When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Matthew 27:1-2. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Matthew 27:11-14.
We see from these scriptures that Pontius Pilate knew Jesus was innocent of all the charges brought against Him by that wicked generation of Jews. He knew they were jealous of Him, because Jesus was a man of authenticity; He loved people and went about doing good everywhere He went. He wasn't caught up in religion or pretense, and yet He was able to amass a large following who hailed Him as a king. Pilate did not view Jesus as an insurrectionist who could be a danger to Rome--on the contrary, I feel certain that Jesus impressed a man like Pilate.
Pilate tried fairly hard to free himself from the tough decision of condemning Jesus. We know from history that Pilate was a ruthless man who had probably condemned many innocent men to death, but this Jesus of Nazareth was different. Perhaps Pilate's soul sensed the spirit of God that was in and on Jesus. Ancient Rome was a culture that revered the supernatural and the world of gods and goddess, unlike today's culture that mocks it. If it turned out that Jesus was a son of the gods, then Pilate did not want His blood on his hands. That is why he figuratively washed his hands of Jesus' death.
Before that, Pilate attempted to release Jesus for the Passover week, which was the custom of that day--one prisoner would be set free to appease the Jews. He offered a choice between Barabbas, a known insurrectionist and bad dude, or Jesus, an innocent man. I'm sure Pilate viewed this as an easy decision, but the crowd thought otherwise; they cried out for Jesus' crucifixion like ravenous dogs. Pilate's wife had a dream, warning him that Jesus was a holy man, but the threats from that murderous generation won over. Pilate caved under pressure and went against his better judgment.
The bottom line is this: regardless of the decisions made by Pilate or the Jewish leaders, Jesus was going to the cross. One way or another, He would be beaten, mocked, spit upon, nailed to a tree, and left there to die; it was His destiny and He was going to be obedient to that plan. He was and is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world! Praise God for all He did for us!
Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/
http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml
http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html
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