And the chief priests accused him urgently.
Mark's account moves fast. The priests hand Jesus to Pilate. Pilate asks whether He is the King of the Jews. Then the accusations pile up, and Jesus says nothing. The verse raises two questions at once — what were they charging Him with, and why did He refuse to reply?
Mark does not list the accusations. The other Gospels do. One commentator sets out the wording the priests used before the Roman governor.
He stood at Caesar's judgment seat, and the Roman governor was the emperor's representative. Luke tells us what the charge was, and perhaps its very wording: "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a king" (23:2). But Pilate evidently was in no mood to take the accusation seriously… Both Matthew (27:18) and Mark (15:10) tell us that he knew the chief priests had handed Him over out of envy.
He had already answered Pilate's one direct question. What follows is silence.
He had no more to say here. The chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. He was not there to defend Himself, but to confess who and what He was… His silence had a far more serious effect than any words could have had. There is a time to be silent as there is to speak; and silence now was the more convincing to the conscience. In moral terms He stood above His judge… Before the high priest and before Pontius Pilate alike, He confessed the truth. Men condemned Him for that truth. All their lies achieved nothing.
The charges were empty. So the verdict rested on something else — His own confession of who He is.
For the rest He again answered nothing. In all the wild charges of the chief priests there was nothing to answer. It is worth noting that Mark records only two utterances of our Lord before His judges. Before the Jewish leaders He confessed Himself to be the Christ, Son of God and Son of Man. Before the Roman governor He confessed Himself to be the King of the Jews. No evidence prevailed against Him; He was condemned because of who He was, and He could not deny Himself.
Commentators link this scene to Isaiah 53. One of them points out how unnatural such silence is.
Verse 7 emphasises His silence before His accusers. When men are oppressed and treated unjustly, protest is natural and normal. So His silence went against all experience. The Gospels note it — Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:3-4; Luke 23:9; John 19:9. A sheep really is silent before the shearers. Anyone can see that today by standing and watching shearers at work. But He was not like a sheep being sheared. He was like a lamb led to the slaughter. He was indeed "the Lamb of God," as John the Baptist announced, yet no word of protest escaped His lips.
The silence was not weakness. Another writer presses the point that the One they accused held all power in His hands.
Not a word did He utter. Why was this? Answer me that. Those small creatures of His own making insulted their Creator. He could have swept them out of existence with a single word. Why then did He keep silence? Isaiah prophesied this of Jesus centuries before His birth into this world: "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth" (Isa. 53:7). Here it is fulfilled. The love of His heart for sinners brought Him to this.
So where did the strength for that silence come from?
In the presence of all His accusers His resource was in God. He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. When the Jewish council falsely accused Him, He "kept silent" (Matthew 26:63). When the Jews accused Him in front of Pilate, "He answered nothing." When Pilate himself questioned Him, "He answered… never a word" (Matt. 27:12-14). The mocking Herod questioned Him in many words, "but He answered him nothing" (Luke 23:9). He was silent before men because He had a resource in God.
But His silence had a limit.
In the presence of insults the Lord was silent (Mark 15:3-5). When it was a question of bearing witness to the truth He spoke out plainly (John 18:33-38).
- Motive — The charges looked political. Pilate knew better: the chief priests handed Him over out of envy.
- Emptiness — Nothing in the wild charges was worth answering. No evidence ever prevailed against Him.
- Confession — He came to confess who He was, not to defend Himself. Men condemned Him for the truth He owned, not for the lies they told.
- Willingness — He could have destroyed His accusers with a word. Love for sinners kept Him silent, as Isaiah foretold.
- Pattern — He stayed silent under insult, but spoke plainly when truth was at stake. He was quiet before men because His resource was in God.
And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? See of how many things they bear witness against thee.
The chief priests have piled up charge after charge, and Pilate presses the prisoner a second time for an answer. The striking thing is not what Jesus says but what He refuses to say — and why.
Two things stand opposite each other in this courtroom: a crowd of accusers and a silent Man.
Early in the morning the council met formally to condemn the Lord. All claimed to be clear about His guilt; they agreed He deserved death. So He was taken to Pontius Pilate. On the one hand were the chief priests accusing Him of many things; on the other was the Lord, perfectly silent to all their charges against Him. Pilate's surprise comes out in his words to the Lord, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." Still the Lord was silent. His conduct was so different from what Pilate, as a judge, was used to.
He had already answered one question — the one about who He was. That single reply explains the silence that follows.
Here, before Pilate, our Lord simply owns the truth of what He was according to Jewish expectation. "Are you the King of the Jews?" And He answered him, "You have said so." That was all; He had nothing more to say here. The chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. He was not there to defend Himself, but to confess who and what He was… He was clearly superior, morally, to His judge… Before the high priest and before Pontius Pilate alike, it was the truth He confessed. For that truth, man condemned Him.
The silence was not passive. It was a choice, and it drew a line between what He would answer and what He would not.
In the perfection of His way, He knows when to speak and when to keep silence. For the truth He will speak, but when it is a question of meeting personal malice against Himself, He is silent. It is good for us to profit by His perfect example. When people insulted Him, He did not insult them back, and we should follow in His steps. There is a time when silence will have a far greater effect on the conscience than any word anyone could speak. All the same, such silence is completely foreign to our fallen nature.
Isaiah had described this silence long before it happened.
