NOTES for Joh 19:1-16
The mood of a crowd is changeable: from 'Hosanna!' to 'Crucify!' only a few days pass. But a crowd is a crowd precisely so that the person disappears in it, dissolving into a large and irresponsible collective 'we,' which under certain circumstances can be physically destroyed, but with which it is completely useless to try to enter into communion. Simply because there is no one there to commune with: in a crowd there is not a single person.
But a crowd can be manipulated. Sometimes. With certain precautions and usually only up to a certain limit. And the high priest, like the entire temple leadership, had mastered this art perfectly. His power rested on it in many ways. And, of course, on the political games that he, as head of Judea, played with Roman authority.
He played them by frightening Rome with religious extremist Zealots, with whom he also had his own secret game, one Rome did not know about. Or knew about, but closed its eyes, trusting the high priest and his circle as the lesser evil. He played by hinting at the possibility of a great religious war, toward which he himself was silently pushing those ready to unleash it. And so, on fear partly real and partly phantom, he built his policy. And in his eyes Jesus was not only not the Man; He was not even a man with a small letter. Just a bargaining chip.
A chance to prove his loyalty: we have no king but Caesar! And to hand over for execution a troublesome preacher who was entirely impossible to bring under control. Barabbas was another matter: a Zealot, of course, an extremist, but one of their own, a patriot, hating the Romans... and most importantly, everything was clear with him; the Temple had long been in contact with such people, knew how to behave with them, and knew what to expect from them. But here there was one continuous surprise, unnecessary and uncontrollable, and therefore dangerous. Better to get rid of this preacher, but not with their own hands.
Better with Roman hands: for the high priest, this was an almost no-lose option. And if the procurator grew stubborn, the roar of the crowd could hint to him that reports might reach Rome about his indulgence toward dangerous rebels, rebels whom the high priest was fighting and whom he, the procurator, the hand and eye of the emperor, was pardoning. Everyone plays his own game. Except Jesus alone: He plays no games with anyone. Such a person is needed by no one. And one thing remains for Him: the cross. There is no other path for Him.