And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
When the Jews charged that Jesus had made Himself the Son of God, Pilate was made more afraid and went back again into the judgment hall to ask Him whence He was. In asking where He came from, Pilate suspected that He might be a divine person. When Pilate asked, Jesus gave him no answer and remained silent.
His silence was because He had already told Pilate that He was the Messiah. He had also already told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. He had no further words for a judge who abused his office and authority as judge by yielding his principles and authority to a bloodthirsty crowd and its demands.
Pilate had disregarded the light Jesus had given about His mission, so Jesus' silence meant there was no further light for Pilate. That abuse of authority by yielding to the mob is why no further answer was given. In the surrounding exchange Pilate's claim to power made him responsible for condemning Jesus, whom he knew to be innocent.
Although Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus, he surrendered the innocent Son of God to be crucified in order to protect his own position, choosing his office over Jesus. Jesus' silence was part of His calm submission under humiliation and insult, in which He did not retaliate or use His divine power to escape, despite Satan's effort to provoke Him into doing so. The questioning took place during His condemnation in the judgment hall, when the multitude would revile Him and call for His crucifixion. His disciples had been prepared for this trial by seeing the fickleness of those who had once followed Him, so that their faith would not rest on the crowd's changing opinions or be overwhelmed when their Master was betrayed and humiliated.
When the Jews charged that Jesus had made Himself the Son of God, Pilate was made more afraid and went back again into the judgment hall to ask Him whence He was. In asking where He came from, Pilate suspected that He might be a divine person. When Pilate asked, Jesus gave him no answer and remained silent.
His silence was because He had already told Pilate that He was the Messiah. He had also already told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. He had no further words for a judge who abused his office and authority as judge by yielding his principles and authority to a bloodthirsty crowd and its demands.
Pilate had disregarded the light Jesus had given about His mission, so Jesus' silence meant there was no further light for Pilate. That abuse of authority by yielding to the mob is why no further answer was given. In the surrounding exchange Pilate's claim to power made him responsible for condemning Jesus, whom he knew to be innocent.
Although Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus, he surrendered the innocent Son of God to be crucified in order to protect his own position, choosing his office over Jesus. Jesus' silence was part of His calm submission under humiliation and insult, in which He did not retaliate or use His divine power to escape, despite Satan's effort to provoke Him into doing so. The questioning took place during His condemnation in the judgment hall, when the multitude would revile Him and call for His crucifixion. His disciples had been prepared for this trial by seeing the fickleness of those who had once followed Him, so that their faith would not rest on the crowd's changing opinions or be overwhelmed when their Master was betrayed and humiliated.