Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 158
? 151 the person offering it does so of his own volition. The Messiah very clearly asserts that it is not his desire to offer atonement. It is quite another thing that he agreed under pressure. It sounds exactly like a man handing out his cash with a smiling countenance to burglars holding him up in a forest; he knows that one word of protest from him, and they would kill him then and there. It does not at all mean that he is giving them his money with a willing heart. The question, therefore, is not that God made him agreeable to it by force. The question is whether Jesus was agreeable to it of his own volition and free will. If Jesus had offered it of his own free choice, he will be deemed to have made the redemption and not otherwise. The above-quoted references make it evident that the Messiah (peace be on him) made it clear that he was not willing, to be crucified. Whatever, therefore, took place was due to a compelling factor and this totally nullifies the theory of redemption. Some Christians are wont to characterize the Messiah's unwillingness as a temporary state of his mind which, they said, later underwent a change. In order to determine this point, we now turn to the mental attitude of Jesus at the time of crucifixion. There is only one Hebrew sentence preserved intact in the entire text of the New Testament, which the Messiah uttered on the occasion. It is "Eli Eli lama sabachthani" (St. Matthew 27:46). When the Messiah (peace be on him) was put on the Cross and his hands