The Saint 93
But what are we to make of the close of Jesus life? What are we
to make of the crucifi xion? “This was a great Defeat,” says Emerson
of the horrible event. “We demand Victory.” The remark is enig-
matic. What precisely would have qualifi ed as victory for Emerson?
What ought Jesus to have done at the point when he stood before
Pilate and refused to defend himself?
What ever the answer, the crucifi xion— the willing self- sacrifi ce
of Jesus— can look like a concession to Yahweh at his most brutal.
God demanded blood recompense for the crime of Adam, and Jesus
off ered himself up. This is surely nothing less than a case of human
sacrifi ce. The desert gods with whom Yahweh competed for pre-
eminence early in time were, we believe, inclined to human sacri-
fi ce. They were placated by the slaughter of innocents. Perhaps
Yahweh is tempted; the supreme tribute that humanity can pay to a
god is surely the off ering up of the lives of sons and daughters to
earn his favor. It seems that Yahweh comes close to demanding the
sacrifi ce of an innocent when he commands Abraham to do away
with Isaac, only at the last moment staying his hand.
What if Jesus had refused to become a human sacrifi ce? What
if he told his Father, or the patriarchal spirit, that the murder of
innocence has no part in the new dispensation? In the garden of
Gethsemane Jesus prays to the Father to spare him. Let this cup pass
over me, Jesus says. Do not force me to become a bleeding victim.
Yahweh, as Jesus construes him, declines to show mercy, and the
crucifi xion proceeds on its horrifying course. But what if Jesus
had taken it upon himself to escape? Suppose he had simply left
the premises and let matters go on without him? Then Jesus would
have fully repudiated the faith in guilt, sacrifice, and retribu-
tion. He would have fully disowned vio lence.
But theologically, Jesus is a revisionist, not ultimately a rebel. He
does not want to dissociate himself from God out and out. His values