Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 174
? 167 down by us, our stand being that it does not make the Messiah sinless and that, on the contrary, it shows him to be a greater sinner than others and nullifies vicarious atonement. INADEQUACY OF MESSIAH'S SACRIFICE Another point which deserves consideration in respect of the theory of vicarious atonement is whether the death of Jesus on the Cross could redeem the world. The answer is that even if we accept the New Testament version of the incident of crucifixion of Jesus, it is an event a study of which does not convince us that the Messiah made any sacrifice at all. For, according to the New Testament, the Messiah remained in the tomb for a day and a half; his crucifixion happened on Friday in the afternoon and on Sunday morning he was up and about. (St. Mark, Ch. 16) From Friday night to Saturday evening, it would be a period of 24 hours and from Saturday evening to Sunday morning another 12 hours. It would thus mean that, in the light of the New Testament account, the Messiah stayed in the tomb for a total period of 36 hours. Suppose, the Christian belief that Jesus stayed in hell for a day and a half was correct, the question that still remains is how the Messiah's one-and-a-half day long stay in the tomb could atone for the sins of the world. According