What About the Things Jesus Didn’t Talk About?

Have you noticed that lots of people these days are busily discussing what Jesus Christ had to say during His time on earth – but not for all the same reasons? Talk-show celebrities, politicians, podcasters and news commentators are all giving their two cents worth about what they believe that Jesus believed regarding a variety of contemporary issues. 

 

For example, a three-person panel of TV commentators recently spoke with great authority – self-bestowed, that is – about their conviction that since Jesus never addressed the issue of abortion, He must not have been opposed to this controversial practice.

There are at least three big problems with this conclusion. First, they were utilizing what’s called “the argument of silence.” That is, if people don’t express a particular view or perspective on something, that must mean it’s not their concern. What a silly conclusion. Just because we don’t voice an opinion aloud doesn’t mean we don’t have an opinion about it.

 

Let’s take the thought one step further: Jesus also never spoke about things such as texting while driving, speeding on highways, looking at Internet pornography, selling heroin, or abusing one’s spouse. Should we make the inference, therefore, that He approves of such things? 

 

The second problem is related to it. I don’t think it’s heretical to state that although the Bible records many things Jesus said, to presume that presents everything that He ever said makes no sense. Case in point: Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke recounts the time when He was 12 years old and went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.

 

After the celebration, Jesus’ earthly parents were heading back home for a day before they realized He wasn’t with relatives or friends. They returned to Jerusalem and searched for Him three days before they found Him in the temple courts, deeply engaged in discussions with religious leaders and teachers. The only specific words of Jesus mentioned from that incident were, “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). 

 

In inspiring and guiding the writers of the Scriptures, God didn’t find it necessary to include more of what Jesus and the astonished leaders talked about. And we have absolutely no record of anything else Jesus said during His childhood or the subsequent years prior to the beginning of His earthly ministry at the age of 30. Surely, He didn’t remain silent. Who’s to say the subject of abortion in some form might not have come up during those years? Maybe more than once. 

 

As we read in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Word of God doesn’t tell us everything there is to know about Him – how could it? But as the Lord has seen fit, the Scriptures tell us all He deems that we need to know about Him.

 

The third problem with arguments about what Jesus said or didn’t say about the topic du jour is a very comprehensive statement He made, as recorded in Matthew 5:17-19:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven….”

 

In the extensive Old Testament writings Jesus was referring to, we find both commands and prohibitions of many kinds. He was recognizing that His hearers already knew what these laws were; He didn’t need to restate them. His purpose in coming was because no one then – and no one now – could succeed at observing and keeping all of those laws 100 percent of the time. Not even close.

 

Jesus wasn’t saying those God-given commands, even to the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen, as He said, had become null and void. But because we fail time and again to keep them – the Bible calls this “sin” – we’re told, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

So, it’s at the very least foolish and ignorant to argue that since the Bible doesn’t present a specific statement from Jesus – about abortion or any of the other questionable lifestyle choices people make every day – that means they aren’t important to Him. 

After all, the Lord said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16). Can you imagine Him stating that, and then interjecting, “However, if you want to abort them, that’s certainly okay”? I can't.

The Faith of a Child

Like Alfred E. Neuman, little Maclane was thinking, "What, me worry?"
Daddy had him firmly by the hand.

Recently we spent time in the Florida panhandle at the beach – at least until torrential rains arrived, ending our idyllic hours in the sand and sending us home to equally rainy Chattanooga. During our time at Seagrove Beach, I enjoyed observing our two-year-old grandson, Maclane, who was also there with his mom and dad.

Despite the crashing of the waves and the tug of the surf with its ebbing and flowing, little Mac was undaunted. He had not a care in the world. Why? Because either his mom or dad – and sometimes both – held him by the hand, protecting him from the current as well as the possibility of losing his balance and falling into the water.

It occurred to me that Mac never seemed worried even once about whether his parents would let go of him as they ventured a bit deeper into the water. Not a single time did his face show any fear that Daddy might release him into the sea when it was well over his head.

Children are born with implicit faith
in the loving, protective grasp of a parent.

Yes, Mac was wearing “floaties” for extra protection, but he had absolute, unwavering faith that Mommy and Daddy were there to protect him and ward off any danger as they played together in the waves.

We’ve all observed similar things at the local swimming pool: A toddler standing at pool’s edge, being urged by Dad or Mom to jump into arms extended to catch them. Children seem to be born with built-in faith, never doubting their parents will feed them, care for them, protect them from the dangers that lurk all around.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus often used children as examples of the faith and trust He expects of His followers. For instance, the Lord said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

A while later, when Jesus’ disciples tried to keep children away from Him, thinking they were a bother, He responded, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:4).

Again referring to the simple faith they exhibited, Jesus commented, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (Luke 18:17).

Sadly, many children experience having their faith betrayed by parents in many ways. Some of those parents, out of their own brokenness, have been uncaring to their children, selfish and even cruel. Tragically, faith in human parents is not always rewarded.

But faith in our Heavenly Father, I’ve always seen rewarded. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,” God promises in Hebrews 13:5. In the Old Testament, the psalmist writes, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

There are countless other biblical passages that express the same truth – that God is constant and unfailing, always worthy of our faith and trust. As Hebrews 10:23 admonishes, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

As the old children’s hymn declares, “How do I know? The Bible tells me so.”