We all know the shame and the pain of a broken conscience when we fail to speak up, to defend, to intercede, to counteract, and to testify. But there are times when the loudest, most compelling, most courageous form of testimony is conscientious silence; times when the shape of our faith and the sound of our confession is silent trust in “Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). How, when, why, and where we actively step into silence, however, is by-and-large uncharted territory, but “there is a time to be silent and a time to speak” all the same (Ecclesiastes 3:7).
Our silence as human witnesses is one thing, but the silence of the Savior is another. When our Savior was on trial, the conflicting testimony of false witnesses in a kangaroo court filled the room with its noise. But even more remarkable than their cacophony was the striking silence of Jesus before His accusers. The incarnate Word of God silent before His slaughterers—how can it be? “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
Jesus’ silence was not a cowardly or inactive sort of silence with eyes on the floor and shoulders drooped, but the bold and courageous sort of silence with eyes ablaze and teeth gritted—fully engaged, fully intentional, fully powerful. Of all the power that Jesus exhibited in His time on earth the power of restraint that He demonstrated that morning during those illegal and sacrilegious trials was unparalleled.
The enemies seemed to gain the “upper hand” over Jesus. But something graver, more somber was happening. They were not just attempting to win a fight over Jesus who had trumped and stumped them in public for over three years. They were crossing the point of no return, so to speak. They rejected Word so completely that Word ceased—how can it be? Virtually the only testimony they got from then on from Jesus was silence … the silence of God.
Silence can break the back, melt the heart, and shake a man’s timbers … but this was not the perceived silence of God that we often get when we struggle with the trials. This silence, at that dark hour of history, was the actual silence of God. They stepped beyond Word and seemed to enjoy themselves in the moment, still unaware of the awful predicament into which they crossed. This is the silent treatment no one can endure.
"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
You don’t want the silence of the Savior. You want Him to speak up for you. You need Him to speak up for you. He was silent for you in His trial in order that He might speak up for you in your trial before the true Judge. Those who have rejected Jesus in life will find Jesus silent in their defense in the afterlife. Those who have accepted Jesus in life will find Jesus willing and able to speak up in their defense in the afterlife. There is a correlation: how we respond to Word matters. It matters immensely. Reject and even hate Word now and it will cease both in this life and in the one to come. Receive and even love Word now and it will flow all the more in this life and in the one to come.
