You

Peter said to the multitude, "Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."

 - From the Second Chapter of Acts

I heard a curious thing once, coming from a pulpit on Easter Sunday.

A pastor that fancies himself "accessible" to seekers, and is always altering Scripture so that it is not uncomfortable to the average church visitor, was talking about Christ's crucifixion.

He obviously was wanting to affect humility and not be a "finger pointer." Nobody wants to be judgmental these days. He was referring to this statement by Peter, and others, in which they said something like "this Jesus whom you crucified."

Except, he put it this way: "We killed Jesus."

Because, you know, if you say "you," you're being judgmental. 

But the problem is, that's not what Scripture says. There is a big difference between "you" and "we." The word "You" has a way more convicting effect than "we." "You" means "You did this. You are a sinner. You need to think about this."

But "We" means "Hey it's okay. We all mess up. Let's just tag along together."

Look who pointed the finger at the masses: Peter. Yes, Peter. Simon Peter. The one that denied that He even knew Who Christ was. The chief offender at being offended at the name of Christ. The cowardly one. 

Peter became bold and said "You killed him!!" Kris Kristofferson even referred to it in a song about Christ: "My God they killed Him." Here, it's not 'You," but "they," because the point is more piercingly made when the speaker takes himself out of the act of villainy. 

People shudder when they hear "They killed Him!" Or better: "YOU killed Him!"

There is a time and place for humility. Yes, we all put Christ on the cross. We all pierced Him. We all nailed His hands and feet down into the wood. We hollered "Crucify Him!!"

But there also is a time for the speaker to point the finger, accusingly, and make the point loud and clear: "You did this!"

Now . . . what are you going to do about it?