Tag: Sanhedrin

The Silence Of The Lamb

Neal Pollard

What do you contemplate during the Lord’s Supper? Your mind could go in a thousand directions, the cruelty and infliction of pain, the hatred and rejection, the eternal plan of God, His unending love, the ugliness of your sin, and on and on.

There is a curious aspect to the entire frenetic proceedings that Jesus endured. You first read about it in Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the atonement offered by the “Suffering Servant.” The prophet wrote, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth” (53:7; cf. Acts 8:32). For emphasis, he says it twice: “He did not open His mouth.”

At the end of the gospel accounts, after Jesus’ arrest, we see two significant periods of time where this applied to Him. Before the Jews in the farce and mockery of a trial, Jesus kept silent (Mat. 26:63; Mark 14:62; Luke 23:9). Then, when handed before the Romans and their governor, Pilate, He did not answer (Mat. 27:12-14) and He gave him no answer (John 19:9). Scholars have scoured the ancient records in an effort to find anything like it in the legal annals of the Jews or Greco-Roman society.

Why did Jesus keep silent through the judgment phase of His crucifixion? He was not totally silent (Mat. 26:64; Luke 22:67-701), but as the charges bombarded and cascaded He gave no rebuttal. It was not that He could not. He had bested them in every debate and silenced them (see Mat. 22:46).

Why the silence?

  • He came to suffer, not to speak.
  • They would not have been convinced by His words any more than His wonderful works.
  • Jesus does not see this as a legal matter, but a spiritual necessity.
  • He placed His fate in the hands of God, as He prayed in Gethsemane (Mat. 26:39; John 6:38).
  • He accepted His situation.
  • The charge brought by two witnesses in Matthew 26:60-61 was technically true, though they twisted His words.
  • It provides a stark and compelling contrast between accusers and accused, which the reader readily sees.

No doubt there are more reasons, some known only to God. But it provides as much tension and drama in the Passion as it does confirmation of prophetic claims. It stands as but one of a thousand pictures of a loving, determined Savior to endure whatever necessary to pay for our sins with His life. The next time you contemplate the various “scenes of fear and woe,” take a moment to reflect on the silence of the Lamb. Through it, He truly speaks volumes!


1The reason for this is explained well by Stuart K. Weber : “When Jesus refused to answer and the attempts of the chief priests failed to convict Jesus, Caiaphas took the lead. I charge you under oath by the living God was the priest’s trump card. According to Jewish law, the priest had the authority to force a person to testify. If Jesus remained silent, he would violate the law. His decision to answer showed his respect for civil law and authority” (Holman NTC, 446-447).

The New Birth

Neal Pollard

“The signs” are a thread that run throughout the gospel of John. It is the signs observed by Nicodemus that brings this Pharisee to Jesus by night to speak with Him. He is a member of the Sanhedrin (7:50; 19:39), which is what John highlights by calling him a “ruler of the Jews” (cf. 7:48). The Sanhedrin, from the Greek word meaning “seated together,” was “a council in Jerusalem that functioned as the central judicial authority for Jews” (Myers, Eerdmans, 912). Yet, while that group will notoriously and constantly oppose Jesus and plot His death, Nicodemus approaches Jesus as a believer. He says, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (2). Who is the “we”? We are not told, but we do know that faith in Jesus is already beginning to spread. 

Jesus, however, controls the direction of the conversation. He responds by teaching Nicodemus about the necessity of one being born again (3ff). This intrigues and mystifies that respected teacher. In this starlit classroom, Jesus lays the groundwork for a truth which future students like you and I also need to grasp. 

The new birth is essential (3-5). Jesus says one must be born again. One must be born of water and the Spirit. Without this new birth, one cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. Paul is going to call this the “washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). 

The new birth is spiritual (6-8). Nicodemus is trying to understand Jesus’ teaching from a physical perspective, wondering if He meant literal rebirth–which he knew was impossible. Jesus contrasts that fleshly idea with being born of the Spirit. He likens this rebirth to the wind, something real but not something observable. We can see someone being baptized, but the cleansing of the soul and becoming a child of God is something actual which God sees but which we accept by faith. 

The new birth is understandable (9-15). Now, Nicodemus is struggling to make sense of it, but Jesus says that is because he is thinking in earthly rather than heavenly terms. Those signs Nicodemus marveled at were designed to verify the truths He was teaching. All of it was meant to create faith in open hearts. To aid his understanding, Jesus asserts that He had come down from heaven to be “lifted up” (14). He refers this Old Testament scholar to an event during the wilderness wandering, when the brazen serpent was put on a pole to save the sinful Israelites who had complained and been bitten by serpents (Num. 21:9). Those who trusted in this remedy God provided to save their lives and looked on the pole did not die. Those who did not believe and look died. Jesus ties God’s grace and man’s obedient faith together to teach the new birth.

The new birth is providential (16-21). Simply put, God provided the new birth as part of His eternal plan. Jesus came to earth to teach that plan, but also to enact that plan. He was like the brazen serpent. He would have to be lifted up (14). He would have to be “given” (16). It was because men would not believe this that they would act in violence to kill Him, ironically facilitating God’s eternal plan of redemption (18-20). Jesus was going to expose the evil of men’s deeds, and they would hate Him for it. But Jesus, referring to Himself as Light (five times from verse 19 to 21), was illuminating the path of righteousness for those who believe (21). 

I wonder what went through Nicodemus’ mind when he left Jesus that night. How many times did he review this lesson in his mind, pondering the weighty truths Jesus shared with him? What about when he tactfully defended Jesus when the Sanhedrin doubtfully disputed about Him (7:50-52)? What about when he helped fellow-Council member Joseph prepare Jesus’ body for burial after His crucifixion (19:38-39)? However that went, Nicodemus was taught one of the most important, yet basic, truths of all. He was faced with embracing it, and so are we. A place in God’s kingdom, eternal life, salvation, and coming to the Light are all blessings of being born again! It is an awesome thought that Jesus not only invites us to that, but gave His life to make it a reality.