HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, February 14, 2025 – Jesus spent the three-plus years of his ministry preaching and teaching non-stop, nearly all of which was done by speaking. Even before that, when he was just 12 years old, he was eager to debate the temple elders. He wasn’t shy to speak in public, and in fact he was very good at it, perhaps the best there ever was. Keeping quiet didn’t come naturally to Jesus.

Which is why his silence before Pontius Pilate is that much more remarkable. Why didn’t he speak up for himself when given the chance? Why didn’t he explain what was going on, not necessarily to plead for his release, but to plead for the souls of those in attendance? Would that not have been a golden opportunity to preach God’s Word, given that the proceedings were being recorded for posterity?

We know from scripture that the Messiah had to remain silent before his accusers. His silence was non-negotiable because it was prophesied. This is the main reason why Jesus didn’t defend himself before Pilate. But at the same time, Jesus understood there was nothing he could have said to these people to make them understand what was going on. Even his own disciples had deserted him at that point, terrified that what was happening to him would also happen to them. Jesus well knew this was the hour of Satan’s power and that God had given that hour to Satan. So in addition to remaining silent to comply with scripture, Jesus remained silent in acknowledgement of the power of Satan, a power that God had given into his hands for a short time and a short time only.

Just before the world enters the tribulation years, there will be silence in Heaven. Like Jesus choosing to remain silent before his accusers, any believers who are still on Earth will likewise fall silent before the deaf ears of an unbelieving world. The time to plead for lost souls will have been passed and there will be no more conversions. This will be the official start of Satan’s short but brutal worldwide reign.

We’ve all had a foretaste of this phenomenon already, this need to remain silent in the face of resolute unbelief. Having thrown enough pearls before swine, we’ve learned not to do that anymore. We’ve learned to be eloquent in our silence, even as the voices of the world grow shriller and more intrusive. The more deafening the world’s din, the more silent we become in response. This, too, has been prophesied.

But we’ll continue to speak to each other and to God and Jesus. Even in the darkest hour of Satan’s power, communication between us and Heaven will not stop, just as it didn’t stop for Jesus when he was on the cross. I believe that Jesus was closer to his Father during his crucifixion than at any other time during his earthly years, and we’ll be closest to our Father during the tribulation, if we’re still here (though we should pray hard that we won’t be). The silence of Jesus will become our silence, in accordance with scripture, allowing us to turn away from Satan’s realm and focus fully on God.