The crowd hails the loser, the hero, Jesus. Detailed Summary Parallels Odysseus and Irus Jesus and Barabbas Readers know that the hero is empowered by a god, while crowd is unaware of this. Crowd believes hero is something he's not. Crowd believes Odysseus is a common beggar. Crowd believes Jesus is a fraud, a common criminal.
Author sets up a contest between two scoundrels, one real, the other apparent.
The apparent beggar fights the real beggar. The apparent criminal competes with the real criminal for the crowd's approval. Crowd underestimates the power of the hero. Crowd underestimates the power of Odysseus. Crowd underestimates the power of Jesus.