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crucify him was absolutely baseless. But it seems Jesus wanted it to happen, because before the crucifixion he was aware that he was going to be caught if he went to the festival; if he went into Jerusalem he was going to be caught and crucified. He was fully aware, it was known to everybody. There was no need to go there, but he was pulled towards Jerusalem as if pulled by a magnet, irresistibly. He was filled with this idea that "crucifixion will prove my messiahhood."
You have to understand the background. Jews have certain things that a messiah has to fulfill; one of them is crucifixion and resurrection. But resurrection is possible only if crucifixion happens. And Jesus was declaring himself to be the messiah, the awaited one, for whom the Jews have been waiting for centuries, who will redeem them from their suffering, their misery, and who will open the doors of heaven for them. They could not believe that this poor carpenter's son, utterly uneducated, is the messiah -- that "he is going to redeem us, he is going to redeem the whole of humanity from suffering."
And that's why they were insisting that the only test will be the cross. Jews were insisting for the cross, because that would prove whether he is a messiah or not. And Jesus was hankering for the cross and crucifixion, because unless crucifixion happens, resurrection is impossible. It may happen, it may not happen after crucifixion, but it cannot happen without crucifixion -- that much is certain. So when he heard the news that he is going to be crucified at this year's festival he started moving towards Jerusalem.
He was a fanatic. In fact, all old so-called religions are fanatic because their faith is not based in reason, in science. Their faith is based in absolutely unprovable beliefs. Faith requires that you should not ask why. But the question why is absolutely natural. So to force the 'why' into your unconscious, to destroy your reason completely, you have to be a fanatic -- utterly stubborn; otherwise those questions will arise. If you are flexible, those whys will come up, and they will destroy your faith.
What grounds has Jesus got to prove that he is the messiah?
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