“‘Away with him,’ they yelled. ‘Away with him! Crucify him!’

‘What? Crucify your king?’ Pilate asked.

‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the leading priests shouted back.” (John 19:15 NLT)

 

In the hours after His arrest, Jesus faced several different trials before Jewish and Roman leaders. His accusers made false allegations against Him and twisted His words to make their accusations seem legitimate.

And through it all, Jesus remained silent. He refused to counter their claims or defend Himself against their lies. His silence was probably a welcome surprise to the people who had plotted against Him. Jesus had verbally sparred with the Jewish authorities several times during His ministry, and each time He exposed their hypocrisy and misunderstanding of God and His Word.

In fact, according to Matthew 22, a few days before Jesus was arrested, a group of Pharisees and a group of Sadducees tried to trap Jesus by asking Him some tricky theological questions. It didn’t go well for them. Jesus turned the tables and put them on the spot with questions of His own. The people who witnessed these encounters had one reaction. Verse 33 says, “When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching” (NLT).

The Pharisees and Sadducees who instigated the encounters had a different reaction. Verse 46 says, “No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions” (NLT).

Jesus’ silence during His trials was a strategic choice on His part. It worked to His enemies’ advantage, as He knew it would.

Remember, the crowds were on Jesus’ side at this point. He was still popular after His triumphant arrival on Palm Sunday. But with no pushback from Jesus’ side, His enemies were able to sway public opinion. They worked the crowds, spreading their lies and false accusations. They could point to Jesus and say, “He’s not even trying to deny the charges!”

Their efforts were successful. When the Roman governor Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd, the people shouted for His execution. It didn’t matter that neither the Jewish nor the Roman authorities had found any legitimate reason to execute Him. They were okay with Jesus’ blood being on their hands.

For Jesus, this was just another in a long line of rejections. He was rejected by His hometown of Nazareth (see Mark 6:1–6). He was rejected by a Samaritan village (see Luke 9:51–56). He was even rejected by His disciples (see John 6:60–66).

In being rejected, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:3: “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (NLT).

We could marvel at the short-sightedness and hard-heartedness that caused the people outside Pilate’s residence to reject Jesus so cruelly. But let’s marvel instead at the amazing love that caused Jesus to give His life for those who were calling for His death so that they might live forever. And let’s remind ourselves that there are people who reject Him today who need to hear about His amazing love.

 

Reflection question: Why do people reject Jesus today?

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