Silent Wittness

And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. –Mark 15:3-5

Despite the fact that Jesus barely speaks to Pilate, the governor ends the interview convinced that he is innocent. Jesus silence is greater than the many and varied words of the chief priests. In this there is a valuable lesson to be learned about the importance of our demeanor as we do the work of the kingdom. Words are important, but how we carry ourselves when we speak, as well as when we are silent, has much bearing on the efficacy of our testimony.

As Christians we are always in possession of truth. But how we present that truth often determines its success or failure. Do not be mistaken, we are not discussing evangelistic, or apologeical “tactics.” Jesus was not simply a “smooth operator.” Jesus demeanor before Pilate was the result of something more. It was not the result of something he had learned, but rather the result of his knowledge affecting the way he lived.

The priests heaped upon him scores of false accusations. Were we in the same the position, our natural tendency would be to defend ourselves. Few of us face such situations in a legal setting, but we are confronted with distortions of the truth in various settings in our lives, including our work in the Church. In such circumstances we are required to give an account of what we believe to be true, but our account should be shaped by our absolute confidence in the ability of God to workout his plan regardless of the success or failure of our defense.

The biggest stumbling block to being able to imitate Jesus’ comes from our desire to be vindicated as the holder of truth. Were he merely a man, Jesus vindication of his person would have rested solely on his ability to fend off the attacks of the priests. But because he knew the Father’s will, he knew his death would not be the final word on the proceedings. His knowledge guided is actions, which in turn witnessed to who he was.

As his followers, we have access to the comfort of his knowledge. We may not know the Father’s plan as did he, but we have his promises that it will be worked out completely and for our good. And these promises have been validated by his actions. We know what he has said and done, therefore our witness to these things should not only be in word but also in deed. All that we say, along with all that we do not say, should be validated by how we say it. And how we say it should be shaped by our absolute confidence in the outworking of his plan.