Because the Jews thought Jesus was coming back as a rich king with mighty authority,not as a poor man without a home.Although the second time he comes he will rule the earth as a mighty king.

He was crucified by the Romans, not the Jews, for being a rabble rouser who claimed to be King of the Jews. The Jews were a notoriously rebellious lot, and the Romans needed to make an example of anybody who even just might provide the seed for the next revolt. The Jews in power encouraged this because they knew that a rebellion would be very bloody, however it turned out. There was nothing theological about it, just day-to-day political necessity.

Jesus was not a Pharisee. According to the Bible Jesus was crucified because the Jews accused him of breaking their law and demanded that pilot crucify Him. Pilot tried to persuade them otherwise, but they insisted. Christ's teachings cut against the grain of the religious ideology of the day. Claiming to be the Son of God was a big one. Also, having multitudes of people following Him created a problem. A new popular religious teacher who was speaking out against the Pharisees and the protocol of the day would have been considered a threat, not to mention the jealousy it would cause. Christ also had a more liberal approach to the Sabbath and they would try to use that and other aspects of the law to try and accuse Him. But mainly, their hatred of Him was necessary so that they would sentence Him to death, to fulfill prophecy and pay for the sins of mankind.

Ultimately, Jesus gave himself over to be crucified because that was what he was born to do. As God, born to live as man, without sin in his life, he was that unblemished Lamb destined to die as sacrifice for OUR sins. Jesus was God in human form and he gave of himself, that ultimate sacrifice that ALL WHO BELIEVE...should not perish, but live forever. The events that occurred prior to his death were simply part of the path he walked to get him to where he needed to be. His steps served to bring his light to as many as possible, who would then continue to share his story and his sacrifice with more and more people.

The "IF" as you well know introduces a statement which is contrary to fact. Well, almost. Jesus did not attempt to "abolish the Sabbath" but rather defied and rejected Pharisaic/Scribal oral tradition (case law) as to what did and what did not violate the Sabbath. And as He Himself said, "I come not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them." Strictly speaking, Caiaphas and Annas' chief motive for killing Jesus was the loss of about 10,000 talents in gold (or about $500 million) per year when Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple, ending the hated "Bazaars of Annas". As Caiaphas and Annas evidently had no qualms about committing blasphemy themselves, charging Jesus with blasphemy was for them just a convenient excuse. John alone attributes a real-politick motive to Caiaphas (Kill Jesus to prevent the mob from crowning him king, provoking swift and terrible repression by Rome) - though John does seem to be privy to various "inside information" about the Jewish leaders, and not the sort that ancient historians typically just invented for narrative and moral effect, so that could well have figured into it too. It's certainly reasonable. But all sources, including Josephus, the Talmud, and 19 centuries of Jewish tradition, establish that Jesus was indeed first brought before "the leaders of Israel" who condemned him for "blasphemy, [and the Talmud adds] sorcery, and leading Israel astray teaching them to worship another god," and that they then petitioned Pilate to crucify him. Pilate then - in accord with the Roman practice of "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" which was their entire strategy for co-opting and dealing with Quisling collaborators (the keystone of their policy of "Divide and Rule") acceded to their request. The idea that Pilate had some moral qualms about executing Jesus is a post-Roman misunderstanding of the Gospel dialogues between Pilate and Caiaphas' agents. Pilate had no moral qualms about anything. He was the quintessentially venal, corrupt, avaricious, and vicious Roman equestrian magistrate. If you know your Roman magistrates in general and Pilate in particular, as well as the other literature of the time, you'll understand Pilate was just angling for a hefty bribe. Their counter that Jesus claimed to be the king of the Jews was not to force Pilate to do what he thought was wrong, but make him do it for free.

Does any one have a reasonable argument to offer?

Short answer: he was inconveniencing people who didn't like to be inconvenienced. . Theistic answer: the above and also so that the sins of man could be forgiven.

He was crucified because the devil moved upon the evil Pharisee leaders of the jews of the day to kill him, because Satan thought he had cornered and conquered God, and therefore taken the throne he so long had plotted to gain by force and subtle treachery. In the fierce hatred of the Jews and the Romans of Jesus Christ was displayed the awful capabilities of the sin of evil man aligned with Satan. Mostly in the Jews it was pride and jealousy moving them to murder the man who was obviously the Messiah. In the Romans, it was merely an evil empire moving to crush possible threats to their absolute rule and the movement of local authorities of Rome to placate and keep the Jews under control and in line with Rome, whom they hated anyhow. The real comedy of the whole era was that the very empire that sought to kill God incarnate would wind up being destroyed and conquered by His followers...the split into two parts of East and Western Roman Empire under the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome by the Pope and under the Greek Orthodox Church in the East, separated from Rome and the Pope for good. This first split and the following crumbling of the walls of the empire came through men on down through time such as Martin Luther who attacked the Pope and Rome directly calling him a "jackass", and far apart from the church was the Pope, and more in line with the devil in his practices and abuses of the believers of the church in Catholicism. The Jews themselves were never crushed or destroyed in time, but many forces constantly down through the ages have almost wiped them out by severe persecution, which has never stopped and probably never will...themselves now being persecuted most severely by their ancient sibling of Isaac...Ishmael...who is the forefather of the Muslims and all arabs not directly proceeding from Isaac and Jacob. It would seem both the empire and the religion of the Jews have paid the very heaviest of prices for attempting to attack and kill God on earth in the Savior, Jesus. It did not happen instantly, nor in a week or a year, but over hundreds of years. But in the eyes of God, a thousand years is but a day.IT IS A BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE. READ THE GREAT COMMISSION IN Matthew 28, AND THEN READ JOHN 17. If you believe Jesus is the Christ and what the Bible says about Him, then this poem by Williamson is a mere paraphrasing of that which the New Testament clearly states... All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth...therefore go into all the world and.... Matthew 28:18 JOHN 17: [18] As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. JN 17:20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: [23] I in them and you in me. The Glory is the Holy Spirit. Jesus commands all his believers to go into all the world just as God the Father gave Jesus into the world with power and signs. There is great Biblical precedent that if you call yourself a Christian, you should be doing miracles. Why aren't you? Because of lack of knowledge, bad teaching, and if you have heard and have been taught correctly, then lack of faith.

