For centuries much of "Christianity" has taught that the Jews were alone guilty of deicide... "Christ killers". The fruit produced by this perverted teaching has been bitter fruit indeed; for Jew, hate monger and society as well.
Actually Jesus said,
"Father forgive them they know not what they do". He also taught, "No man takes my life; I lay it down and I take it up again" .The Bible teaches that Jesus died for our sins "according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God".
He was, from the human point of view, killed by wicked men ... Jews and Gentiles. It was necessary for the Romans to give express permission for the crucifixion.
Judaism and Christianity quickly became competing religions and, by the time the last apostle died, to be an adherent of one was to be excluded by definition from the other.
Because God expected more of the Jews than of the ungodly Gentiles, the Jewish leaders, people and nation bore greater responsibility.. .and greater chastisement. That chastisement had actually begun with the Babylonian captivity, but was greatly accelerated with the rejection of the Messiah of Israel and culminated in 70 A.D. with the final destruction of the entire Levitical system of worship and sacrifice, including the Holy Place. The chosen people were driven to the four corners of the earth as predicted by Moses.
There was no hope, humanly speaking. But God had made an unconditional covenant with Abraham and the Almighty would keep that covenant in spite of the unfaithfulness of man.
It is said that "Israel is God's timepiece", meaning that the condition of Israel as a nation will tell us approximately what time it is in God's plan of redemption.
In Psalm 102 verses 13 to 16 the Spirit says,
''Thou shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, For the time to favour her, yes the set time, is come.. so the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord. When the Lord shall build up Zion He shall appear in His glory... This shall be written for the generation to come..."
There is reason to believe that "the set time has come". Jesus also spoke of such a time. He told his followers to "watch the fig tree and all the other trees", Israel and the nations, respectively.
He said to watch Jerusalem, and that "when Jerusalem is no longer trodden down by the Gentiles the end of the age of the Gentiles was at hand" (Luke 21:24). Jerusalem was in fact trodden down by the Gentiles from 586 B.C. to 1967 when Israel again took sovereign control of the city.
Christians from around the world, irrespective of denominational labels and earlier teachings, are coming alive to the significance of these events. They are also coming into an understanding of the great debt we as Christians owe to our Jewish roots.
At the same time, modern Hamans are pouring out their poisonous anti-Semitism. Here in Canada we have seen two unprecedented trials against hate mongers. Ernst Zundel is a bad enough example, but James Keegstra is even more detrimental because he proclaims himself to be a Christian who is defending Christianity from a "Jewish conspiracy".
Contrary to this, I suggest that the proper attitude of a Christian towards the Jewish people should be:
Leo Baeck went away, and sat out the war with Christians and others until rescued. He had time to think. He lived to speak and write about a new age, when Jews and Christians would work together for the redemption of mankind . .. because we share "a Book and an Expectation".
The bottom line difference is that we Christians say that the Messiah is coming AGAIN.
In the meantime let's help, not hinder, God's first chosen people in finding their way.
"Not by might,
Nor by power,
but by My Spirit sayeth the Lord of Hosts" Zechariah 4:6