Salvation in the silence
There is no question that when God speaks, things happen. Most of what God does happens when he tells it to. There is power in God’s word.
God spoke the world into existence. As the opening verses of John’s gospel say:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:1,2
Jesus Christ, who is the Word in human form, was there from the very beginning. When God said, “Let there be light,” Christ, the Word, was there.
Throughout our midweek services this Lent, we have been reflecting on Jesus’ Seven Words from the Cross, and what they say about the Word of the Cross, the overall message that the cross of Jesus represents and enacts.
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
“Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:43)
“Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” (Jn 19:26,27)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34)
“I thirst.” (Jn 19:28)
“It is finished.” (Jn 19:30)
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Lk 23:46)
Each of these words from the cross say something significant about Christ and what he is doing. They each also say something important about what his suffering and death achieves for us.
It is Jesus’ verbal command that gives the sacraments their power. Without Christ’s word, all we have are water, wafers, and wine. Combined with the Word of Christ, these things are channels of the Holy Spirit and means of God’s grace to us.
When Jesus says, “Take and eat… take and drink…” we do what he says.
When he says, “This is my body… This is my blood,” he means it.
When he says, “You must be born again…by water and the Spirit…” we take it seriously.
There is no question that there is immense power in the Word of God. When God speaks, we must pay attention. On Good Friday, though, God is silent.
“Good Friday encompasses the silence of God, even as it focuses on our salvation in the cross of Christ.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.
John 18:7–9
Jesus, like a sheep before its shearer, is silent (Is 53:7). The people’s claims are empty and completely false, yet he says nothing. He refuses to defend himself.
He is not going to Golgotha for his own sin—he is going for yours.
He is not here to justify himself—he is here to justify you.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words of Jesus from the cross were spoken long before, in Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.Psalm 22:1–3
In the face of the greatest evil the world has ever known, the death of God’s own Son, Jesus cites this word of God. It is not a cry of defeat, unbelief, or accusation against God. It is a declaration of fulfilment and completion.
In his darkest hour, Jesus acknowledges that God is holy in his silence. In this moment, God is done talking. Now, no more words are needed. Salvation takes place right before our eyes, in silence.
When this time of worship comes to an end, we will conclude in silence. Our silence is not simply for dramatic effect and it’s not merely a gesture of respect. By our silence, we acknowledge God’s holiness. We stop using our tongues so that we might better use our eyes and our ears.
By his silence, God announces the salvation of the world. The action of his beloved Son on the cross does the talking.
By our silence, we open our hearts to receive the self-giving and self-sacrificing love of God.
