The Declaration

What if the person who spoke the clearest truth about Jesus… wasn’t one of His followers?

In this powerful message from Pastor Nicole Barnett, we step into one of the most overlooked moments of the crucifixion in Gospel of Mark 15—when a Roman centurion, a hardened outsider, becomes the one who finally says what no one else would: “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

As part of the Paradox Lenten series, this sermon wrestles with a haunting reality—sometimes the Church goes silent… and when it does, God still makes sure the truth is heard.

But what does that mean for us today?

This message challenges listeners to confront the moments where we’ve stayed quiet, compromised, or sounded nothing like Jesus—and invites us into something better: a restored voice that reflects His heart of love, truth, mercy, and justice.

Linkoln shares his story on why he started coming to Ravenna Church of the Nazarene and shares why you should consider doing the same.

Ravenna Church of the Nazarene
530 Main Street, Ravenna, KY 40472

Transcript

Pastor Jason 0:00

What if the loudest voice declaring Jesus wasn't a disciple, but the man who helped kill him? And what if today the world sounds more like Jesus than the church does? I'm Pastor Jason Markett, and this is the Dirt Pastor on Podcast. Today you're going to hear from someone who isn't just my wife, but my partner in ministry, Pastor Nicole Barnett. And as we've been walking through this Linton series called Paradox, we've been looking at how the moments that seem like defeat, silence, and shame were actually revealing something deeper about who Jesus is. And today's message leads right into that tension. Because what happens when the people who should speak don't. And what does God do in the silence? Nicole steps into that question in a way that's honest, challenging, and necessary for where we are right now. So lean in, listen closely, and let's let this one search your heart a little.

SPEAKER_05 2:26

But as you're turning there, I'm gonna focus a little bit on another gospel account. In Luke 19, the writer describes Jesus' approach into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Luke says that as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the ground, they being the people in the area. They spread their cloaks on the ground as they approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. And he answered, I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out. Now, over the next several days, Jesus and his friends participated in the celebration of the Passover. They went to the temple, they fellowshipped. And everything seemed to be fine, at least from the perspective of the majority of the disciples. Then Thursday night, they all sat down to have dinner. Jesus washed their feet. They argued with him about whether or not they should be washing his feet their feet. But then Jesus talked with them. And he discussed the upcoming betrayal. The upcoming tragedy. He was going to die. And they would all leave him. And despite the fact that several of them protested, that's exactly what happened. Only two of the twelve disciples in that room that day followed Jesus after his arrest. One of those two denied ever knowing him when asked. The other one simply stood by silently. The declarations of the disciples had stopped. There were no more cries declaring, you know, blessed be the king. There were no declarations declaring the glory of God.

SPEAKER_04 5:07

The disciples went silent.

SPEAKER_05 5:15

And when the crowd started calling for the release of Jesus for Rabbit, there were no cries of protest for Jesus, the Messiah, to be released instead. The disciples were silent. And as the crowds spit on Jesus as he walked the road to Golgotha, the disciples were silent. And as the crowds taunted Jesus as he hung on the cross dying, the disciples were silent. And in Mark 15, starting in verse 33, it says, Now it was noon, darkness came over the land until three in the afternoon. Around three o'clock, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Elohim, Elohim, Yama Sabakhtanai, which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, Listen, he's calling out for Elijah. Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, Leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah will come and take him down. But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. And the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. Now, when the centurion who stood in front of him saw how he died, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Now, Jesus had literally just died. The one that everybody was claiming would be the Messiah had died, and the people of Israel were standing there mocking. The people who followed Jesus, if they remained in the crowd, they were silent.

SPEAKER_04 7:36

Jesus was abandoned.

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And the cry the people's cries of praise and declaration of who he is not cease to happen, not cease to exist. But then in the midst of all this silence, this one man, this battle-hardened centurion.

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Somebody who served in the Roman army, has seen all kinds of likely war crimes, witnessed death in every imaginable way.

SPEAKER_05 8:21

He looked at Jesus' body hanging on the cross. And he speaks the truth.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

Truly, this man was the Son of God.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

Now, the centurion was not an innocent man. He had stood next to Jesus watching as the crowds taunted him. He had stood next to Jesus as his buddies were gambling for the rope. He might have even partaking in that action. He might have been one of the soldiers who drove the very nails that held Jesus to that cross.

SPEAKER_04 9:13

He wasn't a good man.

SPEAKER_05 9:19

But as soon as Jesus breathed his very last breath, the centurion speaks the truth. While the disciples were silent. Because they were too afraid, because they were too dumbstruck by what was happening, too emotional to speak, regardless of the reason, they were quiet, and the centurion spoke. And this is far more significant than we want to give credit. Because Jesus had said that this very thing would happen. He had told the Pharisees, I tell you, if they keep silent, these very stones will cry out. That centurion, that battle-hardened soldier, that polytheistic Roman was stone-hearted. And yet his voice carried out above the den, declaring the identity of the one who had just died. That centurion was a stone crying out in the absence of the followers of Jesus' voice. And this is something about which we need to pay attention. Because a stone cried out then. A stone. It wasn't someone anyone had expected to speak, and yet he spoke. He was a Roman centurion. He didn't follow the beliefs of the Messiah. He wasn't familiar with the prophecies of the Messiah coming and redeeming God's people. He wasn't familiar with that. All he knew was Zeus and Hera and Hercules and Apollos and all these other false deities that his culture worshipped. He didn't know. But here he was looking at this man on the cross.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

And something clicks.

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And you know what? With his background, many would argue he has no right to speak on this topic. He has no right to say who the son of God is. He doesn't even know God.

SPEAKER_04 12:01

But he speaks.

SPEAKER_05 12:21

And they stood there mocking the centurion man.

SPEAKER_04 12:27

Looked up at the body of Jesus and declared the truth. He didn't have the right. He didn't have the knowledge. Yeah, he spoke. He was a stone crying out in the silence of the disciples.

SPEAKER_05 13:07

But that's not the only moment in history that a stone has cried out. We actually see it as a pretty common pattern. Throughout history, whenever the people of God have gone silent, whenever the people of God have done even worse when they've actually taught and spoken the wrong thing, God has made sure that the truth was heard. And that happens way more often than we like to admit. And far too often, because the church insists on being silent, it's not the church people who are speaking. It's the stones. These are examples of times when the church was not only silent in the face of injustice, but they were the ones carrying it out. These were times when the church relished its power and authority and watched helpless people be trampled under its own feet. It rejoiced, but not as everybody rejoiced. There were people like Malika Kamil, a Muslim leader, who encountered the Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis was a Catholic who was who, as far as Malik knew, would easily kill or kill him, or, you know, he had to be killed. So one or the other. And he showed Christ-like radical love to someone on the other side of the aisle. Then there's people like Thomas Brattle, who constantly called out the injustice of the witch trials, because he found that the evidence that was being used was not real evidence and it wasn't reliable. And he's like, why are you doing this? This is not Jesus. And you know, the Puritans of the time would look at him and say that he was a horrible, horrible, ungodly man because he started a church that wasn't the Puritan church. He was too liberal for them. But he spoke up and he shared the truth.

SPEAKER_04 16:05

Even when other people who were professing the name of God chose to remain silent or teach the wrong thing. These were stones. You're not a reliable source on this topic. But when the church is being silent, the rocks will cry out.

SPEAKER_05 16:48

And these stones continued to show up through half throughout history. They showed up pre-Civil War as people were as people who helped slaves find freedom and protection. They showed up during the civil rights movements as voices calling out the church's hypocrisy, preaching love but not living it, when it came to our brothers and sisters of color. They showed up when pastors and church leaders turned a blind eye to abuse against women and children within church walls. Not always Christian people, but still calling the church to uh to live in holiness, calling out the sin.

SPEAKER_04 17:37

And these voices, they're still showing up today. I wasn't gonna bring this up, but I'm going to.

