Pilate could do no more. The Jewish religious leaders had hit a sore spot in their threat to go to Caesar and Pilate had enough troubles of his own without getting even more for defending this Galilean peasant. It is at this point that Pilate washes his hands and the Jewish nation asks that the blood of Jesus be upon their heads and those of their children (Matt 27:24-25), but it is also on Pilate, because he hands Jesus over to the will of those who were seeking His death (Luke 23:25).

Matthew 27:24-25  When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”  All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Luke 23:25  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

“They” (KJV) = “the soldiers” (NIV) is an assumed noun not found in the Greek and probably denotes the Roman soldiers who would accompany Jesus to the execution site, as expressed in the NIV translation. Grammatically, however, it would point back to the chief priests. If that is the case, and in a sense it certainly is, then (John 1:11) would be very poignant and the following comment by Westcott would be relevant: “The Jews received Christ from the hands of the Roman governor for death: they did not receive Him from the teaching of their own prophets for life.” However, the ones who physically received the prisoner were the soldiers.

John 1:11  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.