“The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.” John 19:7-9
Pontius Pilate wanted answers but Jesus kept silent. There is a proverb that says “silence is golden” and it surely is golden at times but frequently it is also significant. It was a singular feature of our Lord’s passion that He rarely spoke during the twelve hours preceding His death on the cross of Calvary. He refused to answer and in doing so He fulfilled the prophet Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah as he wrote in the fifty third Chapter that “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth.”
Have you ever found it necessary to just keep your mouth shut and give no reply to the nonsense being said about you? His silence was not that of defeat, rather it was the willing silence of our suffering Savior. As the Son of God and the substitute for this sinful world, He had come to secure the world’s redemption. Had He answered the false accusations of His enemies, pleaded innocence and demanded justice, He would have defeated the purpose of His mission. His was an atoning silence and by His silence He took the sins of this world to the cross. In a day of lies and gossip, curses and filthy acts, we need greater faith in our Lord’s atoning silence and firmer determination to use our lives for His glory.
There are times to remain silent and also times to proclaim the reason for our joy in having a Savior. The children in the attached photo attend the Lutheran school at Chincheron which is located on top of a mountain in the Arcahaie district. Although they appear to be silent they have a reason to shout for joy; they know Christ is risen, risen indeed! That truth is always with them. Dwight L. Moody was quoted as saying “the only way to keep a vessel full is to always keep it under the tap” and these children remain in His Word daily.
Today Jesus is no longer silent; day and night He pleads our cause as our Mediator before the throne in Heaven. Through Him the burden of our sins and the sorrow of our heart come before the Father and are heard and answered. Today He invites us to “Come unto Me and I will give you rest.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay