The Silence Of Jesus

Wednesday, November 5 2014

Silence. That´s all he gave them. Silence. And some strange scribbling in the sand.

He´d been so vocal just a few moments before - sitting down, in the customary way, to teach the crowds gathered around Him in the temple. He´d spoken calmly but boldly then, passionately but enigmatically, about the kingdom of God and its arrival. Everyone had been enthralled by His word. But now, He was silent (John 8:6).

Other people weren´t so quiet. They shouted at Him, demanding an answer. " The law of Moses says to stone  her. What do you say? " (v.5). But He was simply silent as the shamed and trembling woman stood half-naked before the crowd. Tears flowed down her cheeks. But Jesus stooped to make some marks on the ground - without a word.

" All right...." He said, finally looking up, "but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" (v.7). He lowered His gaze to the ground, wordless once more.

Silence, a few words, then more silence.

One by one the gathered crowd slowly began to walk away, Jesus´ words ringing in their ears .... and souls. Finally, just He and the woman were left.

Soon He would be silent during another tense moment, but this time He would be the one shamed and scorned. As Pilate asked his questions, Jesus would remain silent until the few words He spoke ripped deep into Pilate´s soul (19:8-12).

Perhaps Jesus´ silence should be kept in mind when we struggle to hear His voice - when we´re left with just a few words in between lengthy times of not hearing Him. His silence doesn´t mean He´s absent, and neither does it diminish His power or care. Instead it invites us to reflect on whether we´ve really heard what He´s already said. - Sheridan Voysey

Read : 
John 8:1-11 : But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis of accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  "No one, sir." she said. "Then neither do I condemn you." Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Psalms 5:1-3 : Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Question to ponder :
How do you interpret God´s silence in your life? What has God said to you that you need to remember or act on?

*Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Sept - Nov 2014 issue.