Silent
Up until now Jesus has stumped all those who try to trap Him.But now, at His own trial, He is silent...
- None of the prosecuters of the woman caught in adultery could throw the first stone.
- When they tried to trap Him over taxes, He told them to give to Caesar what was Caesers and to God what was God's.
- When they tried to nail Him over the temple tax, He had Peter pull it from the mouth of the fish.
- When they asked Him to pick one of the commandments, He summarised them perfectly with the commandments to love God and Neighbour...
- He resisted Satan's temptations with the right use of Scripture.
Jesus could have run rings around this kangaroo court. He could have caught them out, embarrassed them and shown them up. He had truth and righteousness on His side but He remained silent...
Why?Because the cross meant that He would take on our guilt and the poison of our corruptness. He, the innocent lamb, would become the scapegoat. In the Old Testament instructions for the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would confess the sins of the nation on a goat selected to be banished into the wilderness (symbolic of abandonment from God).
On the cross Jesus would die a (literally) God-forsaken death.
Flashbulb: Jesus remains silent - refusing to fend off the guilt being dumped on Him. He could prove them wrong and show them His righteousness, but His agenda now is to take on our dirt and carry it to the cross.
| The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward... Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent. (Matthew26:59-63) |
