The silence of the Lamb - Midweek Message 3rd March 2021
Dear Friends,
After listening to James talking about the taming
of the tongue last Sunday someone said to me that they felt pretty bad. I
suspect they were not alone. As James himself says, ‘WE ALL stumble in many
ways (3.2) and the use or abuse of our tongues is for all of us probably one
of the most common ways. There is no doubting it is an area in which we all
require vigilance, especially when we take seriously the destructive power of
the tongue as James highlights it (3.5-8). He does want us to consider carefully
how we exercise our tongues. He wants us to be quick to listen and slow to
speak (1.19) and to keep a tight rein on our tongues ((1.26). However,
his ultimate desire is not to drive us to despair, but to Christ.
If you read
through the gospels and think about what came out of the mouths of his disciples
at various times while he was with them, then you will understand that the Lord
Jesus was, and is, very familiar with the sins of his people’s tongues. For
example, there was the disciples’ doubting of his care for them in the boat in the
middle of the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mk 4.38); Peter’s rebuking of
him when he announced he was going to the cross (Mk 8.33); their
rebuking of parents bringing children to Jesus (Mk 10.13) their arguing
about who was the greatest (Mk 9.34) their bickering among themselves as to who
would get the highest place in the coming kingdom (Mk 10.37,41) their expressed desire for judgment to fall on
a Samaritan village (Lk 9.44); and Peter’s triple and very public denial
of Jesus (Mk14.66-72) These are but a few, and would remind us Jesus is not taken by surprise by our personal sins of
the tongue – the grumbling, the complaining, the gossip, the boasting, the
profanity, the white lies, the angry
words, etc we may have indulged or engaged in.
When we are
made aware and convicted of our failings in such things here is something to
remember - not so much the words of Jesus but his silence. Why is it that the
gospel writers mention the silence of Jesus in regard to the charges levelled
against him during his trial before the Jewish authorities and Pilate? (see Matt
26.63; 27.12-14; Mk 14.61; 15.4-5; Jn 19.9-10) It is because they see in that
silence the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah about the suffering servant of
God: He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth. (Is 53:7) Why was Jesus silent? Why did he make
no attempt to defend himself or justify himself? Because he knew that in that trial
and in the sentence that followed it, he was answering not for his own sins but
for the sins of his people. As Isaiah had just said in that prophecy, he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities (53.5) His silence was the silence of the Lamb,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1.29)
Jesus was silent in his trial
because he could not, and cannot, excuse or defend or justify our sins
including the sins of our tongues (and we shouldn’t try either). However, he
was also silent because he was more than willing to pay for them, to go
silently and voluntarily to the cross there to offer himself on our behalf as
the sinless sacrifice through which our lives and lips can be cleansed and forgiven
and he can put a new song in our mouths, a song of praise to our God (see Ps 40.3)
In all our sins and failures - maybe
especially of the tongue – never forget the silence of the Lamb! All our hope
and healing is in Him.
Yours in Him,
David
<< Home