His Blood Be Upon Us
By L. R. Ooton
For Jews today, if any, will own that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was put to death at their own instigation. It is no longer an honor to them, but rather a reproach to say that they were the cause of the fate that befell the Master. They have reasons for denying that they were responsible for the death of the Lord, for centuries of the severest of persecution at the hands of so-called Christians have taught them to believe that it had been best for them had the crime never been committed. Sometime in the near future, the Jews will praise Jehovah for the prayer that Jesus prayed on Calvary. Although the crime was committed centuries ago in a little country that borders the land of Egypt and Arabia to the south, the crime is still as fresh in the minds of the populace of the world as though it happened but yesterday.
The Jews had gathered from every nation under the sun, and the streets of Jerusalem, Palestine, were milling underneath the feet of the maddening throngs. The voices of the people sounded more like thunder at a distance, than it did the conversations of a civilized people. Humanity literally covered the hillsides of Judea, while Mount Calvary bore witness to the most gruesome crime of the ages. People had turned to mad men, and were crying, “Crucify Him!” “Crucify Him!”
Pilate had at the request of the people, examined the man in question, and reported that he had found no fault in him. The Jews persistently clamored for His life, and demanded of God and man, “His blood be upon us, and our children.” St. Matthew 27:25. At this instance, Pilate washed his hands with water, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” St. Matt. 27:24. The Jews were demanding His life, and were determined not to take no for an answer. Therefore, Pilate loosed Barabbas unto them, scourged Jesus, and then delivered Him to them to be crucified. Hence, they stripped him of His apparel, mocked him, reviled Him, platted a crown of thorns and placed it upon His innocent brow, smote Him in the face with rude hands, spat in His face, laid a cross upon His shoulders and carried Him away to the place of a skull, and crucified the Lord by nailing Him to a cross of wood. At this instance Jesus prayed the greatest prayer for Israel that had ever gone up from the heart and lips of a mortal.
So innocent was the Son of God that in order to condemn Him to death on the cross, the Jews broke their own law in twenty-seven different points. The Master loved His own however though they received Him not. There, suspended between the heavens and earth, Jesus prayed thus: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” St. Luke 23:34. Thus we have at this point, the Jews praying for His blood to be upon them, and their children, and Christ Jesus asking the heavenly Father for their forgiveness before Him. God has both granted the desire of the Jews, and answered the prayer of Jesus as we will show.
No nation has ever suffered so much at the hands of other nations, as have the Jews. Yet, we find them preserved among the nations of the earth to this day, evidences to the fact that regardless of the bitterness found in the hearts of so-called Christian nations, God has forgiven the Jew of this atrocious crime which they committed against the Lord, and has provided a way for their salvation. Some day the Jews will be thankful for the prayer that Jesus prayed in their behalf.
For his elect sake the days of persecution have been shortened, although I wish to take you at this point into detailed information concerning the things that have befalleth the Jews throughout the centuries. Has their request of “His blood be upon us and our children” been granted? It is my opinion that it has. Judas for instance went and hanged himself, the first of a series of gruesome crimes committed thus against the Jews. Caiphas the high priest, was deposed the following year from his exalted office. Herod, was dethroned by Caesar, and died in exile and infamy. Pilate, soon after the crucifixion, was stripped of his procuratorship and banished from his native land. In misery and gloom he lingered a short time and then put an end to his own life. The house of Annas was destroyed by a mob of Jews, and his son dragged through the streets, scourged and murdered.
Jerusalem was soon besieged by the Romans, the Temple burned with fire and the entire city devastated. Tens of thousands of the city’s inhabitants were crucified, so many in fact that Josephus tells us the ground was so thickly studded with crosses about Jerusalem, that there was no available space in which to erect more. So diabolical was the persecution that befell the Jews, the mothers ate their own children to stave off starvation. Many thousands of Jews were sold into slavery after the siege, for a price far lower than the miserable pittance that Judas received for betraying Jesus. From those days until recent years, the land of Palestine has been the scene of oppression, famine, war, and rapine. The Jews scattered throughout every land, have been a nation of outcast, persecuted, ostracized and hated people. Truly they have reaped what they have sown, and their request for “His blood to be upon them” has been granted.
