A Man Of Few Words

"A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered." Proverbs 17:27

In preparation for a message, he was going to deliver, a friend of mine was reading through some Bible commentaries. When he was about to deliver his message he started by saying this about the commentaries he read, "Never have so many people had so much to say, yet said so little." This is both humorous and insightful. As one who has read commentaries and engaged with Christians, both layman, pastors, and even a cartoonist, I can attest to the idea that what my friend stated is true. There seems to be this belief among certain segments of the faith that the more you say the more sound your argument. For example, one Christian said that "salvation is a process of co-operation between man and God." First off, notice how they make a statement rather than to ask a question. To make a statement gives the impression that whatever follows will be said to support their statement or that they believe nothing needs to be said at all because the statement alone ends all discussion. While, on the other hand, a question invites a dialogue; a conversation and an exchange of ideas. How much does the dynamic change if the person had asked, "Is salvation a process of cooperation between man and God?" Now, you can have a back and forth where you can reason from the scriptures with one another, test the spirits to see if they are from God and search the scriptures to see if what is being said is true. Regarding the statement that this person made about salvation being a "process of co-operation between man and God," they followed with a massive commentary. This commentary contained 14 scripture references, 882 words, 4,963 characters, and was seven paragraphs long! Who wants to sort through all of that like they are studying a Bible commentary themselves? Besides, where do you start to ask clarifying questions? How many rabbit trails do you have to go down to find out where to start your discussion? If you ask a question will the response be another, nearly five thousand word reply? Now, I see what my friend was talking about. Is it too much to ask a person to make their argument in a concise manner? Perhaps, if they are unable to do so, they don't have much an argument to make. It is better to be what is called, "A man of few words." A man of few words is a "person of action rather than words." There is no greater example of this than Jesus Christ. He was able to say little, but communicate exponentially so much more.

"When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30)." Beside the angel saying "He is risen (Matthew 28:6)," "It is finished," might be the most significant words ever said in history. They are the embodiment of God's love for mankind. The death of Jesus Christ means that God will never hold the sins of mankind against us ever again. They mean that all the sacrifices we performed, and continue to perform, are no longer necessary and do not work. They give us permission to approach God with confidence in our time of need. Those words tell us that our salvation cannot be lost and that we have eternal life. John 11:35 simply states, "Jesus wept." While these are not words spoken by Jesus, they are a description of His actions. This is more than just Jesus crying for his dead friend, Lazarus, whom He was about to raise. It also showed His love for those who cared about Lazarus and were suffering over losing him. But, the most significant thing here is that, if you wrote it a different way, you could say, "God cried!" Think of that; God crying. So many people think of God as an emotionless rock in the sky, but here we see the epitome of emotion; tears of sorrow. But, then Jesus does say something just as telling, He approaches the tomb of Lazarus, commands the stone be moved, and then says, "Lazarus, come out (John 11:43)!” Here again, with just a few words, Jesus does the impossible; He raises a man from the grave who had been dead for four days. Last I heard, nobody has done that before or since Jesus Christ. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, Mary did not recognize Him at first. Overcome with grief, assuming His body had been moved, Mary thought Jesus was a gardener at first. Then Jesus simply said, "Mary (John 20:16)!" By just hearing Jesus say her name, Mary's emotions must have run the gamut from disbelief to joy and from joy to pure exhilaration as she ran to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive! Here we have just a few examples of how Jesus was the definition of a man of few words. In at least one instance He didn't say a single word but yet said so much in His silence; letting His actions speak for Him. There is no need for enormous, long-winded commentaries when just a few words will do and the actions of Jesus Christ say even more than a commentary could ever put into words.