...and Pilate was Amazed...

Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
"Crucify him!" they shouted.
"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Mark 15:1-15

What really jumped out at me as I read this morning is Pilate's amazement at Jesus' silence. Jesus already declared, "I AM," which is a pretty big statement, because this goes directly back to the Mosaic Covenant with YAHWEH (which means "I AM"). By Jesus saying "I am..." He is declaring His divine nature and that He is God, the Son of the Living God. That is amazing in itself! (Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God, but look at all of His I AM statments in the Gospels...)
But to further this concept, when the chief priests accused Him of many things, Jesus did not respond. He's God, after all, He's already declared that...and thus He needs no defense. Jesus stands alone. That is also something hard to understand, because as a Christian, often times I feel obligated to defend Christ. He doesn't need my defense. He wants me to witness about Him, because He is the great I AM, but He doesn't need me to argue for Him. In fact, He is often times my protection and my defense. (See Psalm 18:30..."He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him...)
The life application in this scripture for me is WHAT/WHOM is my Barabbas? What am I so eager and willing to trade for My Jesus? I'd love to say that there is nothing, but honestly with my priorities and how I live, I slip up. It's not that I don't want to choose Jesus, but sometimes things get in the way, and it's hard to learn to throw those things out! Thankfully, though, nothing that I can, because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ, is beyond the reach of His grace.

Father, as I learn to choose you more and more in each moment, may I also trust that you stand alone. Thank you for somewhere around 2006 years ago going through such terrible things for me and for everyone. Thank you for experiencing mockery, accusation, persecution, sin, death, and the depths of hell for me. Thank you. Thank YOU, Jesus Christ, for being my love.

May I be amazed as I look at you standing alone.
Hanging alone, on the cross. For me.

Thank you that I don't ever have to be alone, no matter what.
You are within, Yet you are in control and ever faithful.

Amen.
-alh-