To this day however, the prayer of the Son of God prevails in behalf of Israel, and for the first time in centuries there appears a huge rift in the cloud that has overshadowed the Jews since the first century. In the heart of the Christian is found a burning love for the Jews, and the Jew for the first time in history has begun to respect and to love the Christian. A new era in the making, for the Christians Gentile nations have taken the land of Palestine from the heathen, and are giving it back to the rightful owner, the Jew. Joseph is about to come and save his people, for the name of Jesus shall prevail.
The so-called Christian has given the Jew the wrong impression of the Christian alas the time has come for the true Christian to show Israel the fellowship of the mystery of the Son of God. Truly, Jesus is the Jehovah of the Jews. It is just about time for the King of glory to appear, and save his people from their sins. The daily press informs us that the latter rains are returning to Palestine, at times in the form of a deluge. There are now two thousand two hundred known species of flowers blooming in the Promised Land. Jaffa oranges of ancient note, are again the finest in the world. In 1926 more than two million cases of thee oranges were sold abroad. They report from Palestine, that all wild animals are gone, and that grass is springing up everywhere. New coins and postage stamps now have the Hebrew inscription on the i. e. Palestine A. I. “The Land of Israel. Millions of vines and trees have been planted in the last few years and are growing. The land of the desert is once more blossoming like the rose. The bulk surplus of riches being taken from the Dead Sea, is being given to the government of Palestine.
A certain Rabbi making a prophecy seven hundred years ago, foretold that the English would come into Palestine in 1916, but he also stated that they would leave Palestine before the expiration of a quarter of a century. This is yet to be fulfilled. Then, they say there will be a great war in Palestine. The last world war will focus itself in the land of Palestine, and the kings of the earth shall fight against them. The Messiah will come however, and cause the enemy to be utterly defeated. The Messiah will be recognized as the great world leader, and the law of the Lord will flow out of Zion, and the nations will learn war no more, the Rabbis firmly maintain.
Note, for instance the following quotations from the writings of some of their outstanding leaders of the Jews today. Their trend of thought indicates a turning toward Jesus Christ, as their Messiah. Truly, they shall not see Christ henceforth, until they shall say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” St. Matt. 23:39.
Rabbi Salee, says: “We do not mourn, but we rejoice that Jesus was born, and that through Him, despite the shortcomings, despite the manifold prejudices that still darken human hearts, this world at large is infinitely better and brighter than it would have been without Him. We would not conjure the dread spector of the past; we thank God that we live in the present, with its wider liberty, its nobler humanity.” Such words have a world of meaning to them and truly indicate a change in the Jewish trend of thought. Rabbi Rudolph Grossman, D. D., says concerning Christ: “We Jews honor the Nazarene as our brother in faith, sprung from our loins, nurtured at Israel’s knee, a teacher of sweet and beautiful ideals, a preacher whose influence has been and still is among the mightiest spiritualizing factors in the world.
Rabbi Prof. David Philipson, Ph. D., says: “I will yield to none in recognizing the civilizing influence of the man of Nazareth. I am ready to bestow upon Him as high a tribute as anyone has yet bestowed. If I cannot say that it was He who mad divinity humane, I am ready to rank Him among the foremost of those who have made humanity divine.” Thus, we discern that the Jews are on the very threshold of declaring Christ as God. Centuries ago they accused Him of being a man that made Himself God, but today in the end time, they are inclined to see that He was God who made Himself man. St. John 10:33.
Soon the Jews are to regard Jesus Christ in the light of John’s theology, and acknowledge with him, that “We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” I John 5:20.
Hence, let us as ministers of the word of God, require as did John of the Christians of every land and country and of every shad of Christian belief, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” A new era is dawning, and a glorious day now illuminates the spiritual horizon. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
This article “His Blood Be Upon Us” by L.R. Ooton is excerpted from The Pentecostal Outlook, Volume 4 – Number 4.
