John 19:16

Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified.

Them ... has reference to the chief priests. Yes, Pilate provided the soldiers and a centurion to command the detail; but he put those evil priests squarely in charge of the crucifixion.

The decision was then final, and the further deeds of that dark day would unfold on schedule. Pilate had vainly tried to avoid what he knew was an injustice; but there was no way that such a man as he could avoid doing what, in the last analysis, he held to be expedient to the maintenance of his political power. He hated the whole Jewish nation; and what matter to him was it, if an innocent was put to death? The chief priests too must have thought the whole business was finished. God was out of it, as far as they were concerned; they had shouted their allegiance to Caesar only; but history held some surprises for them also. As Hendriksen put it:

They forgot, however, that God as king of the universe was not through with them. In a certain terrible sense, he was still their King. Indescribable punishments were not far away. In winning this battle, they had lost the war.[12]

There is no evidence that the chief priests actually supervised the crucifixion, but, in a sense, it was their act. They demanded it and were present for the gory execution of the sentence, even adding insulting taunts of the holy Saviour on the cross itself!