You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life... –Acts 3: 13b-15, NIV
At the first thought, the people were incredulous. They had no guilt. They prayed and fasted three times of day. They kept the Sabbath comfortably. They kept all six hundred commandments and three thousand rules the city, the Jews, and the Romans kept for their purported advantage (and their long-term detriment) only because they simply wanted to be different. They were, yes, but that did not matter––they were still regicides and deicides, and nothing could ever change that.
They killed their king. He was a king that walked on water and did not have to freeze it. His royal authority could cast away demons from his kingdom while giving beggars shelter and comfort. He worked incessantly for the benefit of his servants and entourage. Nobody could talk him out of giving his life for people he never knew, or hearts he never met.
They killed their God. He was the God that walked on water because He made the water, the sun, the moon, the stars. His divine authority could cast away demons from His world and His kingdom while giving beggars the shelter they needed and the comfort they deserved. He worked incessantly so everybody would know about His kingdom for the benefit of his servants and entourage. Nobody would take away His plans for the world, for people He always knew, for hearts He always met.
And now, they killed Him. The weight of their sin pierced through their hearts. There was a cross, and they tasted His blood, laughed at His pain, lied through His fear. They cursed at His feet and gave Him every reason to suffer atop of His suffering.
What would they do in order to relieve their guilt?