The Dignity Of Silence

Read: 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

THERE WAS DIGNITY, even majesty, in his silence. No one would be moved by a Savior who insisted on defending himself to the bitter end or made endless appeals to his legal counsel to get out of his predicament. But Jesus simply declared who he was and did nothing to avoid the backlash. He had lived for this moment as a lamb appointed for slaughter. He demonstrated the character of his Kingdom in the face of everything opposed to it.

Observers were stunned. Why didn’t Jesus fight back? Why was he so willing to accept the consequences of his disruption of the status quo? Was his silence an implicit admission of guilt? With so much at stake—he had claimed to be God’s Son, after all—why wouldn’t he fight for his life or, even more, wield divine power to prove his identity? If he was really who he said he was, why didn’t he force his opponents to bend to his will? And if he wasn’t, why didn’t he act like other would-be messiahs who had tried and failed to rally a movement against the authorities? Why did this Messiah behave so un-messiah-like—and yet remain so godly in his demeanor?

Jesus’ silence was necessary to demonstrate the real battle: the ultimate depravity of the world against the pure righteousness of God. Evil versus innocence. Pride versus humility. Earthly power versus divine wisdom. If Jesus had used the same verbal and legal weapons that the government and religious authorities had used, he would have fueled the fire, and the conflict would have turned into a battle of ideas and arguments. But that was not the nature of this battle. It was a conflict of spiritual realms. Jesus’ silence was a profound rebuke to the world’s ways.

That ought to tell us something about how we conduct ourselves in the world. Our mission as ambassadors of reconciliation is not well served by getting into arguments. Yes, we should explain the truth and defend it, but no one is convinced by words unless divine wisdom and character are behind them. Our task is not to argue the Kingdom but to live it. A battle of ideas wins few hearts. A demonstration of the Kingdom wins many. And it expresses the dignity and majesty of the King.

PRAYER

Lord, above all, teach me to be a good reflection of Kingdom values and ways. Let me express your nature. Inspire my words, but even more, inspire my life. Amen.

REFLECTION

Which tends to concern you more: that your words reflect the truth or that they reflect the spirit of God’s Kingdom? Why is it important to reflect both?

Further reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Freely thy life thou yieldest, meekly bending

E’en to the last beneath our sorrows’ load,

Yet strong in death, in perfect peace commending,

Thy spirit to thy Father and thy God.

“AND NOW, BELOVED LORD, THY SOUL RESIGNING,” ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON