The Power Of Silence

Isaiah 53

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

THE LAMB WAS LED TO THE SLAUGHTER. He never opened his mouth, expressing dignity and majesty in his wordless demeanor. He had lived for this moment. There was no need for legal defenses, scathing rebuttals, or statements of innocence. He simply declared who he was and let the repercussions erupt around him. In everything he did—and in what he chose not to say—he demonstrated the character of the Kingdom, even while the anti-Kingdom raged against him.

Why didn’t Jesus fight back? Why didn’t he call armies of angels to his defense, as he insisted he could do? Why didn’t he prove his deity with a flourish of stunning miracles that would silence his attackers? Why did he silence himself instead?

Because in his silence, Jesus exposed the true battle between a depraved world and a righteous God. He put evil on display against the innocence of its victim. He demonstrated humility in the face of pride, wisdom in the face of earthly power, truth and love in the face of distortion and hate. This could not turn into a battle of wits or an exchange of ideas. This went deeper. It was a conflict of spiritual realms, light versus darkness, the Kingdom of God versus its ancient rebels, the antidote to a pandemic of pride. In this case, silence was the winning argument.

If you want to know how to conduct yourself in this world, take your cues from Jesus’ behavior at his most intense moment of conflict. Our mission of reconciliation is not served by a war of words. There is a time for words, but only when they are backed by dignity, character, and peace. We are far more effective when we live the Kingdom than when we argue it. Embrace it, wear it, and demonstrate it. Refuse to fuel the fires that rage against God’s purposes. Your winning argument is very often the unspoken one.

{Lord, may I always reflect your Kingdom values and the power of your ways. Make my words powerful when I speak them. Make my silence even more powerful when words are not enough. Amen.