even Daniel, while they're in captivity, various prophets throughout history who's basically coming to tell them, you know what, you're behaving wickedly, you need to change this. And a lot of them, the Israelites killed. You know, a lot of them were persecuted by Israelites. A lot of them were killed, they were arrested, they were mocked, they were against the Israel, they were against the prophets who were also Israelites. And this is what the parallel that's being drawn here. He says the husbandmen took the servants, the Israelites took the servants, the prophets, they beat them, killed them, and stoned another. And again, you can see that throughout the Old Testament. Again, he sent other servants more than the first, and they didn't to them likewise. So a history of just killing a bunch of prophets, and Jesus talks about this in Matthew 23, when he talks about the fact that the blood shall be required of them from the blood of righteous Abel to Zacharias, right? Who died between the porch and the altar, the Bible says. And he says, I'm gonna require that blood from your hands, and he's talking to Jews, to Israelites, that's what he's saying. Look at verse 37. But last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, they will reverence my son. So what is this talking about? God is sending these servants to plead with the nation of Israel, to get right with God. They're mistreating them, they're killing them, they're arresting them, they're stoning them. So the Lord of the household says, well, if I send my son, who's basically the one also in charge in my absence, right, they're obviously gonna respect him. They're gonna listen to him. They're not gonna treat him the way they treated the prophets. Now the son obviously pictures the Lord Jesus Christ. Says in verse 38, but when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir, come, let us kill him, let us seize on his inheritance, and they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. Now, this is a parable, but it's also a prediction of what was literally going to take place. Because yes, Matthew is geared towards the Jews, and he's telling the Jews, you guys are gonna kill Jesus who's the son of the Lord of the household. And the Bible tells us throughout the gospels that the Jews did not know the time of their visitation. He came into his own, his own received him not. You know, they're supposed to just rejoice at the fact that the Christ is born, that he's here, he's here to pay for the sins of the world. But instead, what do they do? They slay him, they kill him. Verse 41, look what it says. They say unto him, or I'm sorry, verse 40, says when the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? I love that question. Because Jesus has given this parable. And he's basically saying, so like, you know, you finish the story, right? You finish the story, you get the last chapter. When the Lord comes, what is he gonna do to those guys, those husbandmen that have killed the servants and killed the son? Verse 41, they say unto him, he will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Bingo, checkmates. Folks, out of their own mouths. It's like, oh man, you know, they're just condemning the Jews. They condemn themselves. By thy words thou shall be justified, by thy words thou shall be condemned. That's what the Bible says. And it's funny because they came out with a really good outline. That was pretty good stuff, pretty good preaching. Best preaching I've ever heard any Pharisee say. He will miserably destroy those wicked men, point number one. He will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, point number two. Point number three, which shall render the fruits in their seasons, point number three. Verse 42, Jesus saith unto him, did ye never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected the same as becoming the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing and is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. Now let me make a couple of comments regarding this powerful phrase, this verse right here in verse 43 that Jesus Christ said. First of all, all he's doing is reiterating what the Pharisee said. It's not controversial. They came to that reasonable logical conclusion based upon the parable and Jesus Christ is concluding the parable with the statement that yeah, so basically the kingdom of God shall be taken from you because you're the husband men and it's gonna be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof because you're not doing the job correctly. He's basically saying you're being replaced. You're fired is what he's telling the husband. I don't like the phrase replacement theology. Replacement theology basically means you're fired. You know like if you're at a job, you're working a job and you're not doing your job correctly, your boss is gonna come and he's gonna fire you. Thou mayest no more be a servant, right? And then he's gonna say, we need to find someone else. Well, that's basically what's happening here. He's firing the Jews from being his chosen people as per the phrase that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and then he's given it to a nation that is gonna bring forth the fruits thereof. Now, a lot of dispensationalists and Christians just hate this verse because they don't know how to interpret it. Because if they don't like our interpretation, okay, then you explain to me what nation he's referring to. It's not a physical nation because that would go against even what their ideology is because according to them, the nation of Israel is the chosen people of God. Okay, then what nation are we talking about here? Now, the nation that's being referred to here is the nation, the spiritual nation of all believers. Okay, because it's believers, it's Gentile believers that yeah, is made up of both Jew and Gentile that are called Christian that are actually bringing forth the fruits thereof. In other words, we're preaching the gospel, we're getting people saved, we're proclaiming the name of the Lord throughout the world as best as we possibly can and we're bringing the fruits to the Lord of the vineyard because that's our job. Go ye therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, of the Holy Spirit. Go ye therefore and preach the gospel to every creature. Look what it says in verse 44. