Quiet Credibility

“And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.” (Mt 27:14 AV)

Temperance is always a marvel in an out-of-control world.  Jesus is standing before Pilot and when the accusations pour in, he does not utter a word.  When the specific accusation of libel is leveled, the LORD does not say anything in his defense.  They raised His declaration that He would destroy the temple and in three days, raise it again.  We know that He was speaking of his body.  They took it to mean the actual temple.  They accused Him of blasphemy because they thought He threatened the actual temple.  Even if He did, the statement would not have been blasphemy.  For the many hours in which they held an illegal trial followed by scourging and ending in crucifixion, the LORD never raised a defense.  Even in His passion, Jesus tried to minister to His accusers.  The reaction is what impressed me this morning.  The governor marveled at the temperance of our LORD.  His self-control caused the governor to be amazed.  He was deeply impressed at the self-discipline which Jesus exhibited that he was extremely reluctant to pass judgment.  In short, if we exercise self-discipline and control our emotions, then the world will marvel.

It's always the one in self-control that others who are not, gravitate towards.  In my years working at the factory, I served on a safety committee.  Our job was to review all incident reports and near misses.  We met about once a month and reviewed all occurrences of accidents and policies which others believed needed revision.  The number one issue was the habit of retrieving or engaging a dragline cart without stopping the dragline.  At least once a shift, the dragline was broken because someone place a cart on the line without stopping the line and the cart got jammed in a doorway or something.  We spoke of this problem again and again.  The real problem without stopping the line when one was loading and unloading from it, is that someone might suffer a broken leg.  Or worse.  As we sat there discussing alternatives, I stayed quiet.  I didn’t say a word.  There was too much drama.  Much complaining but few solutions.  I figured I could use my time more wisely.  However, I was there to help solve a safety issue.  When I finally did speak, I had the room.  Because I chose to keep silent as they were processing their emotions and throwing out problems with no solutions, I didn’t feel as though being involved would result in anything productive.  When I did say something, it was usually the solution the group adapted.  I have heard more than once, “you really have to watch those quiet ones.” 

Being emotionally self-disciplined will result in opportunities for those who are not.  As the world reacts to all it hates, the child of God must show restraint.   If we are to be like Jesus, we need to learn to stand for biblical principles while keeping our emotional response to them in check.  Self-control translates into the ability to control any situation.  Since Jesus did not defend Himself or allow Himself to react to the abuse he faced, the governor marveled.  When He was crucified, the guards declared that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.  If Jesus lost it, He would have no credibility with His enemies.  The fact He held it all together may not have stopped the persecution, but when the time came, they sure had to admit who the Son of God was.  Self-control goes a long way in speaking to those who have none.  It is essential.