Sometimes No Answer is Best

Where did the idea that you are obligated to respond to everything thrown at you? Some asked Jesus questions and He answered. When He was before Pilate, Matthew 27:14, "And he answered him never a word..." Why the difference?

One, He had already answered the questions. Two, His answer would not receive just and fair consideration. Three, the questioner was fishing for some accusation. Four, there was little to indicate honesty on the part of the questioner. Why should anybody bother with such things as that?

Some, pretending to be so pious and seeking truth, are no more than trappers seeking to find fault, acting as if only they know anything. When matters have been explained time and again, where is the profit to wrangle with rabble-rousers over the same things time and again? So often, neither you nor the questioner knows the facts about a matter, even if it was the business of either of you, which often if it not.