Long were the hours of torture, and many of the multitude descended on the governor’s gate. The Jewish leadership were unwilling to soften their attitude or relent, but had agreed to demand Jesus’ death at once, with shouts and mighty tumult. Those who inclined to be lenient were cowed into despondency and assumed that God had forsaken Jesus. He did not provide them with a miracle of rescue, so the demands for execution grew louder, and Pilate was expected to pass the harshest sentence of all. Thus, they excommunicated him and delivered him to the depths of shame.
At the time, Pilate was specially wary of any signs of unrest, yet unwilling to kill someone illegally. So he said to the Jews, "Take and crucify him, even though I am convinced of his innocence" – a third occasion of his admission that Jesus was guiltless. With this, Pilate judged his own self to be guilty, not having the right to flog an innocent capture.
The Jews were aware that Roman Law forbade their killing anyone, and Pilate might turn on them if they did so, despite his reassuring words. Jewish law had no provision for crucifixion, but only for stoning. Jesus had "blasphemed" and so deserved to be stoned.
The Jewish elders knew, that if claims to Christ’s divine Sonship were right, they should have bowed down to him. The crucifixion would "prove" that he was not divine with all the torture that he had suffered. They would thus be justified by his dying, not by atoning blood, but by mere crucifixion that met with God’s approval.