Silence.

"No one ever spoke like this man!" - John 7:46

and no man was silent like him:

"But He gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed." - Matt 27: 14

I am constantly amazed by the way Jesus spoke. I have never met anyone who speaks like Him. There are many great speakers and even some martyrs who have stood for truth to the point of death. But still there is no one like Jesus, who's every word seems so fitting and so perfect, even if it is so unexpected at times. He speaks with love and compassion and mercy and wisdom; yet at the same time He is not afraid to speak a harsh and stern word when neccessary, not afraid to speak the whole truth even if it causes discomfort. His very words have the power to create life and heal and bring into being things that were not. That is incredible in itself.

But the thing that amazes me most, is His silence. He would not speak a word in His own defence, but instead entrusted Himself completely to His Father. When He was wrongly accused He didn't give a great argument in His own defence, explaining that He was in fact GOD and He was in fact PERFECT, but instead He remained silent. He was whipped and beaten and mocked and spat at and led to His death - like a sinner, hung on a cross - with sinners. And He didn't argue about it. How unheard of. Who else would let that happen? I get defensive at the tiniest thing if i think someone's wrongly judged me... yet Jesus went to His death in silence, allowing Himself to be perceived as a sinner, and simply trusting the Father to show people the truth. This never fails to amaze me. I have seriously been thinking about this for a few years now and still I am stunned by Jesus' meekness and humility demonstrated here. Perhaps i admire it so much, because i have discovered how truely hard it is to be like that, how hard it is to remain quiet rather than defend yourself!

I suppose another thing to bare in mind though, is that although Jesus was perfect, He was taking the weight of human sin on Himself at this point and therefore He couldn't really say a word in defense of human sin. And infact it is because Jesus remained silent, that I can now remain silent. His silence speaks in my defence. Because He bore all my sin and guilt, i never have to say a word to try and justify myself - whether i'm rightly or wrongly accused by man, cos i am already justified in God's eyes and that is all that matters. Now if there is ever an example of tenderness that is as abstract as insanity, then this is it! Except this is more than tenderness, this is pure love and mercy and justice in their most perfect forms. Amazing.

"Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." - Isaiah 53: 7

Jesus said "IT IS FINISHED" - John 19:30