I agree: Pilate may have been a weak man, but making him into a monster, as I hear during many Easter sermons, is difficult to understand. As proconsul/prefect of Judea, reporting to the legate (of Syria), maintaing order was an important part of his job. Rebellion among the Jews was an ongoing problem, and one he would have been particularly sensitive to. We know from the historical record that he had committed a number of faux pas that created friction with the Jews because of his lack of knowledge of their customs; he was very likely warned against this by his boss. If he let a minor religious event that he did not understand blow up into an insurrection/rebellion, he could lose his life, or at least be demoted, or marked as a slave. As you say, he tried many times to find a way to free Jesus, without offending the Jews, but ultimately failed. I see him as a man who saw something holiness in Jesus, who did not think that whatever crime he committed merited death, and who did his best to help him. Ultimately, he violated his conscience by choosing his own security instead of doing the right thing. Pilate, being the one holding the buck is the one “legally” responsible for letting our Lord be put to death, but in my opinion there were others who were more culpable morally.
I don’t have an answer...to Your question...
but the real question for the WHOLE WORLD...
is...
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
John 18:38... Get the Answer correct...You have it made...
get an incorrect or incomplete answer...not so much.
At that point, he was probably lock-in by prophesy and didn’t have a choice.
I totally agree. A historical theme that a lot of people seem to overlook in the New Testament is that the Romans were very sensitive about crowd riots. Unfortunately, in that day and age it seemed that stability and order trumped the value of an innocent life that was Jesus. In the Book of Acts, in Chapter 19 verse 40; the town clerk in Ephesus in Asia Minor was worried about the mob that had taking over the theater and having to answer to the authorities when no excuse could be given for the uproar of the mob.
Crowd control and order was a sensitive issue to the Romans.