• Cruz stated on his podcast that Jews did not kill Jesus, asserting that all people share responsibility through sin
• The senator called the deicide accusation against Jewish people bad theology and bigotry that drives antisemitism
• Religious scholars note the charge has fueled persecution of Jews for centuries despite being rejected by major Christian denominations

WASHINGTON (TDR) — Senator Ted Cruz made headlines this week by addressing one of Christianity’s most contentious theological debates, declaring that Jewish people did not kill Jesus Christ and that all humanity shares collective responsibility for his death.

Speaking on his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” on Wednesday, the Texas Republican recalled a pre-Christmas social media post designed to counter antisemitic narratives. The statement reflects broader theological shifts within Christianity regarding Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion, a charge historians say has justified violence against Jews for nearly two millennia.

Cruz’s Statement and Intent

Cruz told conservative commentator Ben Ferguson and former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl about his controversial tweet during the podcast interview.

“The week before Christmas, and Ben will remember this, I sent out a tweet and I said, ‘Two thoughts that drive the anti-Semites crazy in this Christmas season. Number one, our savior Jesus was Jewish in the line of David, and number two, Jews didn’t kill Jesus – I did. You did. He died for our sins.'”

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The senator expanded on his theological reasoning, citing Christian scripture about Jesus’s willing sacrifice.

“That’s what the New Testament says, is that he willingly took the cross to die for our sins, and so the sort of anti-Semites who says Jews killed Jesus, well actually, it was Romans who drove the nails in. Is anyone mad at the Italians? Like that’s just stupid.”

Cruz characterized the deicide accusation bluntly.

“It’s bad theology, it’s bigotry, and I will admit I was kind of happy with that tweet because it really did drive the anti-Semites crazy.”

Historical Context of the Deicide Charge

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The accusation that Jewish people collectively killed Jesus, known as the deicide myth, has roots in early Christianity and appears in second-century writings. The Anti-Defamation League describes it as “the original and most damning false accusation” in Jewish scapegoating.

According to Bible Odyssey, a scholarly resource, early Christian tradition increasingly blamed Jews while decreasing Roman culpability.

“In Matthew, the Roman governor washes his hands of Jesus’ blood while the Jews proclaim, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ (Matt 27:25).”

The platform notes this shift may have been politically motivated as Christianity spread into the Roman world.

“As the church spread out into the world, Romans rather than Jews became the primary targets of evangelism; thus there could have been some motivation to let Romans ‘off the hook’ and blame the Jews for Jesus’ death.”

Historian Mark Allan Powell writes that by the second century, portrayals had fundamentally changed.

“By the middle of the second century, the apocryphal Gospel of Peter portrays the Romans as friends of Jesus, and the Jews as the ones who crucify him. Thus, a Jewish victim of Roman violence was transformed into a Christian victim of Jewish violence.”

Scholarly Consensus on Historical Responsibility

Modern Christian and Jewish scholars largely agree on limited responsibility. Jesuit scholar Daniel Harrington states the consensus involves “not the Jewish people, but regarding only the probable involvement of the high priests in Jerusalem at the time and their allies.”

Reformed theologian Kevin DeYoung emphasizes that biblical texts don’t support collective Jewish guilt.

“While the Apostles considered the Jews in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion uniquely responsible for Jesus’s death, this culpability did not extend to every Jew alive at that time or to every Jew who would live in Jerusalem thereafter.”

DeYoung adds a crucial theological point.

“The Jews as a people group are not responsible for the specific sins committed by specific Jews at a specific time and place in history.”

Bible Odyssey notes that Christian theology has always maintained a different focus.

“Contrary to such projections, Christian theology has always maintained that the human agents responsible for Jesus’ death are irrelevant: he gave his life willingly as a sacrifice for sin.”

Church Positions on Deicide

The Catholic Church officially rejected the deicide charge in 1965 with the document Nostra Aetate, stating “the crucifixion of Jesus cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”

In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI reinforced this position in his book “Jesus of Nazareth, Part II.” National Catholic Reporter’s Michael Sean Winters explained the pope’s motivation.

“The first volume of this book by Pope Benedict sold over two million copies. So this is really an effort to get the teaching out to more people.”

Winters added that the declaration served multiple purposes.

“Pope Benedict, one of his themes of his pontificate is that Europe cannot forget its Christian roots. But all religious traditions teach that you have to purify, you know, and take responsibility and apologize for the criminal and sinful behavior in your past.”

The World Jewish Congress notes that despite official repudiations, the myth persists.

“While most churches have repudiated the deicide charge, antisemites continue to use it to justify their hatred of the Jewish people.”

Cruz’s Ongoing Fight Against Antisemitism

Cruz has increasingly spoken about rising antisemitism on the political right. In October at a Christians United for Israel event, he warned church leaders.

“I’m here to tell you, in the last six months, I have seen antisemitism rising on the right in a way I have never seen in my entire life. The work that CUFI does is desperately, desperately needed, but I’m here to tell you, the church is asleep right now.”

At an October event hosted by Hagee Ministries, Cruz described his daily experience on social media.

“If I pick up my phone and send out a tweet, if I say ‘good morning,’ within minutes I will have hundreds of blatantly antisemitic responses.”

In November, speaking to the Jewish Federations of North America, Cruz framed combating antisemitism as essential to American values.

“I do not want to wake up in five years and find that the Republican Party has become like the Democrat Party. I do not want to wake up in five years and find that both major parties in America have embraced hatred of Israel and have tolerated, if not embraced, antisemitism.”

He told the gathering that confronting antisemitic voices requires public officials to speak out.

“My hope is that we see other Republicans willing to stand up, willing to stand up and to be clear, willing to draw a line. This is a fight worth fighting. Saving America is worth fighting. Bringing us back to our founding principles — that is worth fighting.”

Theological Debates Continue

Different Christian denominations interpret biblical passages about Israel and Jewish people in varying ways. Cruz’s evangelical Protestant background informs his theological views, which some Christian scholars dispute.

Catholic Answers Magazine notes that Cruz’s interpretation represents one theological stream but not universal Christian teaching.

“Senator Cruz offered controversial answers to both of those questions when he was interviewed by Tucker Carlson. Declaring himself ‘the leading defender of Israel’ in the U.S. Senate, Cruz explained that the ‘number one’ reason for this is that ‘as a Christian growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible, those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will—will be cursed.'”

The publication challenges this interpretation’s theological foundations.

“This is why John the Baptist warns his fellow Jews not to ‘presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. So Abraham’s sons are the ones who keep the faith of Abraham, and it’s to us that the promises of Genesis 12 apply, not to whoever happens to be related to Abraham by flesh.”

Vanderbilt University Divinity School scholar Amy-Jill Levine has noted that Matthew 27:24-25 “has caused more Jewish suffering throughout history than any other in the New Testament.”

How should modern Christians address historical theological interpretations that fueled persecution while maintaining their faith traditions?

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