Silence of the Lamb

Isaiah 53:7–12

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

“No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded (John 10:18)." The Living Life writer tells us that our LORD Jesus, “He willingly became our substitute and bore the punishment for our sins so that He could justify us through His righteousness. We are able to be declared righteous before Him because this pure and spotless Lamb was sacrificed on our behalf. We are not completely spotless, but through His Spirit, we can reflect the words and deeds of Christ and grow to resemble Him more each day.” His martyrdom paved the way for our redemption. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth (v. 7).” He spoke with Pilate privately but in the presence of His accusers, the chief priests and teachers of the Law, He uttered not a word. The Apostle John's account of Pilate's questioning of Jesus is more detailed. In both gospels Jesus responds to Pilate's question of whether Jesus is the king of the Jews: Matt 27:11 and John 18:34-37. And in both gospels Jesus is later silent when Pilate questions Him at the insistence of the Jewish leaders: Matt 27:12 and John 19:7-9. John 18:28 explains that Pilate's questioning took place without the Jewish leaders being present, because they refused to enter the governor's headquarters so that they wouldn't be defiled. The Apostle Matthew collapses the whole of John 18:28-19:11 into four verses which of course means it is less detailed. But in both gospels Jesus' two kinds of responses, accepting the title of king of the Jews and not deeming the Jewish leaders’ accusations worthy of a reply, are presented. He was indeed as the prophet Isaiah predicted, a lamb silent led to the slaughter. But the LORD tells us Himself He did this so voluntarily because this is the Father’s will (v. 10), and this is because of His great love (John 3:16), “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him (Rom 5:8-9)!” He is the only one capable of such offering, only His infinity, being God Himself, will suffice and so He went. The Living Life writer continues, “the result of Jesus’ suffering was not regret and sadness but victorious satisfaction because His work had been accomplished and our relationship with Him had been restored. May we celebrate and rejoice in this victory and tell others about what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection.” LORD, forgive us our sins and empower us through Your Spirit to live for You Father, just like Your Son. In His precious and powerful name I offer this prayer and praise for Your awesomeness, amen.