Matthew 26:63 But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure you by the living God… I. It was WONDERFUL He could, by a word, have made the world tremble; judge and witnesses fall dead before Him. Why was He silent? He came not to be His own advocate, but ours. II. His silence was full of suffering, suffering that was vicarious and expiatory. All who are great sufferers endure most at times when one hears no sound from their lips. It is a relief to pain to cry out. III. It was OMINOUS. It foreshadowed ills. His silence said, "What more can I do unto My vineyard?" It is an appalling sign when Christ ceases to plead with us. IV. Christ was INSPIRED, and thus full of INSTRUCTION. 1. Take the doctrine of our Lord's Deity. This is established by a mass of evidence, but there is no stronger proof of it than the silence of Christ. 2. Apply it to the authenticity of the Old Testament Scriptures, that against which the destructive criticism of our day is making such fierce attacks, and what an argument we find. 3. Apply His silence to the perpetuity of the Sabbath law, and with what force it speaks. V. Christ's silence was BEAUTIFUL. Difficult to restrain malice before enemies. VI. It is EXEMPLARY. Self-imposed silence often a duty. 1. Because of the perils of speech. 2. Because of the blessings of the discipline of silence. (J. T. Blackburn.) Parallel Verses KJV: But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. |
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