Mark 13:7-11: a reflection

Warning his disciples of coming trials, when they will be brought before rulers to answer for their faith, Jesus gives a striking promise: they need not be anxious beforehand about what to say, for the Holy Spirit will give them the words in the hour they need them. When they lead you away and deliver you up, Jesus says, don't be anxious beforehand or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Faced with the prospect of standing before hostile rulers to give account, the disciples might well be anxious about what they would say; but Jesus tells them not to worry beforehand, promising that the Holy Spirit will give them the words when the moment comes. This shows the promise that the Spirit will give us words when we need them, so we need not be anxious beforehand. The Spirit will give us words when we need them. Do not be anxious beforehand about what to say. When we must speak for Christ, the Spirit will help us. Trust the Spirit to give words in the hour of need.

Notice the anxiety Jesus addresses and the promise he gives. The disciples faced the prospect of being dragged before councils, rulers, and kings, to answer for their faith, in hostile and frightening circumstances. It would be natural to be anxious about this beforehand, to worry over what they would possibly say, to rehearse and fret. But Jesus tells them not to be anxious beforehand or to premeditate their words; instead, he promises, the words will be given them in that very hour, for it is not they who speak, but the Holy Spirit. God himself, by his Spirit, would give them what to say when the moment came. This is a comforting promise for us, in the moments when we must speak for Christ or give account of our faith, especially in difficult or intimidating circumstances. We can be anxious beforehand, worrying that we will not know what to say, rehearsing and fretting. But Jesus promises the help of the Spirit, who will give us the words we need in the hour we need them. We need not carry the anxiety of preparing the perfect words in advance; we can trust that God, by his Spirit, will help us to speak when the moment comes. This frees us from anxious over-preparation and casts us on the Spirit's help. Trust the Spirit to give you words when you must speak for Christ. Do not carry anxiety over what to say; the Spirit will help. When you must give account of your faith, the Spirit will give you words. We are not left to our own resources; the Spirit speaks through us.

That is worth resting in, for the Spirit will give us words when we must speak for Christ, so we need not be anxious beforehand about what to say. We can be anxious about the moments when we must give account of our faith, worrying we will not know what to say; but Jesus promised his disciples that when they were brought before rulers, the Holy Spirit would give them the words in that hour. The Spirit helps us speak. When you must speak for Christ, do not carry anxious worry about what to say; trust the Spirit to give you words in the hour you need them. Do not be anxious beforehand about what to say when you must speak for Christ or give account of your faith, but trust the Holy Spirit to give you words in the hour you need them, as Jesus, warning his disciples that they would be brought before councils, rulers, and kings to answer for their faith, told them not to be anxious beforehand or premeditate what they would say, but to say whatever would be given them in that hour, for it is not they who speak but the Holy Spirit; for the disciples faced the prospect of standing before hostile rulers in frightening circumstances and might well be anxious about what they would say, but Jesus promised that the words would be given them by the Spirit when the moment came, which is a comforting promise for us in the moments when we must speak for Christ or give account of our faith, especially in difficult or intimidating circumstances, since we can be anxious beforehand, worrying that we will not know what to say and rehearsing and fretting, but Jesus promises the help of the Spirit, who will give us the words we need in the hour we need them, so that we need not carry the anxiety of preparing the perfect words in advance but can trust that God by his Spirit will help us to speak when the moment comes, which frees us from anxious over-preparation and casts us on the Spirit's help.