Mark 15:1-15

Summary: Though it can easily be mistaken for weakness or passivity, it’s also true that there can be tremendous power in silence. Pilate had probably heard every possible defense from defendants in danger of flogging and/or execution, but one response he’d like not heard before was silence. There are all sorts of things Jesus could have said in scolding defiance: to Pilate, to the chief priests, to the crowd that treacherously screamed for his execution. Yet he chose to hold his tongue; taking on the identity of the suffering servant Isaiah predicted in chapter 53 of this prophecy…the servant who did not open his mouth but willingly took upon himself the punishment for all our transgressions. Silence never spoke more loudly or powerfully than it did on Good Friday.