“When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.”
When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' Pilate said to them, 'Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.' — The leaders' savage response ("Crucify! Crucify!") to the pitiful sight reveals their determination transcends rational accusation. Pilate's deflection—"Take him yourselves"—reminds them that only Romans can execute; the governor maintains that the legal burden has not shifted. His reiterated innocence finding creates legal tension: the accused is both innocent and condemned.
Church Fathers on John 19:6
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him.
Pilate says to them, Take you Him, and crucify Him. This is the speech of a man abhorring the deed, and urging others to do a deed which he abhors himself. They had brought our, Lord indeed to him that He might be put to death by his sentence, but the very contrary was the result; the governor acquitted Him: For I find no fault in Him. He clears Him immediately from all charges: which shows that he had only permitted the former outrages, to humor the madness of the Jews. But…
but he was more afraid, lest he should slay the Son of God
Read all 8 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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