Mark 14:53-65, The Silence of Christ (2)

Peter confirmed the silence of Christ, speaking of the Lord Jesus, who when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Pt. 2:23).  But let’s ask why?  Why did Jesus not answer His accusers?  Why was He as a sheep before its shearers is silent?  I want to begin with some negatives.

For example, sometimes in Scripture we are told to be silent as a means to making peace.  A soft answer turns away wrath (Prov. 15:1).  Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles (Prov. 21:23).  Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (Jas. 1:19).  But Jesus was not silent in an attempt to make peace.  It’s not that Jesus was and is not a “peace-maker.”  As prophesied, He is our peace … And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near (Eph. 2:14-18; cf. Isa. 9:6-7; Ps. 85:10; Ac. 10:36).  He blesses the “peacemaker” (Mt. 5:9; James 3:17-18).  But Jesus is not making peace.  He knows that the Jewish leaders are the “workers of iniquity,” the ones who are God’s tools to bring about the cross. 

Furthermore, Jesus’ silence is not His way to file a claim against injustice of the Jewish leadership.  Without a doubt, there were countless miscarriages of justice, as we call them.  Here are a few of the violations of Jewish law committed by the chief priests and scribes:

1.    No trial of the Sanhedrin was to begin at night (v53).

2.    No trial of the Sanhedrin was to convene on a feast day or the eve of a feast day.

3.    No trial before the Sanhedrin was to convene except before a formal meeting.

4.    No trial of the Sanhedrin except at their meeting place (v54).

5.    The Sanhedrin must remain impartial (v55).

6.    A guilty verdict was to be made on the basis of 2-3 witnesses (v56-59).

7.    No guilty verdict could be rendered until the next day (v63-64).

8.    There was to be no prolonged death in capital punishment, and no scourging (v65).

Jesus was denied justice in many ways.  His response to this was not to stay silent, to act as a martyr in the face of men who had already decided His fate and just needed to find a crime to back up their verdict. 

In a similar vein, Jesus’ silence was not about His suffering.  He did not stay silent to bring attention to the severity of His trial.  As Peter said, when reviled, He did not revile in return.  Jesus was insulted as Israel’s Prophet (Mk. 14:65, they blindfolded Him, hit him with their fists, and called on Him to prophesy who did it), King (15:16-20, the Romans clothed Him in purple and placed a crown of thorns on Him) and Priest (15:29-32, the mob ridiculed Him, that He saved others but could not save Himself).  Jesus was silent in all of this, but not because He wanted to call attention to His trial.  There was something else!