The Sound of Silence
Friends,
In The View from my Study this Monday, I’m inviting you to watch my sermon prep in a little more detail. I began this study the week before Teana and I went to Ireland, which gave me some extra time. For that reason, it not only includes the O, I, C, A thoughts but some extra thinking on my part as well.
I’ve explained this process to you before but, on this occasion, I thought I would let you see that Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application is not the overall scaffolding for my study, but I use each of those elements in every point of the sermon. So, what I’ve done, is leave my initial O, I, C & A in the sermon outline for you to see. What you see each Thursday is the subpoints of the outline ‘fleshed out;’ each one given substantial thought but without the O, I, C & A scaffolding (although the sermon notes do usually do highlight the APPlication point). PS. You’ll see several APP thoughts for each point. I usually just choose one.
I hope this helps you in your daily study of any passage.
Just as an FYI, a member recently reminded me that Dr. Howard Hendricks taught this study method for many years.
He defined each point as:
- Observation – See it
- Interpretation – Understand it
- Correlation – Relate it
- Application – Live it
That’s a good way of saying it, isn’t it? If you’re interested in knowing more about Dr. Hendrick’s study methodology, I have written a short article illustrating it for you and placed it at after the TRAP devotion
The Sound of Silence Luke 23:50–56
The Big Idea: When God seems absent and his plan feels unfinished, faith is often demonstrated in humble obedience to what we do know. (Just do your thing, while God does his).
Introduction: In our modern era, we are accustomed to a story moving from tragedy to resolution in as little as 60 minutes. But Luke’s Gospel slows us down at a surprising place, a pivotal place, perhaps the most important and most difficult place, the day between the cross and the resurrection. Of all the possible days to make us pause and wait, this one makes us anxious. Here’s what has happened.
- Jesus has died.
- The disciples are scattered.
- All hope seems buried.
Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus’ body down and places it in a tomb. The women carefully watch where He is laid. They prepare spices for Jesus’ body and then they go home and keep the Sabbath. It’s that simple. It’s that profound.
And then, the story stops. Whaaaaat?
- There is no resurrection yet.
- There are no angels in the garden delivering messages of good news.
- There is just awful, painful, excruciating silence.
For the disciples, this moment must have felt like the end of everything they hoped for. The story of Jesus seemed unfinished, but it has come to a screeching, undeniable halt.
Yet Luke is teaching us something very important in this text. Our faith doesn’t always have to look dramatic as in healing the sick, perplexing the Pharisees or raising the dead. Sometimes our faith looks like simple obedience and patient trust in God when he seems so very, very silent.
What does it look like? Well… this—
First: Faith Acts When Others Do Not (v50-51)
A) Observation
1) Luke introduces Joseph of Arimathea as “a good and righteous man” (v. 50).
2) He had not consented to the council’s (Sanhedrin) decision to condemn Jesus (v. 51).
3) Luke notes he was “looking for the kingdom of God.”
4) In a moment when most of Jesus’ well-known disciples are absent, Joseph suddenly, yet courageously appears.
2) Interpretation
1) Joseph represents humble, but faithful discipleship.
2) His faith had existed before this moment, but now it becomes visible.
3) Waiting for the kingdom did not make him passive. It prepared him to act.
4) Sometimes the most important exercise of our faith is revealed in private moments and after the crowds disappear.
3) Correlation
1) Hebrews 11:1 - Faith trusts what cannot yet be seen.
2) John 12:42 - Some believed in Jesus but feared public identification.
3) Joseph demonstrates a faith that becomes visible at a crucial moment.
4) Application
1) Faith is often proven in moments no one else sees.
Hebrews 6:10 - For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work…
My worth is not in skill or name In win or lose, in pride or shame But in the blood of Christ that flowed At the cross (Neither is the value of your labor for Jesus)
2) Loyalty to Christ is sometimes expressed quietly rather than dramatically.
3) The question for us is not simply what we believe privately, but whether we will stand with Christ publicly. This is the real test of faith.
Second: Faith Acts When the Future Is Uncertain (v52)
A) Observation
1) Joseph goes to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body (v. 52). – (This is a really, really big deal).
2) Roman authorities controlled crucified bodies.
3) Mark records that Joseph “took courage” before making the request (Mark 15:43). (I wonder what that looked like?)
