Devo: Matthew 27:11-26

“And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.” V. 12

Jesus kept silent despite all the accusations hurled at Him. He did not retaliate nor vindicated Himself. He didn’t have to because He knows who He is. He is the Son of God and people’s accusations of Him don’t change His character.

It’s hard to keep silent when you’re bombarded with lies just for people to hurt you. Oftentimes, people will attack you personally when they can’t justify their hatred towards you. They will look for things to accuse you even if they’re not true.

“But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should as for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.” V. 20

“Then the governor said, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they cried out all the more, saying, ‘Let Him be crucified!'” V. 23

They could not give a reason for wanting to crucify Jesus instead of Barabbas who was considered as notorious. They were just yelling, “Let Him be crucified!”

It also shows how people are easily influenced. When people say something bad about someone, we do not give the gossiped person the chance to explain his/her side of the story. Instead of getting to know the person, we just believe what others say. People will even come together against you just because of gossip. It’s difficult when people are destroying your reputation and say nothing.

God said in His Word that vengeance is His. He knows what people are saying behind our back. He is omnipresent and therefore hears every bad thing said about us. We will be accountable to every bad word that comes out of our mouth.

Words can make or break a person. The saying “Sticks and stones may break my bone, but words will never hurt me.” is a lie. They’re not just words. Words hurt, deeply. Words are powerful.

“Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” V. 13

Jesus received many hurtful things but He kept silent. He endured all the pain in order to save us. Pilate knew that Jesus was handed over to Him not because of bad things that Jesus did but because of the envy of the chief priests and elders.

“For he knew that they handed Him over because of envy.” V. 18

“There is a time to defend one’s cause or one’s self, but those times are rare. When we rise to our own defense, we would usually be better off to keep silent and to trust God to defend us.” enduringword.com

“He saw that Jesus was a man so at peace with His God that He didn’t need to answer a single accusation.” enduringword.com