For Our Sake He Was Crucified Under Pontius Pilate

May 01, 2013 by Tim Muldoon

Continued from Page 1

Christ's death saves us from the fruits of this dangerous story because it unmasks its deceptions. It is interesting to note that the oldest version of the oldest gospel, Mark's, ends with Jesus' death and a mysterious empty tomb. There is no resurrection narrative. (See footnotes at Mark 16.) This otherwise sparse gospel dedicates a large amount of space to telling the story of Jesus' suffering and death. Mark's Jesus is the innocent victim who reveals God to people, and who becomes a scapegoat whose innocent death makes clear the idiocy of the whole scapegoating phenomenon. His death lays bare the bald hypocrisy of mimetic desire itself. You are guilty of it, and so am I.

Only God can overcome the cycle of violence that engulfs humanity. Christ the God-become-man shows his willingness to embrace the implications of fallen humanity, accepting suffering and death, in order that we might be freed from false desire and the violence that grows from it.

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About Tim Muldoon

Tim Muldoon holds a Ph.D. in Catholic systematic theology and is an award-winning author and Catholic theologian of the new evangelization.

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