Matthew 26:63 But Jesus remained silent….
One of the most difficult things in life to do is to remain silent when false accusations are being flung our direction. There is an innate desire to defend when being attacked. We are a creature who is designed to want to survive. We want to live!
This defensiveness rises to the degree of perceived threat from the accusation. If we are accused of stealing a penny candy, then the threat is not too great. The consequences of being found guilty are not that severe, so our defensive action is likely not to be very great.
But if we are accused of killing someone in cold blood, and we haven’t done it, then we will defend ourselves with all the energy that we posses. Our defense will come on strong, because if we are found guilty, we face a very harsh sentence, perhaps even the loss of our lives. Our response matches the possible punishment.
So when we read that Jesus was silent, not engaging in self-defense, then it it all the more shocking. Jesus has been accused by a desperate religious mob of leaders of speaking words. “I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.” On the surface these seem fairly impotent words.
But in the face of the central position of the temple in his day and age, the words must have a deeper meaning. Everyone knew that Jesus could not destroy the physical temple and rebuild it in three days. It took years in their day to build such a magnificent building.
As we travel Europe and see the structures that were build over decades of time, we can see just how impossible Jesus’ claims were on the surface. Jesus couldn’t build it in three days in the natural, normal sense of the word.
Instead, the hearers understand Jesus to be threatening the very institution of the temple religious structure. Jesus did speak those words about destroying the temple. But they hear a much greater threat, the destruction of their positions in society and the life they have come to enjoy.
And this is exactly what Jesus aims at when He says those words. When Jesus dies and rises again it marks an end to the old kingdom, the old way of humanity relating to the LORD. After those three days in the tomb, access to the LORD is offered freely to ALL who call on Him, regardless of their background and standing in the community.
Jesus knows that the ‘trial’ will end in His conviction and death. Defending Himself might only get in the way of fulfilling God’s plan. So He doesn’t defend Himself against these charges.
In fact, Jesus points right to the Old Testament Scriptures about the position of the Messiah in the conclusion of history. He pulls together the images of Messiah returning and establishing His kingdom. Jesus sharpens the spear that is going to kill Him.
The charges of destroying and rebuilding are nothing. Claiming to be the Messiah, that however, is a killable offense. Jesus gives them testimony that can actually convict Him. They couldn’t get witnesses to agree. They couldn’t actually come up with evidence to convict, so Jesus gives it to them.
Jesus was silent. He didn’t defend Himself against the false accusations. He willingly went to the Cross. So confident of the faithfulness of the Father, that Jesus endured it all for us.
The Arnold Journey 