What happens to the people who crucified Jesus?

Question: What happens to the people who crucified Jesus?

Answer submitted by Pastor Justin Werber

Over the years, many people have questioned and debated as to whether or not those that crucified Jesus on the cross will be in heaven. I believe this question at its core has two meanings behind it. First, what actually happened to those that crucified Christ, and second what does this mean for me?

We all have tough questions, but who or what do we turn to for answers? I know as a pastor it is easy to say "God’s Word", but do we honestly go there first? Before we talk to our spouses, friends, family, or even Google Answers, maybe we should see what God says in His Word.

To answer the first question, I want to turn to Matthew 27. We see that after Jesus released His spirit and died some interesting things started to happen. The Temple curtain was torn in two, the earth shook, rocks were split apart, and tombs opened. But the part that stands out to me is the Roman officer’s (or Centurion’s) reaction as well as the other soldiers: they were terrified by all that had happened, and they said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Although these men were tough, mighty soldiers, they were also scared. Something changed their hearts. Before Christ died, they were ruthless and eager to kill Jesus, but after, it is almost as if their hearts were torn, they were cut to the heart. They were wrestling with the idea of Christ really being God. These men were mocking Jesus earlier, and then they were honoring Him by calling him the Son of God. But can we call these men Christians? Will we see them in Heaven one day?

I honestly cannot say either way as of now, because we don’t know the rest of the story. What we do know is that only a few books later in the book of Acts, we see Peter preaching to a crowd of people. In Acts 2 he calls people out saying “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” After hearing this, the crowd was pierced to the heart. They asked Peter what they could do. Peter simply says, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Based on that, I believe that if the Centurion, the soldiers, and those that wanted Christ to die on that cross believed that Jesus was Lord, and that He died for them, if they repented of their sins and were baptized that we will one day see them in heaven.

What does this mean for us though? If you are worrying that your sins are too great for Christ to forgive you, remember Christ asked for those crucifying Him to be forgiven. The questions you might want to ask yourself are, “Have I accepted Jesus as Lord, have I repented of my sins, have I been baptized to walk a new life, and am I following Christ today?”