B) Interpretation
1) Joseph publicly identifies with a crucified Messiah.
2) This request risks his reputation, influence, and perhaps, most of all, his safety.
3) At the very moment when Jesus and his followers appear defeated and scattered, Joseph steps forward.
C) Correlation
1) Matthew 10:32 - Whoever acknowledges Christ before others will be acknowledged by Him.
2) Proverbs 28:1 - “The righteous are bold as a lion.”
3) Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
D) Application
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today.”
- Martin Luther (attributed to him)
What does that mean?
- We should be faithful in the only moment we have which is the present.
- We should hope in the future God has promised, regardless of circumstances.
- Our eschatology should shape our ethics. (Our belief should form our behavior)
1) Courage in the Bible often appears when faith looks least reasonable and this act did not look reasonable by any means.
2) Faith does not wait until circumstances look hopeful. That’s what faith is!
3) Christian obedience sometimes requires courage when the outcome is uncertain.
4) We are called to identify with Christ even when culture or circumstance discourages it.
Third: Faith Demonstrates Devotion Simply for Jesus (v53-56)
A) Observation
- Joseph takes down the body of Jesus (v. 53).
- He wraps it in linen and places it in a new tomb cut in stone. (Jesus is the only person in history to ever borrow a tomb).
- The women follow and observe the location of the tomb (v. 55).
- They prepare spices and ointments for his burial (v. 56)
B) Interpretation
- From the disciples’ perspective, Jesus is dead and the mission is over.
- Yet, these actions express reverence for, faith in and love for Jesus.
- Their devotion is offered without any expectation of resurrection. Wow. Is this what devotion without expectation, just love for and trust in Jesus look like?
C) Correlation
- John 12:7 – This confirms Jesus talk about being anointed for burial.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.
- The Bible often portrays devotion to God even when His purposes are not fully understood. (More examples).
D) Application
- Believers are called to honor God even when circumstances confuse us.
- Faithfulness is about a Person, not a plan.
- Love for Jesus expresses itself through simple acts of private, daily devotion.
- Apply that to marriage.
Fourth: Faith Obeys What It Knows to Obey (v56b)
A) Observation
- The women prepare burial spices (v. 56a).
- Yet Luke notes that they then rest on the Sabbath (v 56b).
- The passage ends with silence and waiting. Our 3-days can be very long.
B) Interpretation
- The women’s grief does not cancel their obedience.
- Even in sorrow they continue to honor God’s commands. (This is a hard one)
- Even in confusion, they continue to love Jesus.
C) Correlation
- The book of Esther doesn’t mention God by name, but he is everywhere.
- The words God, Lord (YHWH), or prayer do not appear
- There is no direct reference to worship, sacrifice, or the temple.
- God is never addressed or spoken to.
- And yet, there are a series of providential ‘accidents’ (Well glory!)
- Esther becomes queen at the precise moment the Jewish people are threatened.
- Mordecai overhears the assassination plot against the king.
- The king cannot sleep and reads the record of Mordecai’s loyalty.
- Haman is forced to honor the very man he intended to destroy.
- The decree against the Jews is ultimately reversed.
How did this happen. Well, at one point in the book, Mordecai says, “Relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place…” (Esther 4:14) That other place is Heaven!
2. The Bible repeatedly connects faith with patient waiting.
Lamentations 3:25–26 - The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. (Bryan recently led us in a study of Psalm 46 during our staff meeting).
Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Psalm 37:7 - Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…
D) Application
- We often live between promise and fulfillment, already and not yet.
- In those moments, faith looks like simple obedience in ordinary things during unsteady or extraordinary times.
- God is often doing His deepest work when heaven seems silent.
Conclusion: I took the title to Paul Simon’s song, “The Sounds of Silence,” for the sermon title. One line in that song reads,
The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls And whispered in the sound of silence.
Luke records what may be the most silent moment in the whole gospel story. Jesus is in the tomb. The disciples are grieving. Heaven is not only quiet. It may be stymied.
- Yet the silence is not God’s abandonment.
- It is the stillness before the great gettin’ up morning of the resurrection.
Stop here and think about those moments in your life. I think we can benefit from faith of Joseph and several women whose actions demonstrate -
- quiet courage,
- simple devotion, and
- faithful obedience
while waiting for God to finish his great work. And they have no idea what’s about to come.
