Jesus is Brought Before Pontius Pilate

When Calvin Coolidge was President he saw dozens of people every day. Most had complaints of one kind or another. A visiting Governor once told Coolidge he didn’t understand how he could see so many people. “Why, you finish with them by dinner time,” the Governo … More

Silence

The night meeting of the Sanhedrin had been illegal, so as soon as morning came they all got together again to make it legal. From here they bound Jesus and led Him to Pontius Pilate who was then governor of Judea (v. 1). In (Luke 23:1-2) it tells us that their charge became threefold:

  1. They charged Him with perverting the people.
  2. They charged Him with saying they should not pay tribute to Caesar.
  3. They charged Him with claiming to be a king in competition with Julius Caesar.

It is interesting to note that the charge the religious leaders had made to the Jews was blasphemy, but this is not the charge they bring before Pilate. They were smart enough to know that Pilate would not have anything to do with what he considered a religious argument. Instead, they now bring a political charge in which they accuse Jesus of setting Himself up as king in opposition to Caesar. Pilate asked Jesus, “Art thou the king of the Jews” (v. 2). His reply was, “It is you that say that, not I.” It seems that what He really meant was, “I may have claimed to be “King of the Jews,” but you know very well that I was not trying to take over as a political ruler.

The chief priests continue to accuse Him of many things (v. 3) but Jesus didn’t attempt to answer them which is a fulfillment of (Isa. 53:7) “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” The Jews so bumbled the case that Jesus could have been set free by just a word or two in appropriate places, yet He refused to speak (vv. 4-5). He was in total control in this situation.

Application

Have you ever heard the phrase “Silence is golden?” There is a time when it is better to remain silent than to speak because silence will say things that words could not express. Ask - Can I think of some situations in my life when it would have been better to have remained silent than to have spoken? I always need to remember that angry words only stir up strife.<

Mark 15:1-5 (English Standard Version)


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