Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Keeping Silent
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Amos 5:12-13
Again, Amos describes injustice in the legal system. The rich and powerful hired false witnesses, just as was done against Jesus (Matthew 26:59-60) and Stephen (Acts 6:11). The poor, without the financial ability to hire high-powered lawyers to handle their cases, were helpless before them. What was the effect of this? "Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time" (verse 13). The poor could only wait quietly for the judgment of God, since they were powerless to appeal to the judgment of men through the civil authorities. Today, many people are afraid to help the police because they fear that, if they go to court and testify, the accused felon or his friends will take some kind of retribution against them or their families. For just this reason, we have rampant problems with inner-city gangs and organized crime. Our criminal justice system is so lax and unjust that the odds are good that an accused criminal will be acquitted through a technicality or receive a very short sentence. In our nation today, crime does pay! No wonder witnesses are afraid! We find in America a very large but timid group that the media call "the silent majority." Though predominantly conservative and moral, these people allow themselves to be led by a vocal minority that espouses radically liberal views. Though they privately denounce high taxes, homosexuality, rising crime, illegal aliens, gangs, corrupt government, and so on, "the silent majority" publicly "keep silent."
John W. Ritenbaugh
Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part One)
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Mark 8:26
He says, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town," another command to keep quiet about the miracle. This was not a universal prohibition but was limited to Bethsaida. Why? Christ had done many mighty works there, but the townspeople had rejected them in unbelief. As a result, He had pronounced a woe upon them (Matthew 11:21). In Jesus' command to the healed man, Bethsaida received a mild but significant judgment for not responding to His works. Rejection of spiritual blessing causes loss of spiritual privilege. If we do not want God in our lives, He will let us follow our free will, and He will leave. Today, the descendants of the ancient Israelites, who should know better, should beware as their legislators and courts ban God from their nations. If they continue to reject God, He will surely respond with a stern rebuke. If that happens, woe to Jacob's descendants! We must all contemplate this judgment on Bethsaida and on all those who fail to honor their spiritual privileges. It is never too late to turn to God in repentance, even for apostate Israel. Paul writes encouragingly: For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:25-26)
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing the Blind Man from Bethsaida
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