Mark 3:4
Silence.
Sometimes it is the perfect antidote for the busyness of life. Sometimes it is
the worst of indictments. There are times we need to speak up. There are times when we need to stay silent. It can be difficult in those moments of
decision to know when and how to speak up. At least it is for me!
Jesus
confronts some religious leaders of His day. He does it in a synagogue on the
Sabbath. They are there to try to catch Him in the act of doing a miracle in
order to bring charges against Him. To them, Jesus is a threat. He has power
and authority which they want. And from their perspective, the only way they
can get it is to kill Jesus, eliminating the competition. Sounds like our
political environment, doesn’t it! Lies and deception. Not much has changed.
Jesus
invites the man with the shriveled hand to stand before them and then He asks
them what appears to be a simple question. But the question is anything but
simple. Jesus puts their interpretation of the Law on trial. They believed that
the Law, and keeping of every minute detail of their prescriptive code drawn
from the Law made a person right with God. If they kept all the rules, they
would end up on God’s “Nice” list, rather than the “Naughty” list.
Because
they had flipped the Law on its head, making it something to be served, rather
than something that served them and their spiritual growth, they had lost all
touch with the reality of the LORD’s presence and grace. Jesus pushes them to
make a decision that the very crux of this dilemma. He asks them to take a
stand and choose the good, even if it meant that they would break one of their
superimposed regulations.
Their
silence speaks volumes. They should have answered by agreeing with Jesus, that
doing good and saving lives is what is important. But instead, they recognize
that Jesus has trapped them. Or perhaps that they have trapped themselves. They
know they are caught, so they stay silent.
Have
there been times when you were caught, and you knew it, and you could have
declared your error and come clean, but instead you remained silent or went
into attack mode?