In the first chapter of Jesus on Trial, James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken ask, “Who is to blame for the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus?” They suggest seven different categories of people involved in “The Conspiracy” (the name of the chapter), elaborating on each throughout the chapter:

• The Jewish religious leaders
• Judas
• The Roman rulers
• The crowd
• Us
• God, the Father
• Jesus himself

While Boice and Ryken do not use the following words, I would summarize their conclusion like this:

The multiplicity of conspiracies leading to the death of Jesus was precisely what God had planned for accomplishing our redemption and glorifying the Son. However wicked and unjust each part of The Conspiracy was, they fit together like a jig-saw to bring about the greatest event in redemptive history. What appears to be “the perfect storm” is, in fact, a Divine orchestration or a perfectly executed battle plan. Or, in the words of the early disciples, these seemingly horrible events are simply “whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur” (Acts 5:28).

Then the chapter ends with this smile-worthy analysis:

Jesus is just full of surprises. Put him to death, and he comes back to life. Conspire against him, seeking his death, and he will conspire against you, dying for your sins and then rising again to give you eternal life. Put Jesus on trial‚ if you dare! Try to decide if he measures up to your standards and you will discover that all the while he has been investigating you. Perhaps even now Jesus is plotting to bring you into a whole new relationship with him.