The Silent Savior Series

HoHum:

15 years is a long time to spend in prison, especially for a crime one did not commit. Joseph Webster, 41, was released from Davidson County (Nashville, TN) jail on November 10, 2020 and reunited with his mother, sons and other family members after the state approved a petition to overturn his murder conviction. “Oh God is good, Joseph! Your home baby. Oh Lord have mercy,” Webster’s mother said while embracing her son once he was released. In 1998, LeRoy Owens was in a parking lot in downtown Nashville when 2 men in a white station wagon chased him down and bludgeoned him to death with a cinderblock, according to court documents. Witnesses said they believed the motive was a drug debt and identified 2 black men as the assailants. One was described as having a medium build and weighing roughly 160 pounds. A witness picked Joseph Webster from a photo lineup as that suspect. But Webster was roughly 300 pounds and had gold teeth, a description no witness recalled either man having. The court case was in 2006 but in 2020 the district attorney’s office announced it “no longer had confidence in the conviction of Mr. Webster” and recommended to a judge that “Mr. Webster’s conviction be vacated and the charges against him dismissed.” Mr. Webster’s attorney said, “Joseph Webster loves his family, and he’s missed them every single day he was incarcerated. He went straight to his mother’s house, had his first home cooked meal- meatloaf, cornbread, turnip greens, macaroni and cheese- in almost 2 decades, and started making up for lost time with his mom and kids.” How would we feel if something like this happened to us?

WBTU:

Justice is hard to come by in this world. Courts do make mistakes and sometimes innocent people suffer for crimes they did not commit. That’s what happened to Jesus when he was crucified 2,000 years ago. Though Jesus had done no wrong, uttered no threats, committed no crime, and had hurt no one, the powers that be decided that he had to die. So they trumped up charges against him, shuffled him from one hearing to another, and in the end they got what they wanted. When Isaiah consider the death of the Servant of the Lord, he stresses how Christ responded to unjust accusations, how no one came to his aid, and how even his burial testified to the wrong way he was treated. This passage ought to drive us to our knees in gratitude to Jesus for what he endured for our salvation.

Thesis: Let’s talk about the Silent Savior on this Palm Sunday

For instances:

I. His submissive silence- how Christ responded to unjust accusations- Isaiah 53:7

Sometimes we are known by what we don’t say. Isaiah prophesied that Christ would not open his mouth to defend himself. Hundreds of years later this came true when Jesus stood in front of his accusers: “But Jesus remained silent.” Matthew 26:63, NIV. “When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.” Matthew 27:12, NIV. “But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.” Mark 14:61, NIV. “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.” Mark 15:5, NIV. “He (Herod) plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.” Luke 23:9, NIV. “he (Pilate) asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.” John 19:9, NIV. Speaking of Pilate, he was so confused about Jesus’ true identity. Therefore, Jesus spoke the most with him. Even with Pilate, Jesus only spoke to force them to make a decision, not to enter into a debate with any of them. The buck stopped with Pilate so Pilate had to make a decision. What to do with Jesus? In that sense, he stands for all of us. Once Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, he should have let him go. We can speculate about Pilate’s motives for hours, but in the end he could not wash his hands of the guilt of Jesus’ blood. When Peter wrote to the persecuted Christians in the first century, he said this: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:21-23, NIV. We see that following Jesus means that sometimes we will suffer even when we have done nothing wrong. The greatest honor for any Christian is to be like Jesus. When we suffer unjustly, we share in a tiny portion of what happened to him. When these things happen, how will we respond? As the old spiritual puts it, “He never said a mumblin’ word.” Overall that is what our response should be! When we are mistreated, repeat these 4 sentences: It’s not about me. It’s not about now. It’s all about God. It’s all about eternity. Say these 4 sentences out loud. Do we think Jesus was a helpless victim that day at Calvary? He was the Son of God. He had the power to call down legions of angels to set him free. He had but to say the word and all of heaven would come to his aid. But he never said a mumblin’ word.