If you think rationally about Jesus’ crucifixion, you might realize that he was killed by the Romans for sedition. The Jews could have stoned him to death for blasphemy without Roman interference.
The fact that he was crucified, lays the blame at the feet of Pilate. The Roman authorities wanted him dead, whatever the claims of the Jewish collaborators.
The washing of hands if very symbolic. The statement: “I am innocent of the blood of this man” and the astounding “Let his blood be upon us and upon our children” do not ring true at all, imo. They are most likely later intrusions, or additions to exhonorate the Romans, and blame the Jews, who would actually have been allowed to stone him for blasphemy. The Jews didn’t have to get the Romans to kill Stephen, for example, or the woman taken in adultery they were about to stone. Thus St. Paul, before Damascus, didn’t conspire to get the Roman authorities to do his dirty work.
Remember that Christians were considered a Jewish sect until Constantine. The latter really worshiped Sol Invictus, the invincible sun. He saw in Jesus, the “solar attributes” of his own favorite god. After Constantine, it was very embarrassing for the state religion to admit that it was Rome that killed the Messiah. The Jews involved were not the general population at all.
People can’t see the “elephant in the room”, because they refuse to read Scripture with any discernment more advanced than that of a babe. Witness the fundamentalists who jump through hoops to avoid the Biblical contradictions. The Bible is undoubtedly inspired by God, and the most wonderful document in all history. But tho’ inspired, the writers and copyists themselves were not infallible.And different sources disagreed in detail, if not in Spirit. If you don’t believe me, read Genesis 1 and 2 which totally contradict each other in detail.