Very early in the morning, Jesus has been handed over, bound, to Pilate. As the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pilate was the only person in the nation with the authority to impose the death penalty, so what Jesus says to him is important. Again, we get to listen in. “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 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. – Mark 15:2–5 Mark emphasises that the Jews accused Jesus of “many things.” However, the chief accusation they brought before Pilate was that Jesus had called himself a king. This was of course true, however in the eyes of Rome this was treason and deserved the death penalty. As he had done before the Sanhedrin, Jesus made no reply to Pilate as he repeated the accusations of the Jews against him. Pilate was amazed. He had seen the fury of the chief priests against Jesus and their determination to destroy him. And he had interrogated many rebel Jews before. They would snarl their hatred or rattle off their anti-Roman slogans. But they were never silent. Jesus however, stood before him meekly and silently, entirely at peace in the midst of the storm around him. Pilate had never seen such a man before. Some people say, if God is real, then I expect him to appear before me or speak to me, and then I’ll believe. But Jesus never speaks to justify his existence and his identity. He doesn’t have to. His teachings and his deeds announce his presence among us. The Father has already announced his identity from heaven as his beloved Son. To these things all the prophets bear witness. What more do you need to believe?