He was crucified because the devil moved upon the evil Pharisee leaders of the jews of the day to kill him, because Satan thought he had cornered and conquered God, and therefore taken the throne he so long had plotted to gain by force and subtle treachery. In the fierce hatred of the Jews and the Romans of Jesus Christ was displayed the awful capabilities of the sin of evil man aligned with Satan. Mostly in the Jews it was pride and jealousy moving them to murder the man who was obviously the Messiah. In the Romans, it was merely an evil empire moving to crush possible threats to their absolute rule and the movement of local authorities of Rome to placate and keep the Jews under control and in line with Rome, whom they hated anyhow. The real comedy of the whole era was that the very empire that sought to kill God incarnate would wind up being destroyed and conquered by His followers...the split into two parts of East and Western Roman Empire under the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome by the Pope and under the Greek Orthodox Church in the East, separated from Rome and the Pope for good. This first split and the following crumbling of the walls of the empire came through men on down through time such as Martin Luther who attacked the Pope and Rome directly calling him a "jack***", and far apart from the church was the Pope, and more in line with the devil in his practices and abuses of the believers of the church in Catholicism. The Jews themselves were never crushed or destroyed in time, but many forces constantly down through the ages have almost wiped them out by severe persecution, which has never stopped and probably never will...themselves now being persecuted most severely by their ancient sibling of Isaac...Ishmael...who is the forefather of the Muslims and all arabs not directly proceeding from Isaac and Jacob. It would seem both the empire and the religion of the Jews have paid the very heaviest of prices for attempting to attack and kill God on earth in the Savior, Jesus. It did not happen instantly, nor in a week or a year, but over hundreds of years. But in the eyes of God, a thousand years is but a day.IT IS A BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE. READ THE GREAT COMMISSION IN Matthew 28, AND THEN READ JOHN 17. If you believe Jesus is the Christ and what the Bible says about Him, then this poem by Williamson is a mere paraphrasing of that which the New Testament clearly states... All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth...therefore go into all the world and.... Matthew 28:18 JOHN 17: [18] As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. JN 17:20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: [23] I in them and you in me. The Glory is the Holy Spirit. Jesus commands all his believers to go into all the world just as God the Father gave Jesus into the world with power and signs. There is great Biblical precedent that if you call yourself a Christian, you should be doing miracles. Why aren't you? Because of lack of knowledge, bad teaching, and if you have heard and have been taught correctly, then lack of faith.

You probably are not getting many takers on this question because it is so loaded it defies a logical answer of any kind. For starters it implies that Romans somehow cared enough about Judaic law to crucify someone for violating it. It would be like the US executing someone in Iraq or Afghanistan for breaking Islamic law. Second it also implies that somehow Jewish leaders had enough power and sway among the Romans to actually get them to do their bidding, which would lead to the third and implication that Jewish religious leaders were in the habit of killing those within their ranks who disagreed. The Pharisees would no more have Romans execute a "bad jew" anymore than clerics in Iraq would have the US execute a bad muslim. According to jewish accounts of their own history, bitter disputes were common among pharisees and none ended with them using their hated enemies to kill one of their own. It's illogical and unsupported by precedent. In any case, I only responded to comment on why you have no serious takers. No christian is going to give an argument that undermines their own faith and no non-christian wants to get into circular logic debate with only one possible outcome regardless of what is said.

Makes for a good story. If the Romans just grounded him for a week, would you have been a believer?

It was because of the High Priests and their resentment for him. They 1) couldn't accept that he was the Son of God, 2) were in disbelief of his power of healing the sick, 3) did what they could to make the citizens follow their [High Priests] anti-Jesus agenda. All in all, the pathetic and unrighteous High Priests and citizens chose to release Barabbas, the thief if not murderer, too instead of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ' crucifixion carried out was because the citizens and High Priests could not accept the change in the liturgy written of God's work and power. They could not and would not believe that a man, physically walking and talking amongst them had the power to heal and command like God.