Actions Speak Louder Than Words
This statement has been around so long because many people have found it to be true. People can say all kinds of things, but it’s really their actions that count. This is only exacerbated in the age of social media where anyone can say anything in a comment or post and never need to back it up with an action. Or people might use their words to convey a positive feeling when really they are feeling terrible inside. Relationships die when one person tells another they are fine but their actions show that they have no interest in the relationship. To use another phrase, “talk is cheap.” To a group of Jewish leaders, Jesus pointed out His actions as proof of His words, as proof that it truly was God who sent Him.
“‘If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.’” (John 5:31-36)
Jesus points out several things here: first of all that He is not the only one testifying about Himself. Jesus points out that John testified about Him first and that the very leaders Jesus is talking to sent investigators to look into John’s testimony, finding that it was true. Second, Jesus points out that the works His Father gave Him to accomplish “prove that he sent me.” No one had come to earth and done what Jesus had done, and the people even recognized this with one person asking, “Would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?” (John 7:31). The signs Jesus was performing were predicted by many of God’s prophets.
“And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!” (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Jesus then explained to the Jewish leaders why they could not see or accept that Jesus was who His words and actions proved He was.
“'You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! (…) No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.’” (John 5:39, 44)
Jesus points out that the Jewish leaders could not believe because they honor each other; they didn’t care about the honor that comes from God, and they instead wanted the honor or recognition that came from their fellow man. The Jewish leaders were so focused on themselves that they missed Jesus! Are we doing that today? We live in a very self-centered culture, probably the most self-focused time in all of history. Are we so concerned with honoring ourselves, are we so focused on ourselves, that we are missing Jesus? Before you quickly say “no!” remember that your actions speak louder than your words. Objections that are the loudest to Christianity usually have to do with the “rules” of Christianity not allowing the person to do whatever they want. Christiainity turns the focus first from self to the cross, then to others. C.S. Lewis once said,
“If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly wouldn’t recommend Christianity.”
The Light of God’s goodness and perfection reveals the darkness and sin within us. Jesus paid for that sin and as we walk closer with Him, that darkness is cast out by His Light. When we come to faith in Christ, we must accept that life is not about us. When someone is baptized into the faith, we ask them to make a profession of faith. If you believe and have professed these things, do your actions back that profession up? Do your actions speak louder than your profession of faith? Are your actions reinforcing and confirming that confession or are they contradicting it? Don’t forget that your actions will speak louder than your words.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