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. So this is a reference to verse 42 where it says the stone which the builders rejected. So the builders are the Israelites, they're the Jews because essentially they're the ones who the word of God was being built upon, okay? These were supposed to be the master builders as the Apostle Paul references himself in 1 Corinthians chapter three. But here's the problem is that as they were building, they actually reject the foundation of that building, the cornerstone which is Jesus Christ. If you have no foundation, you have no building. You understand what I'm saying? If you have no foundation, you can't build upon it. Kind of like if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father, right? Because they can say, well, we believe in God and we believe that there's one God, we just don't believe in Jesus Christ, he's not. Okay, so just say you don't believe in God then. Because by rejecting Jesus Christ, you're actually rejecting God the Father. Because Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life no man, it doesn't say no man except for Jews. It says no man cometh unto the Father but by me. So they've rejected the cornerstone, they've rejected the foundation of the building and because they rejected it, it's gonna grind them to powder. Essentially, he's gonna destroy them is what he's saying. Now, define irony, okay? Because in this particular parable, we read this and we're like, it's pretty clear, right? It's like, I get it, you know? This is not controversial, I get it 100%. And you know, there's Christians out there who have the Spirit of God dwelling within them and they don't wanna get it and they reject it. But let me just tell you something right now that you don't really need the Spirit of God to believe this. It helps, it aids you in understanding this wonderful truth here but you actually don't need the Spirit of God to understand this. You can actually be a completely unsafe person to understand this and in fact, let me just go a little further than that and say, you can be a very evil, wicked person and still understand this. You can be just like a Jew and understand this. All right, now you're just being too, what are you supposed to be? Well, look at verse 45. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. Even they got it. They're like, hmm, I think you're talking about me. Yeah. Now Pharisees, if you could do us a favor and go tell the old IFB that. If you could just go ahead and go tell the old IFB and say, hey, Jesus was talking about us. We've been replaced. Because even they understood, look, the chief priests and Pharisees are extremely wicked. I mean, they're the ones essentially responsible for spearheading the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But even they said, even they had the mental faculties to understand, oh, he's talking about us. But yet you have Christians that are just like, no, he's not. There's still the apple of his eye. God still has a plan for them. No, that's antisemitic. The Pharisees said it was about them. Go to Mark chapter 11, if you would. Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. I'm gonna read to you from a couple of passages here while you're turning to Mark chapter 11. Matthew chapter 16 in verse 21 says, from that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, be afar from the Lord, it shall not be unto thee. So Jesus talked about this to his disciples saying that they were gonna kill him. Luke 13 verse six, you're in Mark 11. Let me read you another passage here. The passage I'm gonna read to you is in conjunction with where we're about to read in Mark 11. Luke 13 six says, he spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, behold these three years I am come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why come birth it the ground? And he answered and said unto him, Lord, let alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it and if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that, thou shall cut it down. So what is that referring to before we get into Mark 11? Well, Jesus Christ has given this parable and he talks about this fig tree that's being planted. And obviously the fig tree is figurative of Israel and Judaism, okay? And he's basically saying that because he owns this fig tree, he wants to see some fruit grow out of the tree. So he comes and he looks for it and he's like, there's no figs on it, there's no fruits, not producing anything. And so the man who is in charge of the tree tells him, like, I've been coming here these three years and I'm looking for fruit, I can't find anything. So why even, it's just taking up space. Why come birth it the ground? It's just kind of taking up space. It's kind of worthless, it's unfruitful, it's stagnant, just cut it down. So the servant pleads and basically says, well, let's dung it, let's dig it, let's try to do something to kind of provoke fruit to grow on it and we'll wait, he says, for that year, basically. He's like, let's just wait and if it bears fruit, then we'll keep it, if not, then we'll cut it down. Now, what is he talking about? Well, here's the