Jesus remained silent. The high priest addressed him and said, “I put you under oath by the living God to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
This statement is the central moment of the trial, when the high priest formally places before Jesus the final question: who He truly is. He appeals with the highest formula, “I put you under oath by the name of the living God,” as though acting as a defender of God’s word. Yet in reality his aim was not to know the truth, but to secure the basis for an accusation. The high priest expected the very words he could use as evidence of a crime, in order to declare “blasphemy.” And Jesus’ silence, which He had kept until that point, now becomes testimony when He is about to answer. This shows that Christ is silent where the accusation is meaningless, but speaks at the moment when the truth must be revealed. The high priest makes Him swear by the name of the “living God,” without realizing that standing before him is the Son of the living God. Moreover, like a red thread running through this scene is the reality that falsehood often presents itself in the role of convincing truth, or as the guardian of truth, in order to carry out its ruthless aims.