SPEAKER_05 17:50

Back in 2020, with all the racial unrest and everything that was happening, one of my friends had shared with a laughing emoji a post by Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood had posted on social media their statement about the sanctity of life. Planned Parenthood spoke on the sanctity of life, calling out the fact that people were not valuing human life. Now, her response to that was they have no right to say that. They have no right to speak on that. How dare they call people out about not valuing human life? And she laughed at that. She laughed at the repos. And all I heard was this statement from Jesus saying, is the church is silent, these very rocks will cry out. Planned parenthood in that moment was the rocks crying out. And you know what? Rocks are going to be rocks. They're not changing their tone, they're not changing their identity. The centurion was still a pagan centurion, but he recognized who Jesus was, and he spoke the truth in the silence of God's followers. And Planned Parenthood is still Planned Parenthood, and they are still not a holy organization. But you know what? They spoke up when this church was too silent. We are called to declare who Jesus is. And if we're silent, then somebody else is gonna speak it. But it's not gonna be somebody holy.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

Because the holy people are being quiet.

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The voices speaking up are going to be the voices outside of the church, voices we don't agree with, and voices we will try to dismiss.

SPEAKER_04 20:02

But they are saying things that sound an awful lot like Jesus. They're calling for justice in the face of injustice.

SPEAKER_05 20:15

They are calling for mercy when the church is refusing to show mercy. They're calling for dignity and for truth. And every time that every time it happens, it should stop us in our traps.

SPEAKER_04 20:31

It should make us ask, why are they the ones speaking? Why am I hearing these voices declaring Jesus' heart? Why are they saying it and not us?

SPEAKER_05 20:56

Why is it that the people who claim the name of Jesus, the one who have his word, who know his life, who proclaim his truth, are sometimes the quietest voices in moments that matter most?

SPEAKER_04 21:20

And why is it sometimes worse? Why are we sometimes the voices that sound the least like him?

SPEAKER_05 21:34

Because the reality is that stones only cry out when the people of God fall silent. Stones only cry out when we forget that his what his voice is supposed to sound like.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

And no longer reflect him in the way that we are called. And that means that this isn't just a message about history.

SPEAKER_05 22:09

This isn't just a message about the day that Jesus passed away. This is a message about us. Because it's easy to look back on the disciples and wonder how they could stay silent. It's easy. How could they not speak up? Why would they run away? Why wouldn't they defend him?

SPEAKER_04 22:33

At least say something. But if we're honest, we've had those moments too.

SPEAKER_05 22:43

Moments when we've witnessed hate being spewed and remained quiet. Times when we've seen abuse happen and done nothing. Moments we've heard lies declared and we've kept our mouths shut just to preserve the peace.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

But when we do that, we're not preserving peace. That's not righteousness, that's not peace. It isn't Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 23:19

And in those moments, the stones took the opportunity to cry out. They spoke up and declared that spewing hatred is wrong and called for radical love.

SPEAKER_04 23:30

Sometimes the love crosses a line. But again, they're still stones.

SPEAKER_05 23:40

They saw abuse happening and called it for what it was and made themselves a safe place for the victims. They heard lies declared and called it out, demanding truth to be shared instead, and disturbed the peace we were so desperately longing for. So we told them to be quiet. It's not their place to speak on matters of Jesus or holiness or the church.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

How dare they think that they have the right to speak? And yet, maybe the better question isn't how dare they speak.

SPEAKER_05 24:23

It's how dare we say sound. How dare we claim the name of Jesus and not sound like him? I tell this to my students all the time: the term Christian quite literally means little Christ. It was a derogatory term once upon a time because people were acting just like Jesus. So you're a little Christ. Ha ha ha. They're like, oh, great. That's a great compliment. Thank you. We adopted it. Christian was a derogatory term because they acted like Jesus. But that's exactly what they wanted to do. So they bear the name of Jesus and they talk and sound like him and they act like him. How dare we bear the name of Jesus but not sound like him or act like him? How dare we preach love in our pulpits and then withhold it from others?

SPEAKER_04 25:37

How dare we talk about the truth and yet brush it under the rug when it's uncomfortable?

SPEAKER_05 25:54

Because the reality is those voices that we try to silence, those stones, the ones we wish would be quiet, they're not the problem.

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Evidence that some somewhere along the way the people of God stopped sounding like God.

SPEAKER_05 26:29

Somewhere along the way, the people of God shut their mouths and started letting sin and destruction breed in in their midst. And we get so we're so appalled. My friend was so appalled when Planned Parenthood spoke out on the Psych2P life. There were a lot of other people that spoke out and we're like, how dare you? But that shouldn't be what appalls us. What should appall us is our own silence.

