For starters, Jesus was accused of crimes that threatened to destabilise the ancient Jewish society; he had been accused of blasphemy.

 For a society that had been delivered by God from slavery in Egypt and had seen God’s hand all through their lives, for a 30-year-old man claiming to be His only son and chosen one, there was enough reason to charge Him with blasphemy.

For them, God was divine and not a mere mortal who needed to send a son to do His work for Him. And then a guy whose father they clearly knew was a carpenter down the street started claiming to be the link between them and their maker. Other than disrespecting their maker, He was threatening to split the Jewish society, by watering down the laws they had lived by and also tried to accord himself respect and praise reserved for their maker.

During the course of His trial, there were knowledgeable men equivalent to modern day law experts and analysts who saw it fit that he is crucified, not for their hate for Him but because of the hazards he posed to their community. For them it made more sense letting go of a thief, Barnabas, as he only threatened to rob citizens of property while Jesus ‘robbed’ people of their hearts and ‘brainwashed’ them into thinking he was an equivalent of God.

Explaining that His kingdom was not the earthly one but a spiritual one did not make things any better, it made him look like any other defendant trying to get smart in front of a judge (which he clearly was).

Any court, whether in modern day or ancient times, relies not on who one says he is but on what the facts and evidence brought forth point towards. He said he was the path to heaven but yet even His own disciples had turned their backs on Him at the docks. Who would I be to defend him when everything points at him being a fraud of sorts?

Pontius Pilate did not find Jesus guilty, but he was not however willing to be the one to make the final call saying that He was innocent, probably for him, too many things did not add up. 

Had I been present when he was brought forth, I probably would have been one of those calling for his crucifixion. Perhaps He should have begun by saving Himself.