Embracing silence

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb,
so he opened not his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:7 (RSV)

Isaiah described a suffering, silent Messiah, who didn’t speak. Jesus was very outspoken throughout His ministry, until His arrest, when His suffering began. There’s a contrast between the Rabbi who turned over the tables of the money changers, calling the religious authorities hypocrites, and the silent, bleeding Lamb of God, carrying His cross to Golgotha. By example, Jesus showed us that there’s a time to speak out boldly and a time to be silent. 

He was silent at His arrest, except when Peter sprang into hero mode, and cut off someone’s ear. Jesus told him to put away the sword, saying,

“Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment, with more than twelve legions of angels?” 

(Matthew 26:53) It sounds like He was saying no one needs to ever  use violence on His behalf.

Twelve legions of angels, or 72,000 angels, were standing ready if called upon to deliver Him, yet He chose not to be delivered, but rather to deliver us instead. He endured the cross out of obedience to His Father and His love for every human person on earth.

When Jesus was silent during His questioning by authorities like Pilate and Herod, He barely answered their questions at all, but when He did speak, He said things like, 

“From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 

He spoke boldly, when asserting His divine authority, but He also used the powerful tool of silence. In silence, we can be sure that He was praying for His enemies, as He taught all of us to do. In silence, Jesus showed that we can find peace in knowing how to be still and know that the Lord is God.  (Psalm 46:10)

Since He embraced silence, the few words He did say, are worthy to meditate upon. Many books have been written on the last words of Christ. I haven’t read any yet, but a few of His last words have special meaning to me, so here are some of my insights. 

From the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” By forgiving His accusers and murderers, Jesus overcame evil with good, leaving His fragrance of forgiveness, even upon those who inflicted pain on Him. We are called to live as overcomers like Jesus, and we can overcome evil with good, through faith in Him.

When he cried out in Aramaic, saying, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”, Jesus was quoting from Psalm 22, a psalm packed with prophetic scriptures which graphically described the details surrounding His death. No one could have known, 1,000 years beforehand, that lots would be cast to gamble for His garments, but David wrote it in Psalm 22:19. 

Isaiah described a Messiah who was pierced for us, in his 53rd chapter. It’s the mystery of the ages, but there are treasures of prophecy hidden throughout scripture, and they all point to Jesus, as the Messiah. He fulfilled about 300 messianic prophecies.

In quoting that Psalm from the cross, Jesus showed His sense of destiny and purpose, in doing His Father’s will, even in those dark, pain filled moments. We are also meant to live with a sense of destiny and purpose, in our pain filled moments, with a certainty that God can and will bring the beauty of hope out of the ashes of our sorrow.

My favorite Mark Twain quote is, “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” People live longer, more fulfilled lives when lived with a sense of purpose. 

Jesus ministered to the criminal hanging next to Him, telling him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” We can learn from Jesus, that whatever we are personally suffering, there is someone right next to us, who is also suffering. There will always be people that we meet, who are hurting, but can be lifted up and inspired in faith, by sharing our story or simply listening to theirs.

These few final words of Jesus, make me more aware of His Presence, who is near to all of us during difficult times. Jesus could have said and taught much more, by giving indisputable proof of who He was, but instead, He embraced silence, saying only a few key phrases, from the cross.  

His silence was not only a sign of His obedience, humility, love, sense of destiny and prayer for His enemies, but an anticipation of a victorious resurrection to come. He literally told His disciples that He would rise again on the third day, but at the time, they just couldn’t grasp what He was saying. (Matthew 16:21)

On that resurrection morning, Jesus appeared in the flesh, to all of them, putting an end to all fear and doubt, as He brought joy, hope and healing for all. 

Whatever cross we are currently carrying, we embrace the silence, and trust that we are walking in resurrection power, with Jesus right beside us, saying,

“Trust Me, I’ve got this.”

Lord, help us to know that your Presence always walks beside us, while we embrace silence. Speak to every heart today, and bring hope, healing, and joy through the victory of your resurrection. Amen

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