The chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He said to him in reply, “You say so.” The cheif priests accused Him of many things. Again Pilate questioned Him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed…Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barrabas…[and] handed [Jesus] over to be crucified. Mark 15:1-5, 15
Looking at this step in Jesus’ journey from my earthly perspective I could easily wonder, why did Jesus not defend himself? Why not call down a legion of angels? Why not take on Pilate with superior knowledge and wisdom? My natural inclination would be to defend myself, especially in cases where I believe I am in the right. Self preservation is a rather strong instinct for me. How hard it is to keep silent when we are being disparaged. But for Jesus, His heart was already set on another mission…one to redeem even those who were about to nail Him to the cross. This was a King of a totally different kind of kingdom. While it may have seemed to those who cared, that this kingdom was defeated by the darkness there was a mystery at work. It was the mystery of the hope of glory, of Christ dwelling in the hearts of man. Yes, there was a purpose in Jesus remaining silent before His accusers.
There will be times in our lives when we face false accusations, when we face attacks of all kinds, maybe even darkness and despair at our situations. Instead of striving and obsessing over these times and worrying how to defend ourselves, perhaps our call is to remain silent and wait upon God. He is our defender and redeemer. As we see there is often something deeper at work in God’s kingdom and His ways are often not our ways. Our first thought perhaps should be to consider His words to His disciples: “Take courage, I have overcome the world.”
“Lord, our vision is clouded. We now know only part of the story. The picture of what you are doing is incomplete. Lord give us eyes to see you and the things you are up to. Give us ears to hear your voice through the noise of the world.”
Scott for Wellspring © Copyright 2008
