From the time of his baptism, the life of Christ had been characterized by his words, by his teaching and preaching. Mark records that “He came preaching,” (Mk. 1:14) Luke that “He taught in the synagogues,” (Lk. 4:15) and Matthew that “He taught as one with authority” (Mt. 7:29). In John Jesus is positively loquacious, expounding at length on a variety of topics to his disciples, the crowds, and to Nicodemus. Given this background, it becomes another irony in a Passion narrative replete with irony that during Jesus’ trial, mocking, and crucifixion he remains nearly silent.
The contrast is particularly striking in John, where at the last supper Jesus speaks to and prays for His disciples for three nearly uninterrupted chapters before becoming relatively quiescent. In a Bible which records the words of Christ in red, the effect is of a torrent of red suddenly ceasing and being swallowed up by black.
Jesus the prophet is struck and told to prophesy (Mk. 14:65), the Judge of the Living and the Dead remains silent before his accusers (Mk. 14:61), the King of Kings will say only a few sentences to the petty Roman official who charges Him with the crime of being King of the Jews, the one who came from heaven will not even answer the question of his origin (Jn. 19:9). In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus’ words are startlingly spare – one sentence each to the high priest and Pilate. Jesus gives to the former a conflated prophetic quote from the Old Testament applied to his life (Ps. 110:1 and Dn. 7:13), and to the latter the simple “It is as you say” to the accusation of being King of the Jews. In Matthew and Mark the trend continues to the crucifixion, where for the three hours that He hangs on the cross, His only words, His last words, are another, more desperate prophetic quote from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
Luke records three other utterances, “Father forgive them…”, “Today you will be with me in Paradise…”, and a quote from Psalm 31, “Father into Your hands I commit my Spirit.” John records three utterances more, “Woman behold your son/Behold your mother,” “I thirst,” and “It is finished.” The total recorded sentences spoken by Christ on the cross from all four gospels is seven. Seven sentences in three hours of tortuous death, as his enemies offered to believe in Him if He would simply come down from the cross (Mk. 15:32).
What do we learn from the silence of Jesus in the pivotal event of His life? It cannot have been the need to fulfill the prophecy that the servant of God would be silent (Is. 53:7). Not even Matthew, with his emphasis on the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the life of Christ, makes this claim. On the cross, in the midst of torture, we would hardly expect anyone to speak at length, but even those crucified with him were able to argue amongst themselves. And that would not account for Jesus’ silence before Pilate or the Sanhedrin. So why were Jesus’ words sparse? Why did the teacher not teach, the prophet prophesy, the Judge accuse, or the King make a decree? It seems most natural to assume that Jesus was silent for the same reason that we are silent in the face of tragedy, injustice, and death. In the face of such things there are no words. No word can express the weight of the soul as it wrestles with such things. There is a time to be silent (Ecc. 3:7).
But of course, the Gospels do not end with the anguished cry at Jesus’ death. A stone is rolled away, there are empty grave clothes – there is resurrection. Yet even here the resurrected Jesus is strangely quiet. In Matthew, he tells His disciples not to be afraid, and delivers the Great Commission. In Luke he does the same, but also teaches those on the road to Emmaus. In John, not surprisingly, he says the most – to Mary Magdalene, to Thomas, and to Peter by the seaside. In Mark, Jesus says nothing at all. In this gospel especially, but in all the gospels generally, the resurrection speaks for itself. What is God’s response to the death of Christ? Not words – not a prophecy or preaching – but action. Words failed to convey the depth of the tragedy, and words fail to convey the power of the resurrection. Christ triumphed over death, sin, and hell, not by preaching about it, but by rising from the dead. We worship a God who acts. In the face of tragedy, injustice, and death, God acts.
No comments:
Post a Comment