OPEN: One day my dad was driving down the road a little over the speed limit. He was going about 65 in a 55 mph zone… and then he saw some lights flashing in his rearview mirror. Dad was resigned to the fact he’d have to pay a speeding ticket (after all, he was going 65) and when the policeman walked up to the car – dad sheepishly gave him his license/registration. And then the policeman told dad that he’d clocked him going 75 mph. Now dad knew he’d only been going 65, and the words were out of his mouth before he even thought about it. He told the policeman – YOU’RE A LIAR.
Now, I would personally not suggest telling a police officer something like that - but he was right - the policeman HAD lied. And dad was so angry that the policeman mumbled something and then gave dad a “warning” and walked away.
Now – here’s my point: It angered dad to be accused of something he hadn’t done, and his anger caused him to SPEAK. Faced with injustice… he refused to be SILENT.
But Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that Jesus would face injustice and yet He WOULD be silent! “He was oppressed, and afflicted… yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb being led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
Jesus was arrested about midnight, and all through the night He was subjected to at least 6 different trials - none of which was particularly fair or just. For example, according to Jewish law: It was illegal for someone to be arrested at night unless caught in the act of a crime; It was illegal for the Sanhedrin to conduct business during the night. (but they did).; It was illegal for the Sanhedrin to convene on a day before a festival such as the Passover (but they did that too). And it went on, and on, and on. There were like 20 different violations of Jewish law that took place that night. It wasn’t right… it wasn’t fair… and Jesus had reason to be angry. But Isaiah tells us He wouldn’t open His mouth. He refused to defend Himself.
Matthew 26:59-63a says “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death. But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two came forward and stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary and rebuild it in three days.’” The high priest then stood up and said to Him, ‘Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?’ BUT JESUS KEPT SILENT…” (HCSB)
Luke 23:8-9 tells us that “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, BUT [JESUS] MADE NO ANSWER.”
And in Matthew 27:12-14 we read that “Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many things (the chief priests and the Elders) testify against you?’ But (JESUS) GAVE HIM NO ANSWER, NOT EVEN TO A SINGLE CHARGE, so that the governor was greatly amazed.”
Now, it’s true that Jesus would answer questions about WHO He was. The High Priest, for example, asked Jesus if he was the Son of God (Matthew 26:63) And Jesus replied “You have said so” (essentially telling the High Priest – “you’re right, that’s who I am”).
So, Jesus would spoke truthfully about WHO He was and what He’d come to do, BUT NOT ONCE did Jesus ever try to defend Himself against the unfair treatment or accusations He was subjected to.
And so, the question is: WHY NOT? Why wouldn’t Jesus speak up? I mean, yeah… I know, it was prophesied He would be silent, but there had to be a reason Jesus refused to defend Himself. And the answer is intriguing: Jesus refused to speak because He had to . He had to remain silent. His silence spoke of guilt.
Time magazine once told of how the courts used to view silence. Common Law held that an innocent man would loudly deny a serious charge, so the belief was that a suspect who remained silent in the face of an accusation had tacitly admitted to the crime. In other words they were guilty. And such silence could later be introduced at their trial as an indicator of guilt. Common law had a phrase for this: "Silence gives consent." (Time magazine – May 5th, 1967)
Now OUR legal system claims that an accused person has the presumption of innocence. But I have to admit that every time I hear of a defendant answering a question from a lawyer saying “I invoke my 5th amendment rights against self-incrimination” I think to myself – “this guy is as guilty as sin!”
And so Jesus was silent because of the guilt of sin (not his sin/ but ours). When Jesus died on the Cross… we’re told that He became SIN for us. Isaiah 53:5-6 tells us “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
HE DID THAT FOR YOU! HE DID THAT FOR ME!
2 Corinthians 5:21 sums it this way “God made him who had no sin TO BE SIN FOR US, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
And 1 Peter 2:24 tells us “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness”
So Jesus bore the weight of all my sins, and all your sins, and all the sins of all mankind - because if He hadn’t, it would have impossible for us to be forgiven of our guilt. He took our place on the cross, and He died there for YOUR sins and MINE! He became sin for us, and He was silent before His accusers because sin has no defense.
Now here’s a thought: ever since the 1960s our police have been required to read a defendant something called their Miranda Rights. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say… can and will be used against you.” (See footnote)
Now, that works fairly well in American courts… but it doesn’t work so well when we stand before God. Being silent before God won’t do us any good, because God already knows what you’ve done. We can’t hide our sin from Him. So the Bible says that when we sin, we shouldn’t try to cover your guilt. We should repent… confess… admit that we were wrong. If Jesus made no defense when He died for our sin, then we shouldn’t try to defend our sin either.
