No, perhaps you and I didn’t stand with the crowd outside the Roman governor’s palace on that fateful day and demand that Pilate execute Him. But in a far deeper way you and I were just as responsible for His death as they were. Let me explain.

The key is to understand why Jesus died on the cross. Jesus didn’t die because He was weak and powerless or because He had no choice. Remember: He was the Son of God, and as He told Pilate, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). Instead, He submitted to His death willingly and voluntarily.

Why did He do this? He did it for one reason: to become the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. You see, by nature you and I are separated from God because of our sins, and our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven. As the Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

But we can’t take away our own sins; only God can do that. And that is what Jesus did for us on the cross. He was without sin, but all our sins were placed on Him and He died in our place. That is why we are all responsible for His death, for we are all sinners. Don’t let pride or anything else keep you from Christ, but by faith open your heart to Him today.