thing is that that tree has existed for a couple thousand years, prior to even Christ coming, okay, and that tree referring to Israel and Judaism, but it didn't bear fruit. So then Jesus comes and how long was Jesus' ministry for? It's about three and a half years. So he's basically saying like, I'm gonna give you these three and a half years to bear fruit and if you don't bear fruit, then I'm cutting you down. So this is like their last straw. Now, it's one of those things where it's like, well, if they couldn't bear fruit these last couple, these last thousands of years or whatever, they're probably not gonna do it in these next three and a half years. Now, look at Mark 11, verse 12, if you would, Mark 11, verse 12 says, On the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry, and seen a fig tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply, he might find anything thereon. And when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. So he comes, he looks at the tree, nothing on there, very similar to what we see in the parable in the book of Luke. Verse 14 says, and Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit on thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it. Now, I don't think Jesus literally had something like against that physical tree. You stupid tree, I can't believe you, you know? And obviously, he's God, so he like physically cursed that physical tree, okay? But he's obviously making a big deal about it because it's symbolic of something else. It's symbolic of what he talked about in the book of Luke because he's coming to that tree like he's coming to Israel, looking for fruit, but they don't even recognize Jesus, right? They don't accept them as the savior, they're rejecting them in general. Look at verse 14, excuse me, verse 20, says, In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. You know, they're plucked up by the roots. And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto him, Master, behold the fig tree, which thou curses is withered away. Now, this is figurative and symbolic of the fact that Jesus Christ cursed Judaism. In other words, it will never be fruitful again. There may have been a time prior to the first coming of Christ where Judaism actually produced some fruit, meaning there's adherence to Judaism who actually believe the Bible. They actually believe the word of God, and in fact, many Jews and Israelites got saved during that time. Many disciples of Jesus Christ were already saved. They just transferred over to the New Testament, right? And they were adhering to the laws of Moses, they understood the gospel, they were getting saved, they were producing fruit, but there came a point where Judaism was no longer about the coming Christ, it was more about political power, it was more about their own selfish agenda, and it straight, it apostatizes what it did. So no fruit was growing on there, therefore, the Lord came and cursed that religion and said, nothing's gonna grow on you anymore. And you say, well, you know, that's not true, you know, and they are the tree. No, no, Jesus Christ is the tree. He's the vine. And now we're grafted in, Gentile believers are grafted into that tree, into that vine, and that's why we get to produce fruit, okay? Go to Acts chapter three if you would, Acts chapter three. And again, that is a result of their, not only rejection of Jesus Christ, but it's also a result of them killing Jesus Christ. Judaism didn't just reject Jesus as being the Savior and the Messiah, they went a step further and planned to kill him. So it's not just like, oh, they're just deceived, they have hatred towards the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna read to you from John chapter five, you're in Acts chapter three, it says, therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. It goes on to say in verse 18, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. So they didn't believe that he was God. And this is one of the reasons why they sought to kill. And by the way, verse 18 is a good verse for Zakir, okay, the Muslim apologists, where he wants to look for a verse that says, you know, where Jesus says I am God. Well, there's plenty of passages where he makes statements like that, probably not in those particular words, because Zakir didn't write the Bible, God did. So, you know, he says it in different ways. But here's a great example that even the Jews sought to kill Jesus because he made himself equal with God. Okay, John seven one says, after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in jewelry because the Jews sought to kill him. Sounds like the Jews really wanted to kill Jesus. And it sounds like a lot of Jesus' ministry was determined, you know, navigating through these parts based upon if the Jews are trying to kill him in that area or not. Because there is a very much blatant and obvious agenda that there's people who wanted to kill the Lord Jesus Christ throughout his ministry. And there's times where they even took him and they're trying to cast him headlong down a mountain, and he was able to like circumvent that and get out of the way. I mean, it's in the Gospels. Okay, so Jesus said it. Now let's look at what the apostles say. Look at Acts chapter three, if you would. Acts chapter three, verse 12, it says, and when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, ye men of Israel, so who are we talking to? The men of Israel. These are Jews, right? Why marvel ye at this, or why look ye so earnestly on us as though by our own power, O holiness, we have made this man to walk? So let me just give you a concise explanation of what John was talking about here. You know, there's a man who was lame, he was not able to walk, he was paralyzed, and