“1 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests had a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin. After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.

2 So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him, “You have said it.”

3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Are You not answering anything? Look how many things they are accusing You of!” 5 But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.”

Mark 15:1-5

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“Pilate was amazed.” Why? What struck him about Jesus? What made Him different than everyone else in his experiences? 

Imagine, if you would, that Jesus was the only adult in that room. Pilate was maybe 8 years old and the Jewish leadership were all 3-5 years old and then re-read that passage. 

As these petty, shallow men bickered and fought against Jesus, He didn’t answer them. Why? Because He didn’t need to, and their childish, selfish hatred of Him wasn’t hardly worth acknowledging. They had no authority over Him. They had no valid arguments against Him. Pilate could hear and understand what they were doing, but didn’t quite comprehend why Jesus wasn’t responding to them. He saw as the encounter continued, that Jesus did hold some kind of power, some kind of authority. It came through in His demeanor and in the few spoken answers He provided. But it was veiled to him at the same time, and so Jesus’ responses and lack of responses intrigued and confused him. 

Just like a parent doesn’t need to explain their reasoning to a toddler throwing a tantrum, Jesus had no requirement to respond to the baseless accusations of these ‘religious’ men. But because of the love of God, He was still providing for them (and us all) what they needed most despite their protests. 

People who care for children are not required to explain to the children why they are doing what is best for them. They simply love and provide. If your toddler gets a taste for cake, you don’t submit to their foolishness and only provide cake for their meals from then on. Instead, you, as the loving, responsible adult, bring them the vegetables, grains and protein their bodies need to grow, despite their protests for more desserts. It takes maturity to understand the need for proper nutrition and discipline to actually make the good choices required to maintain it. 

Those angry, frightened men needed something they didn’t understand they needed. They were not in a place to grasp anything Jesus might tell them, and so He would have to just show them what needed to be done. Love would have to provide and speak what needed to be spoken. 

Sometimes the best response to an insult is to ignore it and just do what is right. Sometimes the best answer to a wrong is simply to love in return. Jesus knew what the proper response was, and the will of the Father pressed Him forward to reveal it on the cross.