Isaiah's prophecy emphasises His silence before His accusers. When men are oppressed and afflicted unjustly, to protest is natural and usual. So His silence went against all experience, and the Gospels note it — Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:3-4; Luke 23:9; John 19:9. A sheep truly is silent before the shearers. But He was not like a sheep being sheared. He was like a lamb led to the slaughter. He was indeed "the Lamb of God," as John the Baptist announced, yet not one word of protest escaped His lips.
Silence here was not weakness, and it was not lack of material for a reply.
Though charged with many things He answered nothing; and Pilate marvelled. He made no defence. The accusations, falsely brought, fell back on the consciences of the accusers. There were many to condemn, none, sadly, to befriend Him! Where were the crowds He had healed, and fed, and forgiven?… He could have thrown back every charge and cleared Himself against each accuser. But self-defence was not His object. Self-surrender, complete and unmistakable, was the business of His blessed life here below.
The silence fulfilled an old prophecy — and love lay behind it.
Not a word did He speak. Why was this? Answer me that. When those small creatures of His own hand insulted their Creator, He could have swept them out of existence with a single word. Why then did He keep silence? Isaiah prophesied this of Jesus long centuries before He was born into this world… Here it is fulfilled. The love of His heart for sinners brought Him to this.
The charges deserved no reply — and Pilate's surprise went no further than surprise.
Why should He answer? If Pilate were so unjust as to condemn Him on the basis of such things, this would be only Pilate's folly. Yet Pilate had never before faced a prisoner who would not be anxious to defend himself. He marvelled at this, but failed to take to heart its significance.
- Confession — the silence was not evasion. He had already answered who He was. He stood there to confess, not to defend.
- Choice — the silence was chosen. He speaks for the truth. When the attack is personal malice, He says nothing.
- Prophecy — the silence was foretold. Protest is the natural response to injustice. Isaiah had already pictured Him as a lamb led to the slaughter.
- Love — the silence was love. He could have thrown back every charge. Self-surrender was the business of His life, and love for sinners brought Him to it.
- Conscience — the silence still speaks. It reached Pilate's conscience more than any word could. Yet he marvelled and moved on.
But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marvelled.
Jesus stands in a Roman court. The chief priests pile charge on charge, and He gives no reply at all. Pilate had never seen a prisoner behave like this, and it amazed him. Why did the one Man who could have answered every charge say nothing?
Before Pilate the Lord replied to one question only: the question about who He was.
When they challenged Him about being the King of the Jews, He simply answered, "You say so," which means "Yes." Beyond that He again answered nothing. In all the wild charges of the chief priests there was nothing to answer... No evidence prevailed against Him; He was condemned because of who He was, and He could not deny Himself.
He had come to say who He was, not to win His case.
He was not there to defend Himself, but to confess who and what He was... His silence produced a far graver effect than any words could. There is a time to be silent as there is a time to speak; and silence now was the more convincing to the conscience. He was morally superior to His judge... In truth they judged nothing but what was completely false, and they condemned Him for the truth... All their lies achieved nothing. So it was not on the ground of what they brought forward, but of what He said, that Jesus was condemned.
His silence was deliberate. He knew when to speak and when to say nothing.
In the perfection of His way, He knows when to speak and when to keep silence. For the truth He will speak, but when it is a question of meeting personal malice against Himself, He is silent... Sometimes silence presses on the conscience far harder than any words could. Still, such silence is completely foreign to our fallen nature. So Pilate marvelled at His silence.
Pilate pressed Him to reply, and got nothing.
Pilate's surprise comes out in his words to the Lord, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." Still the Lord was silent. His conduct was nothing like what Pilate, as a judge, normally saw.
People protest when they are treated unjustly. He did not.
reason: stray "Verse 7" reads as Mark 15:7; two very-hard sentences He was indeed "the Lamb of God," as John the Baptist announced, yet no word of protest escaped His lips.
He kept back an answer He was fully able to give.
Though charged with many things He answered nothing; and Pilate marvelled. He made no defence. The accusations, falsely brought, fell back on the consciences of the accusers... He could have thrown back every charge and cleared Himself against each accuser. But self-defence was not His object. Self-surrender, complete and unmistakable, was the business of His blessed life here below.
Silence was not helplessness. Behind the injustice, God's purpose was moving forward.
The apostle tells us that if the Lord was silent while men heaped insults on Him, it was not that He had no resource. Instead of answering the false charges of men, He committed Himself to God who judges righteously. It is clear that the wickedness of men was only carrying out the counsels that God had determined beforehand.
Mark tells this trial more briefly than the other Gospels. The lesson it leaves is for those who serve.
Mark's account of the Lord's trial before Pilate is the briefest; Matthew's is the longest. Again the Servant gives a good confession. But when the chief priests accused Him, His lips stayed closed. He stood there to witness and not to defend Himself. What a gracious example He gives to all His servants.
- Nothing — the charges had no substance, so there was nothing to answer. Evidence did not convict Him; they condemned Him for confessing who He was.
- Not defence — He stood there to confess, not to clear Himself. Self-surrender was the business of His life.
- Unnatural — protest is the normal reaction to injustice, so His silence stands out in all four Gospels.
- Marvel — silence like this is foreign to fallen nature. It pressed on Pilate's conscience harder than any speech could.
- Committed — He was not without resource. He committed Himself to God who judges righteously, and left His servants a pattern to follow.