Sermons
The Silence Of The Lamb
Series: Reflections On The CrossTHE SILENCE OF THE LAMB
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / October 16, 2016
Next Sunday we want to conclude this series on, Reflections On The Cross.
One of my all-time favorite conversion stories is found in Acts 8:26-40.
It is the account of the preaching of the gospel to the Ethiopian Treasurer.
We’ll bring this series to a wrap by focusing on that text in the book of Acts next Sunday.
This morning’s lesson will serve two purposes:
It will set the stage for next Sunday’s message which I hope will be an important summary to this series.
But today’s lesson also stands on it’s own.
We have entertained two questions of late.
(1) Does our discipleship require that we take up the cross of Jesus?
When we read Jesus’ words in Lk.9:23 we are driven to answer in the affirmative.
If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up (H)is cross daily, and follow Me.
This text has a small “h” in the word “his”. i.e., each of us must bear his or her own cross.
Lk.14:27 / whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
But if we connect the dots between several other key NT texts the argument can be made that we are to bear HIS cross.
cf. Rom.6:3f and Gal.2:20 & 6:14 - - more on this next Sunday.
(2) What does it mean to take up His cross? In particular, how do we bear the cross of Christ?
This is where today’s lesson stands on its own.
I think the very best way to answer this question is to ask, “How did Jesus bear His cross?”
Last Sunday we emphasized the importance of a growing sense of HUMILITY.
We noted Jesus’ answer to the request of James and John (Mk.10:32f) - - asking for chief seats.
Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. (vs.43).
We also underscored the need for a FORGIVING spirit.
In Mt.18:21f Jesus told a parable that reiterated the need for forgiving one another.
So shall My heavenly Father do also to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart (vs.35).
Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa.53) is the fountainhead for any discussion about Jesus as the Lamb of God.
Wedged in the middle of that great chapter is verse 7 - -
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH; Like a lamb that is led
to slaughter, And LIKE A SHEEP THAT IS SILENT before its shearers, So HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
There is a somewhat strange observation that is made here that we don’t typically recognize first-hand.
Those who know tells us that when a goat is being shorn or slaughtered you can hear it bleating a mile away.
Contrary to this, when a sheep is shorn or slaughter it is strangely silent. No resistance. No bleating.
My neighbor and I were talking recently (both of us with watery eyes) about losing our dogs.
Several months ago Jeff had to put down his Australian shepherd, Mick.
Mick was high-strung and didn’t like the vet, and had to be sedated in order to euthanize him.
When Jeannie & I had to put down Siggy he went so very quietly. I carried him in and laid him on the table.
He didn’t stir. He didn’t whimper. They offered us privacy and we gave him our farewell hugs and kisses.
The Vet then came in and shaved a spot on his leg, injected a needle and seconds later he was gone.
Have you ever wondered about this text - - Why was Jesus silent?
Besides being prophesied in advance by Isaiah, the silence of Jesus is also recorded in several New Testament citations.
Before the High Priest Caiaphas (with the scribes and elders present) Mt.26:62-63a records:
The high priest stood up and said to Him, ‘Do You make no answer?
What is it that these are testifying against You?’. But JESUS KEPT SILENT…
Before the Roman governor Pilate, Mt.27:12-14 states:
And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, HE MADE NO ANSWER.
Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?’
And HE DID NOT ANSWER him with regard to even a single charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.
Lk.23:8-9 tells of Pilate’s decision to pass the buck by sending Jesus to King Herod.
Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for He had wanted to see Him for a long time,
because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.
And he questioned Him at some length; but HE ANSWERED HIM NOTHING.
WHY WAS JESUS SILENT?
~ It was surely not because He was caught off guard or surprised by this inquisition. He knew this day was coming.
~ Unlike us, He was not paralyzed by this unfolding drama. He was not tongue-tied.
Had Jesus not forewarned His disciples and promised them God’s help (Mt.10:19-20) - -
When they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you shall speak; For it will be given to you
in that hour what you shall speak. For it is not you who speak but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
~ Was this a case of Jesus feeling in advance the forsakenness of God? Had God deserted Him even before the cross?
~ Was He without power?
When Jesus was arrested He told His disciples to “put away your swords”.
And then He told them (Mt.26:53) - - Do you not think that I cannot appeal to My
Father, And He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
None of these proposals suffice in giving a satisfactory answer as to why Jesus was silence.
Twice in Isa.53:7 we read: He opened not His mouth.
Did Isaiah mean this in the fullest literal sense?
Apparently not, because elsewhere in Scripture we read of Jesus speaking something.
Even in the texts that we are examining, the broader contexts reveal that Jesus spoke.
In Mt.26:63b-64, after stating that, Jesus kept silent, the text goes on to record that The high priest said to Him,
‘I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.’
Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see
the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.
cf. Mk.14:61-62 and Lk22:67--70
Mt.27:11 states - - Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him,
saying, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say.’
You can also make a note as to an additional reference on this topic found in Jn.18:19-23.
The meaning of Isaiah’s words, “He opened not His mouth”, are not meant to be taken in a purely literal sense.
This expression, “opening one’s mouth”, is a judicial/legal term describing one who engages in “making a defense”.
We see it used twice in close proximity in the book of Acts.
In Acts 8:35 - - Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to Him.
Two brief points about this passage and then we’ll take it up in more detail next Sunday.
First of all, the very same text of Isa.53:7-8 is also under discussion in Acts 8:32-33.
Secondly, Philip had already been speaking with the Ethiopian Treasurer.
In Acts 8:30, Philip asked the Treasurer, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
But with Acts 8:35, Philip opens his mouth - - i.e., he offers a full-throated defense concerning Jesus at The Lamb of God.
In Acts 10:34. we read concerning Peter’s words to the household of Cornelius,
And opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
But in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.
Here again, Peter had already been speaking. cf. Acts 10:26-29
So, back to our question, WHY WAS JESUS SILENT?
Why did He not perform some miracle or make a defense of Himself as the Only Begotten Son of God?
To answer this question Biblically we turn to 1Pet.2:23 - -
While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering,
HE KEPT ENTRUSTING HIMSELF TO HIM WHO JUDGES RIGHTEOUSLY.
The word used here for “entrusting” is paradidomi, which means to yield or surrender.
The silence of Jesus was not weakness but rather meekness.
Meekness literally means, “power under control”.
The silence of Jesus was STRENGTH. And that strength was empowered by a
strong faith in the assurance that His Father was in control of His circumstances.
This meekness is a willingness to yield oneself, to surrender oneself, to entrust oneself to Almighty God.
This meekness is at the heart of discipleship. This meekness is essential if we are to bear the cross of Christ.
When someone asks, “How strong is your faith?”, the best answer is to say, “Everyday I am trying to be more meek.”
It will not work for us to reason that only Jesus can be meek.
This was the key to Paul’s discipleship. It was a hard lesson to learn, mandated for him by God. cf. 2Cor.12:7ff
Vs.8 / And he has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’
And Paul got the message.
Vs.10 / Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses,
with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG.
When life throws us a curve are we able to entrust ourselves to God?
When life seems to tumble in, do we disavow God or do we stand strong in His providence?
When good things collapse all aground us, can we weather the storms of life trusting in God’s grace?
When sicknesses come, how meek are we?
When we lose a loved one, are we able to silently affirm, “blessed be the name of the Lord”?
When death knocks on our door are we able to entrust the future to our loving Father?
Can we grasp the truth that “power is perfected in weakness”?
Can we learn to be well content in the midst of all manner of problems & difficulties?
Can we say with Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong?”
