Bible Origin—When Silence Speaks Out Loud
The Bible is celebrated for its accuracy and its eloquence. These qualities are evidence of the sacred origin of the holy volume.
What many have yet to recognize, however, is the eloquence of the Scripture’s silence—strange as this expression may sound.
For example, some of the most dramatic episodes in the New Testament, where we might expect the sacred writers to satisfy passionate quests for information, are strangely abbreviated.
God’s Origin
The Bible begins with the simple declarative, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Neither in Genesis 1 nor elsewhere in Holy Writ are attempts made to explain the origin of the Creator of the universe.
Jehovah’s eternal existence is assumed as a primary truth. The prophets speak of his everlasting presence without any adorning explanation. From everlasting to everlasting, he is the eternal God (cf. Psa. 90:2; Dt. 33:27).
No Physical Description of God
Strangely, the God of the Bible is never given any physical description.
Anthropomorphic language (meaning “man form”) is indeed employed frequently in scripture to denote specific attributes of the Lord (e.g., the “eyes” and “hands” of the Lord). Why? Because such figures are necessary to accommodate human comprehension.
Nevertheless, the divine writers stress that God is a spirit being and, as such, has no physical composition (Jn. 4:24; Lk. 24:39). He is invisible to human sight (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16).
If the Bible is a work of fiction, why is there no description of God?
No Detailed Description of Jesus’ Appearance
When William Manchester wrote his acclaimed biography, American Caesar — Douglas McArthur, he alluded to descriptions of the illustrious military commander on more than seventy pages.
In contrast, even though Jesus is the central character of scripture and is found directly or indirectly in every book of the Bible, there is not one line in the New Testament depicting his physical attributes.
The only remote references to Jesus’ appearance are vague allusions in the book of Isaiah. One such passage suggests facial hair (Isa. 50:6). Another presents the Savior as having “no comeliness” that might be considered desirable (Isa. 53:2).
Imagine that! There is no description of the most prominent person in the Bible. All we find is a passing prophetic remark suggesting he would be less than handsome!
John’s Limited Content
The apostle John was the closest person to the Savior. Yet, amazingly, in John’s Gospel record, the apostle is very selective in the material he discusses.
John’s Gospel embraces slightly more than thirty of the approximately 1,260 days of Jesus’ personal ministry. What more could he have written? A stunning, though intended, circumstance!