July 15

and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer. — John 19:9 BSB

The silences of Jesus are as meaningful as His words. He was silent before Pilate because He understood Pilate’s insincerity. Pilate had been given plenty of chances to do the right thing, but he had thrown them away. Now Jesus had nothing more to say.

One lesson from this silence is that if we continually reject Christ’s offers of grace, the time may come when He will be silent to us. Of all the calamities that could come upon a person, none is worse than Christ turning His back and being silent to their prayers.

Another lesson is that there are times in life when silence is better than words. Often, silence is the best response to insults or reviling. When skeptics attack our faith, it’s often better to remain silent. There are times to speak boldly in defense of Christ, but there are also times when silence is the wisest response.