Peter and John essentially healed him supernaturally. This is the famous passage where it says, you know, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. And of course, it's not necessarily because Peter or John or anything special, it's by God's power through Jesus Christ that this man was healed. So they're kind of like, whoa. And so the men of Israel are coming and they're looking at this and they see that an evident miracle has been performed. Look at verse 13. The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son Jesus, by the way, whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. Now, Peter and Paul are funny, you know, because they're talking about something and they just kind of like chase a rabbit. You know, because Paul is just like, you know, suffer like things, even as we have the Jews who both kill the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and their person. Peter's doing the same thing. He's like, they glorify Jesus, by the way, who you delivered and you denied him. You know, you denied the Holy and just one, you had a murder granted. He's reminding them of what their fault is. Go to Acts chapter five, if you would, Acts chapter five. I'm gonna read to you from Acts two, verse 23, where the statement is also made by the Apostle Peter. He said, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Look at Acts chapter five and verse 27. It says here, and when they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest asked them saying, did not we straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? So the apostles are out there preaching the word of God, they're preaching the Bible, they're getting people saved and the Jews are very much upset at this. They hate this. Why? Well, because of the fact that the multitudes are following the disciples. And that's really important to the Pharisees. They want everyone to be in subjection to their teachings, to what they want, and if they actually taught the Bible, maybe that would happen. But they're not, okay? And so when these men are coming and they're preaching with power, notable miracles are being accomplished, you know, they're accomplishing something great, people are taking notice of this. So they come to them and say, I told you not to preach in this name, in the name of Jesus. And behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. Man, that's like a major compliment. You've filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. And Jesus is like. That's a cool thing to say, you know? He was like, wow. And intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Now, that could have like a double meaning, right? Because essentially when we go out and preach the gospel, we want people, you know, to accept Jesus Christ, to believe in the Lord, so that his blood can be imputed upon them. But in this particular case, that could mean that, but it could also mean like, oh, you're trying to blame us for, you know, the blood of Jesus Christ, the fact that he was crucified. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. I mean, talk about boldness. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, oh, by the way, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. I like how the rabbits are just, there's a lot of rabbits to chase there. So these men are not careful to answer, to remind Israelites and the Jews, hey, yeah, you know, Jesus Christ is resurrected from the dead. Jesus Christ healed this man, but I just want to remind you and not allow the stigma to be removed. You're the one who slew him. You're the one who crucified him. That was done by you. And look, it's not like the apostle Paul didn't take some responsibility either, by the way. Because even he said that he persecuted the way of the Lord. He persecuted the churches of God, that he was zealous, but the Bible says that he says that he did it ignorantly and unbelief, and this is why he obtained mercy of the Lord. So this is a man who was a Benjamite. He wasn't of Judah, but he was a Benjamite. And in general, anybody who was a Benjamite or of Judea would be just considered a Jew, okay? He was that, he was a Pharisee, yet he understood that by believing on Jesus Christ, he's forsaking all of that stuff, okay? And of course, there's instances in the book of Acts where they said, men and brethren, what shall we do? It's like, what shall we do? And he's like, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. There's certain people that when they heard that, they're just like, okay, we need to get right then because that is our fault. Because this is not too long after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This stuff is still fresh in the minds of the Israelites. People know who Jesus Christ is, and so they know the narrative that the Jews are pushing, and therefore, you have these men who are just constantly bringing this up. And let me just say this. This is why it's important for a sermon like this to be preached, because we constantly need to bring it up. Less people should forget. You know, we talk about the resurrection, thank God for the resurrection, and the fact that we're gonna resurrect, and Jesus Christ bodily resurrected, after he was crucified by the Jews, by the way. You know, we just kinda need to bring it up, nonchalantly. Just kinda throw it in there every once in a while. Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross, and he died on the, he himself bore on sins on his own body in the tree, and he was crucified, by the way, by the Jews, by the way. You know, just kinda, we need to throw that in there, because they're the ones who actually did it. Because what happens is that if we neglect to repeat these matters, we neglect to bring into remembrance these things people just forget. And then you have dumb bills, which by the way, were put out by the Republican Party. They're the ones who actually voted it in. Talk about irony here. You know, you have Trump putting out the Bible, and then after he puts out the King James Bible, this bill is passed to make illegal things that the Bible says. What in the world, what kind of crazy twilight zone world do we live in? It's your great Bible. Everyone should buy the Bible. But then it's just like, if that becomes illegal, it's like, this is illegal. You can't say this one part, though. I mean, what do you? But you know what, May, people wake up out there and realize that the Republican Party are not your friends. And here's a harsh truth for you Christians out there who support the Republican Party. It doesn't sound like they're really pro-Bible. How about that? Does that mean you're a Democrat? No, you know what, if it's like, oh, if you're not a Democrat, you have to be a Republican, or if you're not a Republican, you have to be a Democrat. I'm a Christian is what I am. Okay? And so this has to be constantly repeated. Go to Matthew chapter 27, if you would, Matthew chapter 27. I'm gonna read to you from Acts chapter 10, verse 39. It says, and we are witnesses of all these things, which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly. So the point that I'm making there is that the apostles did not rear back, they did not cut out parts, they constantly reminded the people who were the ones responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, for the murder of the Prince of Peace, okay? So number one, Jesus said it. And by the way, if Jesus was the only one who said it, case closed. Like, you know, we know that the law says out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, but the fact is, anything that Jesus says is truth. So if he was the only one that said it, that's all we need. But you know what, he said it, the disciples said it, the apostles said it, Paul said it, Peter said it repeatedly. Now let's look at what the Jews say about it. Because they're the ones who are saying it's anti-Semitic to say that. It's anti-Semitic to quote history? It's anti-Semitic to quote the Bible? It's anti-Semitic to quote your ancestors? Because those are their ancestors. All we're doing is quoting what literally you said. The Jews gladly delivered Jesus to be killed and were willing to pass on the responsibility to their descendants, just remember that. Look at Matthew 27 in verse 15. It says, now at the feast, the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. So this is during the trial of Jesus, where the Jews are trying to get Jesus Christ to be crucified. And so Pilate, he's a Roman governor, he's not a Christian, but obviously he recognizes that Jesus Christ is an innocent man. Because you don't have to be saved to have seen that. He's not a criminal, he's an innocent man. And so to make it easy on the crowd, he brings out Barabbas, who is not just a notable prisoner, but in the other gospels it says like he was a murderer, okay? He, I forgot the other word that they used, he was involved in insurrection, okay? This is a major troublemaker, he killed people, this guy is worthy of death. So to make it easy on the crowd, he wants to bring them out to say like, who would you rather I release unto you? The guy who killed some of you, the people that you know, or the guy who says that he's Christ and you guys just don't like. So logically, morally, you would say, allow the person who committed murder to be put to death because that is what the law says you should do and allow the other man to go free. So Pilate knows this, so he's kind of proposing this, hoping that they would release Jesus Christ and not accept Barabbas. Verse 17, therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. So he already knew the intentions of the Jews, the motives. These people just are envious of him because they're following him and they're not adhering to the Pharisees, the chief priests. Verse 19, when he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife said unto him, saying, have thou nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. So the religious leaders are like, this is what we're gonna do. We're all gonna say release Barabbas and kill Jesus. And it's just such a crazy thing to even consider. But this is how wicked the Pharisees are. They want him dead, listen to this, by any means necessary. Verse 21, the governor answered and said unto them, whether of the twain, meaning whether of the two, will ye that I release unto you, they said Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, what shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all say unto him, listen to this, let him be crucified. So notice it says that they all say unto him, who's all, not just the chief priests and scribes, any regular Jew who's around. And what did they say? Let him be crucified. And the governor said, why? What evil hath he done? But they cried out the more saying, let him be crucified. So they're not bringing any legitimate evidence to prove that he's worthy of death. And when he asks for legitimate proof, they're just like, let him be crucified. The governor said, what, what evil hath he done? Verse 24, when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. See to it, look at verse 25, then answered all the people and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Now, Pilate is still responsible, right? Because he's a governor, he's a magistrate. But symbolically, he's basically shown before the crowd, like, you're the ones who wanted this, I didn't want this, so my blood is clean from this. And they see that. And in light of that, they said, no, it's okay. His blood be