Former NRL player Jarryd Hayne has stirred up a 2000-year-old controversy and angered Jewish groups by arguing that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.

The 27-year-old - who is trying out in the US National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers - tweeted: "Jesus wanted to help people but was killed by his own people."

Jarryd Hayne has apologised for tweets suggesting the Jews killed Jesus. Credit:Getty Images

Challenged on this by one of his followers, Hayne doubled-down the next day, tweeting: "The Jews were the people who took him to the Romans n forced them to give the order because they couldn't."

Argument over who was responsible for Jesus' death has spurred fighting and persecution for centuries.