THIS WAS HARD
MATTHEW 27:11-14 NKJV
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.
13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.
We look at the events that surrounded the crucifixion of Jesus and marvel at how He handled each of them. Being mocked and spit upon. Slapped in the face. Scourged, which was a brutal beating. And, of course, the cross itself.
But in this short passage, we see another thing Jesus did that had to be hard. Standing before Pilate, the Jewish leaders were hurling accusations at Jesus. Pilate had asked if He was the King of the Jews, and Jesus answered in the affirmative. But that was a simple question. These Jewish priests and elders were accusing Him falsely, and He refused to answer.
It's one thing to be accused, but to be falsely accused is even harder to stomach. Everything these men said about Jesus was a lie, yet He refused to answer. Jesus' silence in the face of these accusations caused Pilate to marvel. I am sure that many had stood before Pilate and violently refuted the accusations that came their way. Yet Jesus was silent. Maybe another reason Pilate marveled was that he recognized Jesus had done no wrong. Pilate most likely wanted Jesus to defend Himself and shut these Jews up. Pilate knew it was jealousy that caused them to attack Jesus.
But Jesus stayed silent. Maybe opening His mouth would have delivered Him, and He had to carry out God's plan. Maybe He knew He must fulfill the Scripture that spoke of Him as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7). But Jesus said nothing.
Peter, in his letter, spoke of how Jesus handled this situation. In 1 Peter 1:23, Jesus, when He was reviled, did not revile back. Revile meaning someone speaking badly about you. That when Jesus suffered, He did not threaten. But He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Did Jesus enjoy being reviled? No. Did He enjoy suffering? Again we realize that Jesus came as a man and felt the same things we feel and dealt with the same temptations we all face. He never sinned and never missed it, but He was not immune to the suffering and reviling. He just committed Himself to God, the only One who is qualified to judge. Jesus was more focused on pleasing His Father and doing His Father's will than He was concerned with the lies and slander of men.
APPLICATION
Jesus is my Savior and Lord. He is also my hero and example. How He handled the pressure from people was amazing and gives me some insight into what we need to do.
We will face people saying unkind things and lies about us. We will deal with the suffering that comes from people with wrong motives and those that are unwittingly used by the enemy. We can fight back on the same level, or we can rise above it and respond as Jesus did.
Committing ourselves to God, the only wise and righteous judge, is the best and highest response to the negatives from people. I wish I could say I have always responded like Jesus, but at least I know the path that I need to be on.
It’s not easy to be quiet when people are saying slanderous things. There is some suffering involved. But we have a Heavenly Father who knows the truth. We can commit to Him and He can see us through.
PRAYER
Jesus thank You for Your example of strength and wisdom. Help me to not revile back or threaten but instead commit to You. You are the only One qualified to judge me.