I Jn. 2:1+2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

We are seeing an alarming rise in finger pointing worldwide. One group points the finger at another, blaming the entire group for ruining the world. White people blame blacks and vice-versa. Gentiles blame Jews; Europeans blame Russians; Asians blame Americans, and so on.

The laying of such blame is not only wrong, it is simple-minded. Blaming the entire group for the actions of a few only reveals one’s inability to think critically. But it’s even more disturbing than the current cultural finger pointing.

In the church, we’re also seeing a growing tide of antisemitism. I was reminded of that in recent days by so many social media posts condemning the Jews for killing Jesus. Any Christians making such assumptions either don’t know the Bible or are not genuine Christians after all.

Jesus Died for the Whole World

I John 2 makes very clear that Jesus is and was the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. The word ‘propitiation’ is a very curious word. It has three different meanings in the original Greek:

1. (Literally) favorable forgiveness (the act and its result).
2. (Properly) atonement (to obtain favorable forgiveness).
3. (Concretely) one who makes atonement (for another).

In other words, Jesus shed his own blood to make atonement (pay) for the world’s sins. Not just the sins of Gentiles or Jews. Not just the sins of European whites, black Africans, brown Asians, etc. Now stop and think about that for just one minute. There is something very profound here.

Our Sins Put Him There

If there were no sin in the world, Jesus would not have gone to the cross. There would have been no death or resurrection because it would have been completely unnecessary. But we know he did what he did because of sin. Not only that, every human being that has ever lived was born a sinner. (Psalm 51:5)

That means we all have a part in the crucifixion. Because he took all of our sins on himself, it’s fair to say that all of our sins put him on that cross. Blaming the Jews for killing Jesus is preposterous. But interestingly, it was a Gentile who gave the execution order. Gentile soldiers nailed to Jesus to that cross, then stood by and mocked him and took his close. But blaming them for the crucifixion is equally preposterous.

We are all guilty. We all played a role in the crucifixion. The good news is that we can all find forgiveness in Jesus as the Savior. So perhaps it’s time to stop pointing fingers and, instead, start pointing people to the redemptive nature of the cross. It’s not about who killed Jesus – we all did. It’s about why he died, why he rose from the grave, and how both provide eternal life to those who believe.

Posted on: April 21, 2025