The mob attempted to make Jesus their scapegoat. But the mechanism was subverted in a radical way—which is one of the reasons it has had such enduring cultural significance, even from a historical point of view alone. The crucifixion of Jesus failed to unite a community unanimously against a scapegoat. It did the opposite—it caused enormous division. For a short period of time, the crucifixion seemed to have the desired effect. The mob was quelled, and order was temporarily restored. But very shortly after Jesus’s death, a small number of people—those who knew Jesus intimately—came forward to
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