In 2026, We Cannot Be Silent

Silence. What do you think of it? When some seek to describe silence, they think of it as a divine gift. Only heaven can waft constantly in the peace and tranquility adorned in an element of silence. After all, we imagine Jesus’ birth as one that grew out of a “silent night, holy night.” Though others may not put it in divine imagery, they quip that “silence is golden.” Consequently, we can often imagine silence as something to seek after in this life, a great goal to ascertain as it is the quiet voice of peace.

Yet, being silent can pose as one of the most ungodly characteristics we can possess depending on some of life’s circumstances. We see this very point in Mark 3. In the beginning of this chapter, Jesus enters a synagogue on the Sabbath to find a man with a withered hand. As he beckons the man to come to him, he challenges the onlooking Pharisees with this poignant question: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath or to do evil? To save life or to destroy it?” The Bible then records one of the saddest, most despairing responses - the Pharisees answer Jesus with silence.

The Pharisees know the answer. Their silence does not reflect their ignorance, as if Jesus asked them to explain quantum physics in fewer than 10 seconds. Their silence does not reflect a form of stupidity, for these are some of the most educated and influential minds in Jewish society. Rather, as Mark records, their silence reflects their hardened hearts (3:5). Rather than support Jesus’ renewing mission as the Messiah come to bring man back to a better Eden by healing disease and dispelling Satanic forces (see Isaiah 11), they want to destroy Jesus (3:6).

What about us? When people come to us asking for answers of renewal and hope, do we have anything to say? When someone says, “I think I might transition from a man to a woman,” do we speak God’s Word into their situation? When a friend says, “I think I’ll get a divorce, what are your thoughts,” do we sit back and calculate our answer like the Pharisees, or do we, like Jesus, bring God’s powerful Word into the circumstance?

In 2026, God will bring conversations with others into our lives. They may center around pornography, gossiping, laziness, gluttony, fornication, divorce, stealing, etc. So, when these conversations come up and we have the appropriate opportunities for providing input, will we say anything? Will we, like Christ, speak into this situation with a heart full of Scripture guided by God’s love, or will we calculate like the Pharisees and say nothing if we think that will keep us “out of trouble”? Will we point others back to Jesus’ renewing power to restore us to a greater and better Eden, or will we turn a shoulder and reflect the Pharisees by giving nothing but cold, dark, deadening silence? Because God is there, and He is not silent, then neither should we be.

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