JESUS ON TRIAL

In a culture hooked on John Grisham novels and Court TV, it's only natural that American readers would want to know more about one of the most obscure trials in human history—that of Jesus of Nazareth. Ryken and Boice indulge in some hyperbole concerning the trial's importance in its own day, but they offer important clarifications and interpretive suggestions for understanding how it played out. It was not, they say, simply a kangaroo court, though there was a conspiracy to arrest and execute Jesus. The authors' theological messages can sometimes be overbearing; for example, they repeatedly hammer home the idea that Jesus' trial demonstrates how all human beings are both judges and defendants. (Mar.)