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Podcast: The Bible as Literature
Episode: The Rejection of Yahweh
Description: “A mob,” James Baldwin wrote, “is not autonomous: it executes the real will of the people who rule the state. The slaughter in Birmingham, Alabama, for example, was not merely the action of a mob.” (Baldwin, Dark Days)The crowds in Matthew choose their champion because Pilate demands victory. Pilate, in turn, wants what the people want because, like his wife, he grasps desperately for what Caesar has to offer. In the end, everyone wants what Caesar wants: the Lord’s execution. So Baldwin was right: the mob carries out the will of the state. In...