Jesus's crucification must have had a similarity to our busy streets on Good Friday. If you've ever been to the old city of Jerusalem you will know the streets are narrow and often choked with people. Good Friday would have been like that - full of people making last minute purchases before the Sabbath paying little attention to another condemned criminal being taken out for execution - though they may have wondered at the large and unusual collection of people who were accompanying him, along with the Roman soliders. Some of them might even have realised he was that prophet who had been causing a bit of a stir the last few days. Most probably didn't.
But those who did follow recognised in this man something that kept them with him, even when everything they might have expected had fallen into ruins. They had hoped that Jesus was the one who was going to bring in God's Kingdom which would involve expelling the Romans, reforming the temple establishing God's rule; not being condemned to death by an alliance of the different ruling authorities. This was failure; so why keep following? The answer could be that Jesus had already enabled them to think about success and failure differently.
Though they did not understand they were beginning to realise that success in God's eyes might look like failure to the world. That could be why they followed and is certainly why Christians follow today. In Jesus you see a failure in the world's eyes, the most abject and horrible failure but who is also the one through whom God's love and forgiveness flows unstoppable into the world. He calls us all to take up the cross too and walk with him.
Source Bishop of Croydon Jonathan Clark 25.03.16