He gave him no answer…

When the Pharisees put Jesus on trial before Caiaphas, the final charge they brought against him was blasphemy. This was on the basis of Jesus claiming to be the Son of God and His sitting “at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:63-66). But for the unbelieving Pilate, this would be a hard accusation to put a righteous man to death for.

But this is exactly why the Pharisees delivered Him to Pilate – so that he could sentence Him to death. To be sure, they heaped other accusations against Jesus to make sure that Pilate would see Him as a threat. However, Pilate could see right through this ruse, and when he questioned Jesus, he asked him “are you the king of the Jews?” to which Jesus merely said “You have said so” (Matt 27:11).

As to all the other accusations, Jesus made no answer.  Pilate was well accustomed to the Jewish mindset and the rules and laws of the chief priests and Pharisees, and he was not about to just condemn a man because he had broken their rules.  Pilate was a Roman and had Roman authority to condemn traitors to the Emperor.  It was on this basis that the Pharisees hoped he would condemn Jesus, but Pilate knew a traitor when he saw one – and this man was not a threat. He knew the works and reputation of Christ, that He was not in the habit of stirring up sedition or riots – which he would expect for someone who was a traitor to the Emperor.  Rather, He was humble.

In fact this humility, is quite startling. Frankly the case against Jesus by the Jews was weak. Jesus was no threat to Rome, or to Pilate. So Pilate was not in a hurry to condemn Him.  Rather he tried to free Him (Luke 23:20).

For Jesus to have escaped, all He needed to do was to defend Himself to Pilate. Anything He would have said would have won Pilates favour. There was no threat, there was no sedition, in fact Jesus alleviated any concerns by stating that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).

But rather than offer a defence, he was silent. Why? Because Jesus was humble. His priority was not His own justice, but He was looking to the interest of others. Jesus had been with God in the beginning of creation (John 1:2, 11, Col 1:16, 1 Cor 8:6) making man, yet here, when on trial before the very man He had created, He did not appeal to his authority or position – He was silent (Phil 2:4-8).  And Pilate “was greatly amazed” (Matt 27:14).

Some might say that the injustice of this situation was too great and Jesus should have defended Himself, but in this case injustice was less important than the purpose of the injustice. Jesus was there to drink the cup of the Father – it was the only way (Matt 26:39, 42). Without this humility, there would be no means by which the elect would be saved, no redemption available.

Here is one lesson for us from this passage, are we prepared to suffer injustice for the purpose of God? For the glory of God? Am I prepared to be this humble?

If you are like me, humility is an area of great need in your life – whether we see it or not.

“Lord, Thank you for the humility you demonstrated by which I can have eternal life. Without this humility, I have no hope.  My proud heart needs the salvation and redemption offered by your grace.  Grant me the desire to humble myself before you as the men of old did after their sin was found out. May my desire be to walk with you in uprightness of heart regardless of my current state – and may this desire be the means by which you draw me deeper into you and further away from my own self. Amen”