Objection (iii): “As a Prophet it was essential that Jesus always spoke up
for truth and denied falsehood. How could he then have remained silent
before Pilate when the truth was being challenged?”
Everyone who heard Jesus speak and preach acknowledged His greatness
with words: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were
astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and
not as their scribes” (St. Matt. 7:28-29). Pilate already had doubts about
Jesus’ guilt and was skeptical of the charges brought against Him (St. Mark
10:15). He was even anxious to be rid of the whole matter, for he feared
political complications. If Jesus had spoken in His own defense, He
undoubtedly would have answered all the charges brought against Him and
once more the Scribes and Pharisees might have “marvelled, and … left
him and went away” (St. Matt. 22:22). Jesus would have been released, He
would not have been crucified and raised from the dead and we would still
be in our sins: “But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must
be so?” (St. Matt. 26:54). Thoughts of Jesus avoiding crucifixion are not
the thoughts of God but of man: “But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get
behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of
God, but of men’” (St. Matt. 16:23).
Furthermore, Our Lord told His disciples, “Do not give dogs what is holy;
and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under
foot and turn to attack you” (St. Matt. 7:6). He may have judged that
Caiaphas and Pilate did not deserve a dignified and full answer because
they lacked the necessary dispositions to hear Him fruitfully.
Objection (iv): “To believe that Jesus could cry out from the Cross, ‘My
God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me,’ is a blasphemous assertion
that a Prophet lost faith in God!”
These words have indeed been a source of much speculation over the
centuries. There is great significance in Christ’s speaking them, and they
are far from being blasphemous.
Whenever Jesus spoke or preached, He frequently quoted from the Old
Testament Scriptures. This is not surprising, considering that the Old
Testament contains over three hundred prophecies relating to the coming of
the Messiah. Perhaps the most prophetic messianic part of the Old
Testament is Psalm 22 (21). It is from this psalm that Jesus uttered the
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