Silence
The passage in Philippians 2:5-8 tells us that when Jesus “emptied” himself, making himself of no reputation, he became man. The Word – which was God – became flesh (John 1:1,14). Jesus became man without ceasing to be God. He was man as though he were not God; he was God as though he were not man. And as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross. There is much that we can discuss regarding Jesus’ being a man – and the ordeal of the cross. We could talk about the suffering. The sacrifice. The shame of it all – the embarrassment for him. But I want to talk about his silence.
Silence. A great part of humbling oneself is to say nothing. Jesus did and said only what the Father told him to do (John 5:19); he was not able to say a word except what the Father gave him permission to say. Consider his performance before King Herod. Herod was so excited to see Jesus; he thought he could see Jesus perform a miracle, perhaps like pulling a rabbit out of a hat or something magical. When the moment came Jesus did not do anything or say anything. He just looked at Herod. This annoyed Herod. The king then “plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer” (Luke 23:;9). This got Herod’s goat. Then the physical suffering began. I think it was in some ways Jesus’ most brilliant moment – saying absolutely nothing to Herod, not even giving him a crumb.
It takes a lot of grace and humility to say nothing. There are those who are shy and perhaps need grace to speak up. But there are those of us who are so keen to assert our opinion that it takes extreme discipline and a lot of humility to say absolutely nothing. Just silence.
I have been gripped by those words, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Prov.10:19). Jesus is the only person in history who perfectly controlled his tongue. James said, “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check” (Jas.3:2). Jesus was perfect. He never sinned – in thought, word or deed. And part of mastery of the tongue is the ability to say absolutely nothing. Jesus repeated this discipline with Pontius Pilate. “Where do you come from?” Pilate asked Jesus. “But Jesus gave him no answer”. This infuriated the governor. “Do you refuse to speak to me?”, Pilate angrily continued. It was only when Pilate asserted his authority – “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” – that Jesus responded, pointing out that authority was given to Pilate from above (John 19:9-11).
I hope you will know the name Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player. He was the first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Those were the days when black people could not stay in “white only” hotels, eat in segregated restaurants or even drink in certain drinking water fountains. In my hometown of Ashland, Kentucky it was common in those days to see two drinking fountains next to each other – one designated “colored” the other “white”. Jackie Robinson would have to endure the horrors of racism without showing a trace of anger. When insulted, he would have to remain silent. He would need to “know his place”. Those who knew him well said that he was a very fiery and feisty man; to agree not to fight back was totally out of character. But he knew what was at stake. “He was willing to make a sacrifice for the good of the whole”, said one who knew him well, as reported in a recent American Way magazine. Indeed, he was “carrying 26 million black folks on his back”. Amazing. A real American hero, what pressure that was on him non-stop over those years.
Jesus – our supreme example – had to accept the discipline of not uttering an angry word all the way to the cross. No person in history was more vilified. The sins of the entire world were on his back. One unguarded comment would have ended his mission. His silence is what further demonstrated his sinlessness. Had he retorted in anger once to the king, the governor, the chief priests or the soldiers the entire Plan of Redemption would have been aborted. On the cross Jesus was challenged to come down from it so they all could “see and believe’ (Mark 15:32). Had he rebuked his accusers and tormenters the Father would have called the whole thing off. For the slightest comment would have disqualified Jesus from being the sinless Lamb of God. Satan would have won. After all, it was the devil who was behind the entire opposition to Jesus. All the devil wanted was for Jesus to show anger or vengeance – just once! Jesus’ response however was simply this: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”(Luke 23:34).
Jesus was not even allowed to explain to Mary Magdalene what was going on. There she was – right in front of him – sobbing her heart out in disbelief that all this could be happening to him. Seeing her grief must have added immeasurably to Jesus’ own pain. If only he could whisper to Mary, “Mary, it’s okay; what I am doing is to atone for the sins of the world; this is why I came into this world – to die for you”. He was not allowed to say a single word of explanation.
Keep in mind that Paul said you and I are to be like this. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil.2:5). It means the willingness to suffer as he did – maintaining silence when tempted to speak or make ourselves look good or feel better.
The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove. Jesus had nothing to prove. He did not do a single thing or say one word that would let him explain what was going on. His pleasure came from pleasing the Father. It is called internal vindication – vindication “by the Spirit” (1 Tim.3:16). He therefore remained silent before all those around him – both friends and foes. “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isa.53:7). It was Jesus’ finest hour. Let it be ours when the pressure is on to say one little word to defend our actions, our thinking, or our reasons for what we are doing – even to those whom we love. It is part of being like Jesus, bearing the cross. To say absolutely nothing, not raising a little finger to clear our name.
Vindication is God’s prerogative. Don’t deprive God from doing what he does best – to vindicate. His way of doing it is so brilliant, so unpredictable that you will be amazed how he does it (Rom.12:19). Yes, he is sometimes slow. And yet he may vindicate in a short period of time. He may take a long while. And if he chooses to postpone vindication until the Judgment Seat of Christ? I reply, that means greater anointing for us here below. It is like the special grace given to Paul when the thorn in the flesh was not removed (2 Cor.12:9). That double anointing was better than the removal of the thorn! The increased anointing, then, is greater than having our name cleared! God will bring out the truth in his time. “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1 Cor.4:5).
That time is worth waiting for. Don’t mess up by trying to speak. Embrace the glory of silence.
RT
You can read much more about this in my book: Imitating Christ available at a discount for this month.
