When Jesus was brought to trial, he was basically quiet before the Sanhedrin; yet Stephen spoke very boldly. How do you decide when to speak and when to be quiet before opposition? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1541).
The answer to the latter question is found in the former quotation. Pretense is the key. For Jesus to have acted as if his trial were anything but a foregone conclusion would have required pretense. For Jesus to have spoken as if anything he said could have even remotely been persuasive or could have affected the outcome of the trial would have been utter pretense and would have constituted complicity in falsehood. Jesus was a man of integrity so essentially remained silent. In most any situation this can be the key as to whether to speak or not to speak. If to speak would overcome one with a sensation of the bizarre arising from pretense and the hoodwinking of truth, it is best to remain silent.
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