THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE
“‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.’
“The Jews answered Him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’
“‘I am not possessed by a demon,’ said Jesus, ‘but I honour my Father and you dishonour me. I am not seeking glory for myself, but there is one who seeks it and He is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death,'” John 8:46-51 (NIV)
How difficult it must have been for Jesus to have any kind of discussion with these men! Whatever He said to them was another reason for them to hate Him and to either contradict Him or, if they could not get the better of Him, to attack His character.
What Jesus was saying to them was the truth but they did not have a clue about what He was telling them. It was as though He were speaking a foreign language. Although He was speaking in their language, what He was saying was foreign to them because He was speaking of the things of the Spirit and of the realm of God’s kingdom of which they knew nothing.
Why did Jesus even try to speak to them? Why didn’t He just walk away because it was like speaking to a brick wall? We have to understand that He was giving them every opportunity to hear the truth, whether they understood it or not. There was an important reason for doing this.
“‘If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.'” John 12:47, 48 (NIV).
Have you ever wondered why the Apostle Paul had to stand before kings? God told Ananias, after Paul’s conversion outside Damascus, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel…'” Acts 9:15 (NIV). Paul proclaimed God’s Word to the Roman governors Festus and Felix and to King Agrippa when he was on trial in Caesarea, and finally to Nero in Rome although none of them believed in Jesus.
It was their reaction to the Word that judged them. Jesus gave the Pharisees every opportunity to respond to His words in faith but they refused and brought the guilt of their sin down on their own heads.
Although Jesus’ words may seem outrageous at times (who would have the audacity to say. “…whoever obeys my word will never see death”?), we have to read them against the backdrop of who spoke them and what evidence He gave that He had the authority to speak like that?
Had they come from any other person, we could dismiss them as the ravings of a madman (which the Pharisees did!). But they could not answer His challenge, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” Instead they side-stepped His question by accusing Him of being demon-possessed.
But every truth He told them and every offer He made to rescue them from their self-destruction and bring them back into fellowship with the Father was met with rejection and abuse, and served to drive them deeper into their own guilt and condemnation. When they stand before the bar on Judgment Day, the Word will be their judge as it will be the judge of every person who has heard the word and refused to obey.
But what of those who have never heard Jesus’ word? There is another word which every human being has the opportunity to hear: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (NIV).
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4a (NIV).
Have you listened to His voice?