He didn’t defend himself.
He didn’t try to justify his cause or prove his innocence.
He stood there…silent…like a lamb to the slaughter.
When offered the opportunity to speak into the situation and right the wrongs…clarify his position…he chose to stand in quiet strength.
Pilate, so arrogant in his authoritative role…his title…believed that he held the power of life and death in his hands:
“When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’” John 19:8-10
Jesus’ response spoke of who had, and continues to have, the true authority:
“Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.’” John 19:11
Think about that.
Facing his accusers…standing before one who held human power and authority, Jesus did not surrender his identity. He stood firm in his position and made it clear that the only power Pilate had was given to him by God, and at any moment God could take it away. This statement solidified God’s control overall.
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7
By whose authority do you stand?
In what situation do you find yourself in that demands a statement…some sort of justification or defense?
Have you been accused?
Are you shackled with a heavy and unjust weight?
Are your circumstances beyond what you can bear? Are you weary, worn, pushed to your limit?
In whose hands are you resting?
Who holds the power over life (freedom) and death (captivity) in your situation?
When Jesus responded by saying, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above”, it wasn’t just a statement directed to Pilate regarding this particular moment in time. It was a declaration that nothing – not one single thing – that happens in this life has power outside of God’s authority.
What this tells me is that whatever circumstances we find ourselves in that cause our hearts to faint and our souls to cry for help, we can stand in assurance and confidence that God stands with us and for us and has the final say.
No earthly vessel has power over us…God’s power determines time, the duration, and the outcome. No sickness, no false accusation, no affliction or loss is outside of God’s sovereignty. He reigns over everything.
He is King over sickness.
He is Lord over every false accusation.
He is Mighty over each sting of affliction and devastating loss.
The silence of Christ…his weary body beaten in humility…seemed to declare nothing of victory…nothing of Lordship.
When it seemed that darkness had won…that death had conquered…Christ’s humble response declaring God’s power and authority was, and remains, the hope that we cling to.
Good Friday was not the end.
Christ standing before Pilate…the angry crowds crying out for his death…the beating and the insults…the cross…his death.
It was not the end.
This is not the end.
Your unimaginable situation…the heaviness you bear…is not the end.
While the world may appear to hold the power of life and death over you…
Remember…it is merely borrowed power.
Good Friday is not the end.
“After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53:11,12
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