But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer, (Mark 14:61 NIV).

But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed (Mark 15:5 NIV).

Read through the gospel accounts of His crucifixion and resurrection (Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-20) and you’ll notice that Jesus never once spoke a cruel or harsh word to His accusers and attackers. He never once lashed out at them. During the moments when He clearly—in our minds—had every right to defend Himself, He was silent (Mark 14:61, 15:5). During any moment in this horrible experience, He easily could have called angels down to defend Him, but He didn’t. Why?

Why didn’t He speak up? Why didn’t He defend Himself? Why was He silent? Why did He endure the most extreme form of torture and death ever developed by man?

Why? For you and me.

He CHOSE to not defend Himself. He CHOSE to keep silent. Love for us—for you and for me—motivated Him to endure the horrors of the crucifixion. (But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us [Romans 5:8].) He knew that without His sacrifice, we would have to pay the penalty for our sins (For all have sinned… [Romans 3:23]), that we would have to endure eternal separation from God. Through His death, He paid the ultimate price so that we could have eternal life. (For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 6:23].) He loved us that much!

Here’s something else to think about. He kept silent before His accusers and attackers because He loved them too! Those people who brutally beat and killed Him…He loved them as well.

How does this apply to you?
First, and most importantly, do you really believe that His motivation for all He did and continues to do is love? Love for you? Love for the world?

It’s true. He loves you desperately—even in the moments that you sin against Him or disappoint Him. He suffered and died the most horrible death known to man because HE LOVED YOU and knew that without His sacrifice, there’d be no way you could spend eternity with Him.

Second, how do you respond to those who are cruel to you or hurt you? Do you hate them? Are you quick to attack them back? Are you quick to defend yourself when you feel you’ve been wronged? Or do you love them? (Proverbs 25:21-22, Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-36).

If we’re called Christians—“followers of Christ”—then first, we need to embrace the unconditional love of Christ and then learn to extend it to those around us.

Father, I thank you for your love and sacrifice for me and every person who’s ever lived. Please help me to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is your love (Ephesians 3:18) and help me to extend that love to others around me—even the ones who aren’t easy to love.

© 2004 Kingdom Building Ministries.