Charles Ellicott Commentary John 19:12

"Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar`s friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." — John 19:12 (ASV)

And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him.—These words may be interpreted in terms of time, as in the Authorized Version, or in terms of cause: “For this reason Pilate sought to release Him.” The latter is more probable, as the reference seems to be to the attempt which he made at once. (Compare to the note on John 6:66.)

If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar’s friend. . . .—There was another weapon left in the arsenal of their devices, against which no Roman governor was immune. The jealous fear of Tiberius had made “treason” a crime for which the accusation was practically the proof, and the proof was death.

The pages of Tacitus and Suetonius abound with examples of ruin inflicted on families in the name of the “law of treason.” (Compare to Merivale: History of the Romans under the Empire, vol. v., p. 143 and following.)

Here was One who had claimed to be a king, and Pilate was seeking to release Him. They knew, indeed, that it was a claim to be “king” in a sense widely different from any that would have affected the empire of Caesar; but Pilate had refused to condemn Him on the political charge without a formal trial, and he had refused to accept their own condemnation of Jesus on the charge of blasphemy. He dared not refuse the force of an appeal that stated he was not Caesar’s friend and suggested an accusation against himself at Rome. See the note on Matthew 27:2 for the special reasons that would lead Pilate to dread such an accusation.