But Jesus Was Silent

Why? Why not say something, Jesus?

I went to Debate Team meetings like three times while in high school. A friend participated and thought I might like it. I thought I would, too. And maybe I would have if not for the fact that once they found out I liked Jesus, they mostly wanted to debate me about the existence of God. And while I have little desire to debate God’s existence with philosophy and facts today, my faith was a bit different back in high school. I didn’t go back to the Debate Team.

But I’ve always wondered that if not for a weak stomach, I would have been pretty good at debate. I generally don’t like to let weak or stupid arguments persist. I’ve gotten in trouble quite a bit in the past in my determination to prove someone else’s wrongness. I spent way more time on message boards in the 2000s and Facebook in the early 2010s doing so. I kinda regret that.

Regardless, Jesus’ posture during his trials has slightly frustrated me in the past. Matthew tells us in today’s passage that he was silent. When people are utterly lying about what he said and did, he didn’t say a word.

And they knew it. They even asked him to defend himself (were they giving him a chance?). But he didn’t.

Those who lean heavily on a predestined path to the cross might say this was because he knew what had to happen. Maybe so.

I tend to think Jesus’ silence was more about his nature. His trust in the Father was greater than his need to prove himself right. He refused to play by the rules of power that demand self-defense and winning the argument. And like the suffering servant of Isaiah, he did not open his mouth, because his mission was not to win debates but to bear witness through love.

And if it’s his nature, it should become ours.

Do we need to argue? When we do, what value does it bring to our relationship with the one we’re debating? What contribution does it offer the Church? In what way does proving someone to be wrong reveal the Kingdom?

Most of all, when we argue, how does it reflect the person of Jesus?

Matthew 26:57-75

Those who arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest. The legal experts and the elders had gathered there. Peter followed him from a distance until he came to the high priest’s courtyard. He entered that area and sat outside with the officers to see how it would turn out.

The chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. They didn’t find anything they could use from the many false witnesses who were willing to come forward. But finally they found two who said, “This man said, ‘I can destroy God’s temple and rebuild it in three days.’”

Then the high priest stood and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to respond to the testimony these people have brought against you?”

But Jesus was silent.

The high priest said, “By the living God, I demand that you tell us whether you are the Christ, God’s Son.”

“You said it,” Jesus replied. “But I say to you that from now on you’ll see the Human One sitting on the right side of the Almighty and coming on the heavenly clouds.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He’s insulting God! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, you’ve heard his insult against God. What do you think?”

And they answered, “He deserves to die!” Then they spit in his face and beat him. They hit him and said, “Prophesy for us, Christ! Who hit you?”

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant woman came and said to him, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.”

But he denied it in front of all of them, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”

With a solemn pledge, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.”

A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.”

Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.”And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably.

Psalm 38:12-15

Those who want me dead lay traps; those who want me harmed utter threats, muttering lies all day long. But I’m like someone who is deaf, who can’t hear; like someone who can’t speak, whose mouth won’t open. I’ve become like a person who doesn’t hear what is being said, whose mouth has no good comeback. But I wait for you, Lord! You will answer, my Lord, my God!

Prayer

God,

You gave us the gift of words, yet so often my words offer nothing toward healing or constructiveness. Teach me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

Further, teach me the wisdom of Jesus’ silence. His trust in you was greater than his need to be right. His love was deeper than the urge to strike back. His witness was not in proving a point but in bearing your truth with humility.

So give me discernment: when to speak with courage, when to stay quiet in trust, and always to reflect the nature of Christ in how I use my tongue. Let my words, and more often, my silences, reveal your kingdom.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.