11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.” Matthew 27:11–14 (ESV)
“And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.” (Mark 15:1–5 (ESV)
“Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” (Luke 23:1–5 (ESV)
28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” (John 18:28–32 (ESV)
Upon hearing Jesus’ answer “You have said so.” to his initial question ““Are you the King of the Jews,” Pontius Pilate said, ““Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” (Matt. 27:13), and “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you,” (Mark 15:4). However, Jesus remained silent. His silence fulfilled Isaiah 53:7.
Luke alone recorded the Sanhedrin’s specific charges against the Lord. They were, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” All three were misleading statements and intended to prejudice Pilate against Jesus.
Matthew and Mark wrote Pilate was amazed Jesus did not respond to a single charge. To be amazed (θαυμάζω; thaumazo) means to be astonished and to wonder. Whether this reaction was favorable or unfavorable depends on the context. In this context, it was favorable because Pilate said the Jews, ““I find no guilt in this man.”
“Jesus need not answer those charges, for He was not being tried for those accusations. Instead He was on trial because they said He claimed to be the King of the Jews, the Messiah (Matt. 26:63–64). Since Pilate had also declared Jesus’ innocence (John 18:38), there was no reason for Him to answer the accusations,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
The Jews responded, ““He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” The chief priests and the crowds said Jesus was causing the people to riot. This was a lie, but it did not matter to them. They wanted Jesus executed and were going to do, or say, whatever they could to accomplish this goal. The only one stopping this from happening in their minds was Pontius Pilate.
Pilate initially proved to be a man of integrity. He realized Jesus was not guilty of any crime, let alone a capital offense. He did not give in to the Jews demands for Jesus’ execution. However, Pilate was also the consummate politician. He ultimately would chose the expedient course of action instead of doing what was right. “To preserve the peace he will put the innocent to death (Matt. 27:26), becoming an infamous character in world history,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“God is a God of justice (Deut. 10:18) and is angered any time justice is not done. We likewise must be moved to work for justice, and being reminded that Rome did not deal with Jesus righteously should make us hate injustice all the more. We should be doing all we can to make sure justice is done, and some ways we can do so in our communities is by voting for honest judges and politicians and supporting ministries that work to extend justice to the unborn,” concludes Dr. Sproul.
Soli deo Gloria!
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