For example… a Christian should never make an excuse for bad thoughts. We shouldn’t say “I couldn’t help myself” or “That’s just who I am!” or “This is how I’m wired” or “I WAS BORN THIS WAY”. If you think that’s how you were born… you need to be REBORN!. You and I need to baptize our thoughts and submit them to Jesus. Simply confess “I have SINNED!" Refuse to make excuses and make no defense for your thoughts.
And we should never make an excuse for bad language. Someone might say “Pardon my French”! Well, I’m pretty sure these folks don’t know French and even if they did – that ain’t French. There is no Pardon for bad language… It’s SIN! Don’t try to make it acceptable. It’s wrong. Repent… Confess… admit it’s wrong.
And we should never make an excuse for bad behavior. Never excuse bad behavior by saying “I was in a bad mood!” Or try to explain that you wouldn’t have behaved badly if that other person hadn’t triggered your anger. Don’t give yourself an excuse! Just REPENT…FESS UP AND MOVE ON!
You understand what I’m saying here? Jesus offered no defense for sin because there is no excuse and no defense for sin! And neither you nor I should try to defend our sin.
So, first, Jesus was SILENT because sin has no defense/ no excuse.
Secondly, Jesus was silent because – if He’d defended Himself - there was a chance He’d go free. And if He went free… we’d die in our sins! You see, Pilate wanted to set Jesus free. The usual custom at Passover was to release a prisoner, so Pilate offered the crowd an option – release Jesus, or they could release Barabbas (a man so despicable that no reasonable person would want him on the streets again). But the crowd demanded that Barabbas be freed. Next Pilate had Jesus viciously flogged. He thought the flogging might create sympathy for Jesus and lead the crowd to release him. But that didn’t work. Jesus was brought back before the crowd and they still demanded his crucifixion.
So, Pilate felt trapped. Jesus wouldn’t TALK, and He wouldn’t DEFEND Himself. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. He literally begged Jesus to say something - anything so that Pilate could have an excuse to set Him free. But Jesus refused! And with His refusal… Jesus sealed His fate. He would die!
Now, that doesn’t mean Jesus was a victim. In the Gospel of John - when Jesus refused to speak - Pilate gets frustrated “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power to free you or to crucify you?” And Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” In other words – this was the plan. Jesus was saying: “I was born to die… and this is the moment.” Jesus had total control of whether Pilate would condemn Him or not
But now, that brings me to the 3rd reason why Jesus remained silent. I once saw a poll where a person asked “Could Jesus have avoided the cross?” In other words – did Jesus have a choice? Could He have said “No… we’re not going to do this?” And the answer was – no! Jesus was not trapped. He could have opted out. He could have said "no." In fact, that’s what He was praying about the night He was betrayed. Three times Jesus prayed “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Luke 22:42 (i.e. - can we find another way to get this done?)
Jesus’ prayer was so intense that we’re told that “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) The terrors of the cross caused even Jesus to think twice. And at that moment in time… Jesus could have decided to walk away from it all! And, if He’d walked away… we’d have ALL gone to hell; Not one of us … would ever see Heaven!
But Jesus didn’t walk away. WHY not? Because He loved us. To Jesus… you were worth the price He had to pay! Jesus remained silent so that you would know He loved you.
CLOSE: A preacher friend once shared about why he decided to become a Christian. He said he was sitting in a Sunday school class. He was just a young boy, and church was just something he did; it wasn’t really that important to him. But on that Sunday morning something changed. The Sunday School teacher held up a picture of Jesus on the Cross, and as he gazed at what he saw, he says he remembered thinking “someone loves me that much?!!!” And that simple childlike observation changed his life forever.
Jesus loved you that much. Jesus was silent before His accusers because He loved you. But now that we’re Christians, we’re told that Jesus will always speak up on our behalf. He will not be silent when it comes to your life and cares - BECAUSE HE LOVES US!
INVITATION
Footnote: As I pondered our "Miranda Rights" a thought occurred to me that I couldn't figure out how to include in this sermon... but you might find it helpful. The 2nd part of the Miranda rights says "You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will provided for you." It occured to me that we have a right to an attorney when we have sinned - Jesus, our advocate (I John 2:1). I could not figure out how to utilize this great promise... but maybe you can.