on us. And not just on us, he says, on our children. Meaning every descendant thereafter will bear the curse of crucifying Jesus Christ. That is a wicked statement to make. Basically saying, we'll take full responsibility for this, and so will our descendants take full responsibility. And you know what? They have taken full responsibility. They just don't want people to point that out. Verse 26, then released Hebrew Rabbis unto them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Now go back to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Go back to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Because I want to make a point here on this last point. And that is that, when you look at the trial of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, you obviously see that there are two parties essentially responsible for the crucifixion, right? The main one that we focus on, and that the Bible seems to focus on, is the Jews. But obviously the Romans were also responsible. Now, today, you have a lot of people trying to remove the stigma from the Jews as being the ones responsible, and they want to kind of point out, well, why don't you ever talk about the Italians? I literally had someone say that in the comment section of one of my videos. They said, oh, you're just spreading anti-Semitism. Why don't you ever talk about the Italians because the Romans were also responsible for crucifying Jesus. They're the ones who did it, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I hear this a lot, though. You see this a lot. And I've even heard this from old IFB members and leaders that will say, yeah, but what about the Romans, though? And here's my answer. What about them? And here's the thing. Here's my other answer. I'm not God. So who's the focus being placed on in the Bible? It's the Jews as the ones being responsible, right? Now, the reason the Jews are mainly responsible as a whole, or the reason they are cursed and not necessarily the Romans or the Italians, is because it was not lawful for the Jews to put anybody to death. So they had to go to the right authorities, the chain of command, to do it. Now, if they had the power, they would have done it. But let me show you, according to the laws of God, why the Jews are 100% responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible. Because keep in mind, when the Jews delivered Jesus to Pilate, they had no substantial evidence to prove that he was evil or wicked. Just keep that in mind. Now, look at Deuteronomy 19 and verse 16. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong, then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the Lord, before the priest and the judges, which shall be in those days. And the judge shall make diligent inquisition. Behold, if the witness be a false witness and have testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother, so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. He says in verse 20, and those which remain shall hear and fear and shall henceforth commit no more such evil among you. And thine eyes shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Amen. The Jews brought up a false accusation against Jesus, and that's why they're cursed. He said, well, that doesn't make sense then, because they wanted him to be crucified. Well, cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree. So it's almost as if they get that curse. Why? Because they accused Jesus falsely, and in God's eyes, okay, you falsely accused, therefore, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for cross for cross. And that's why the nation of Israel is cursed, okay? And here's the thing. Jesus said, he told Pilate this, okay? Jesus told Pilate in verse 11 of John 19, thou couldest have no power at all against me, except there were given thee from above. Therefore, listen to this, he that delivered me unto thee hath a greater sin. He literally said it. He's like, the Jews have a greater sin. And look, Pilate's probably burning in hell today. Not probably, he is, because there's no indication that he became a Christian. I mean, he was pretty in close proximity to the truth there, and he just didn't get saved, okay? So he's probably in hell. But let me say this, you know, the levels of hell, you know, he's not as low as the other ones are, because the other ones are actually the ones responsible for bringing Jesus to him to be crucified, to be executed. And so, what is this sermon this morning? It's a great, great Sunday morning sermon. You know, just good for visitors and new Christians to hear. But it is good to hear, though, because at least you know you're gonna get the truth here, we're not gonna sugarcoat things, and we're just gonna remind you, hey, the Jews did kill Jesus. And don't be afraid to say that. It's fact, it's true, and that's, and don't be afraid to say that Israel is cursed, because the punishment that they sought to institute upon Jesus, because they lied about it, is being instituted upon them, amen? Let's pray, Father, we thank you so much for your word, and thank you for the truths of the Bible, where we can deconstruct false ideologies out there, Lord, and whether it becomes legal or not to preach the Bible, we're still gonna preach it, Lord, give us boldness to do so. We're still gonna teach it, and shout it from the housetops, Lord, and I pray, God, that you'd continue to open doors for us, that we may do so. And I pray, Father God, that you would continue to help us to bring all these things into remembrance, Lord, and not forsake these biblical truths, not rear back, not be ashamed of you and your words. Bless us as we go on our way, Lord, we love you, and we thank you, pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you. Amen.