reasons. From the leaders’ standpoint, they believe that by bringing Jesus to the cross, they are doing the will of God and purging Israel of a false messiah, or “deceiver” (26:65–66; 27:63). From his own standpoint, Jesus also embraces the cross, but he does so because he understands himself to be God’s royal Son sent to shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins (21:37–38; 26:28). Since both Jesus and the leaders act to achieve the same goal but with contradictory motivations, God is the one who