“But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.” John 8:6
When David wrote in the Psalm 23 about “green pastures and still waters,” what was he referring to? Or rather what was the Spirit of God seeking to reveal to those who would believe? The context of God’s communion with man is stillness, and His beauty. In the Holy of holies, the innermost chamber of the temple, that “place of meeting,” where Jesus has entered in once and for all with His own precious blood, there is quietness, beauty, and the wondrous manifestation of the glory of God, even His joy. Is it not the same in “green pastures” and the “still waters?” We know that the secret place of fellowship with God is the quiet place of fellowship with the Father, and the Son, by the Spirit. When looking at the Lord Jesus during His ministry and the conclusion of His work of redemption on Calvary, we find that He lived, dwelt, and abided in the secret, quiet presence of His Father. That quietness characterized Him throughout His life and ministry, and specifically, in His dealings with men and women, boys and girls. He was often up very early in the morning for prayer, then would go to the temple to teach the people the things of God. His manner was for the most part very quiet, with the exception of a very strong and powerful manifested desire for men to be saved, and to come to see the glory of God in His righteous dealings with men. Always truthful, compassionate, gracious and good, the Lord Jesus, even in the tumult of opposition to His person and message, never backed down, but would always resort to that secret place of quiet fellowship, communion with the Father. It was there in that quiet place that He would derive His strength and power, as communion with the Father was paramount. How then can we apply these concepts to our lives, and learn to live in the quiet place?
In the story related to us by John concerning the Lord’s dealing with a woman caughty in adultery, we find Him facing a storm of opposition by those who were seeking His destruction. A woman was in truth caught in adultery by some religious men of her day. Their intent concerning this event was not so much to judge the woman, but to condemn the Lord by His answers to their questions. The result was that Jesus did not respond to their questions like they thought He would. The first thing He did was to stoop down, and write on the ground, as if they had not even spoken to Him. Why? He, in the quietness of His Father’s presence, was seeking the Father, and His response to the situation. There was no great noise in Him doing this, nor some demonstration of how great He was, even though He was the Son of God. That which was great in these few minutes of finding the Father in the secret place, though He was surrounded by His enemies, was the quiet supplication of the Son to the Father, and the quiet reception of what the Father had to say. The result would be the quiet rising from His stooped position, and addressing His accusers by saying, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her.” (Jn. 8:7) What a remarkable answer to a very complicated circumstance! Where did Christ receive such an answer? It was from the Father…in the quietness. What would have happened had Jesus not gone into the quiet sanctuary of the Father’s presence and received such an answer from Him? It is possible that the woman would have been stoned, the Lord Jesus being accused as unjust and unsympathetic, and the religious men having left in their deepening pride.
What then must we do? We must first of all pray in all circumstances to our Father who is in secret. There, abiding in Christ, we are to receive.
Dear Father, Be our quietness today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.