SPEAKER_04 27:27

Kind of a kick in the bridges, isn't it? But I'm not here to kick everybody. Because the whole point of the day that Jesus died was to make a way to make all things new.

SPEAKER_05 27:54

And we have a God who makes all things new. And that includes our voices. And I might be getting a little ahead of myself on the story a little bit. But after Jesus' resurrection, he decides to spend some time with his disciples, the ones who ran away from him. Particularly the one that denied him. The disciple was so devastated by his own silence that according to church tradition, when he was martyred, he didn't see himself worthy to be crucified the way Jesus said. So he requested it to be crucified upside down. He was so devastated by his silence. But Jesus forgave him. And he simply asked him, Do you love me?

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And then he said, Feed my sheep.

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And he asked us the same. Do you love me? You've been silent before now. But do you love me? Then take care of my people. Do you love me? Then protect my children. Do you love me? Then teach and live out the truth of who I am. You see, Jesus didn't leave Peter in his silence, and he didn't leave the other disciples in their silence. He restored their voices. And with Peter, the same man who stood quietly in the courtyard and denied even knowing Jesus, he would later stand before crowds and boldly declare who Jesus is.

SPEAKER_04 29:56

Silence didn't have the final word. Jesus did.

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And that same grace is extended to us. Because maybe we've been here today and we think of those moments. The moments we've stayed quiet. The moments we looked away. Moments when we didn't sound like Jesus. And there's a weight that comes with that. Kind of feels like a stone in itself sinking to the bottom of the pit of our stomach. But hear me. Because Jesus is not standing here to condemn you in your silence.

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He's standing here asking that same question. Do you love me? And if the answer is yes, then the call is the same. And speak. Speak love where there's only hate.

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Speak truth when there is only lies. And speak mercy where all you see is brokenness. Be the voice that reflects him. Because the world does not need stones to cry out.

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They need the people of God to sound like Jesus again.

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So we have a choice today. We can walk out of here the same quiet, comfortable, blending in people we were. Or we can allow Jesus to restore our voice. To make us people who don't just know the truth but speak it. People who don't just believe in love but live it. And people who don't just follow Jesus in name and call ourselves Christians.

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But people who show Jesus to the world like by how we live.

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But I'm gonna tell you, if we refuse to do that, the stones who don't know Jesus, the stones who don't know scripture, the stones who don't know holiness, they're gonna continue crying out.

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But stones were never meant to replace the voices of Jesus. They were never meant to replace us. They're simply there to remind us of who we are to speak for.

Pastor Jason 33:24

Let me ask you something. Have there been moments where you knew what love sounded like, but you stayed quiet? Moments where you saw something wrong and didn't say anything. Or maybe moments where if you were really honest, your voice didn't sound much like Jesus at all. You're not alone. And here's the good news Jesus doesn't leave you there. He doesn't repla we replay your silence to shame you. He asks you the same question he asked Peter. Do you love me? If your answer is yes, even if yes, then his response is simple. Speak. Not perfectly, not loudly, not with all the right words, just faithfully. Speak love where there's hate. Speak truth where there's confusion. Speak mercy where there's brokenness. So right there, wherever you're at right now. Whether it's driving, sitting on your couch, or walking through your day, this is your moment. Just tell Jesus, I love you. Ask him to restore your voice and help you sound like help you sound like him again. Let's pray together. Lord, you see every moment we stayed quiet. Every time we missed it. Every time our voice didn't reflect your heart. And still you come close. You don't push us away. You call us back. Today we say yes. Yes, we love you. Yes, we want to follow you. And yes, we want our lives and our voices to sound like you. Restore what's been silent. Heal what's been broken, and give us courage where we've been afraid. Make us people who speak love, live truth, and carry your heart into the world. We trust you with that. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Well, if this message hit you today, I'd love to hear from you. You can reach out, share your story, or just say hey. You can email me at the the at dirtpathpastor at gmail.com. Know the dirtpathpastor all oneworld at gmail.com. Um I'd love to hear from you. And wherever you're at today, whether you you feel strong in your faith or like you're just finding your voice again, keep walking the path. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be willing. Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 35:58

Thank you for listening to this episode of my podcast. It's recorded live.