Mat. 26:59- And the chief priests, and the elders, and all the council, were seeking false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death,
Mat. 26:63- But Jesus kept silent.…. NKJV TLB below
Is. 53:7- He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he never said a word. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he stood silent before the ones condemning him.
The high priest, the elders and the Sanhedrin questioned Jesus while looking for false testimony so that they could put Jesus to death. He didn’t defend Himself. He didn’t point out the lies of the witnesses, nor expose the sin of those condemning Him, and He certainly knew they desired His death. He was innocent, totally blameless yet with all the wisdom He possessed that had allowed Him to escape all their other traps, He kept silent.
Did He do it just to fulfill prophesy in Isaiah 53 as He said He came to fulfill the Law and Prophets* or did He just keep quiet because He knew what needed to happen? I can’t imagine being in that position- knowing I was completely innocent and about to be condemned to death. Their lies would be very insulting and I would have verbally fought to prove my case and make them admit my innocence. But not Jesus; He kept silent.
He knew what needed to be done.
He knew the insults and accusations of the priests were nothing compared to accepting all of my sins, your sins, and everyone’s sins since the beginning of time until the end in His pure, spotless body.** (How vile that must have felt to Him taking on all our sins.) Standing before the priests, elders and Sanhedrin, Jesus knew what was pending for Him.
But for you, for me, He kept silent.
*Mat. 5:17- "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn't come to destroy them, but to fulfill them. ISV
**2Cor. - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us… NIV (1Pet. )
1 Pet. 2:24- He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to those sins and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ISV