Isaiah 53:7

New King James Version

 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

For Meditation

Heaven’s glory became the scum of the earth, as His creation became the object of His love. Through oppression and affliction, He came to redeem His own. Powerful and majestic in creation, authoritative in speech. He spoke, and everything came to be. In Gethsemane, Jesus asked His captors a question, and they fell on their backs. Legions of heaven’s army stood ready for their call to duty, but love clipped their wings, and their swords remained in their sheaths. At His command, one of them could have destroyed His captors. Yet, not a word proceeded from His mouth—evidence of the power of His love.

John, who baptized people in River Jordan, called Him “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The religious leaders, however, called Him demon-possessed and said He healed people by the prince of demons. The signs they demanded stood before them every time Jesus lectured the crowds, healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, or raised the dead. Nevertheless, they refused to acknowledge Him as their long-awaited Messiah; yet, wonder of wonders, willingly, Jesus went to the slaughter. As a sheep before its shearers, He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

He exemplified submission and humility to instruct our walk. As the Passover drew near, the Paschal Lamb was ready for the perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifices for sin. God prefigured Him in Isaac on Moriah, the mountain of the Lord, where He provided the lamb in his place (Genesis 22:14). So, on Jesus’s back, the Father laid the cruel wood—the cross of Calvary.

Up the road to Golgotha, Christ stumbled along with thorns for a crown and a blood-drenched body to offer. The valley echoed the hammer’s pride as they nailed Him to the cross. With three spikes, the soldiers pierced His hands and feet, each to mark Him for eternity.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

The hour came for the victory cry. “It is finished” (John 19:30)

 With that, He bowed His head, His body sagged, and He gave up His spirit. The pertinent question for us all is why He did it. Why did Christ die for us who hated Him so much? O, that we could hear the prophet Isaiah today:

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 5).

Wandering soul, look up to Him who died on the cross and rose in victory, and you will receive life for your soul (Mark 16:6). Then come, join the redeemed, His rescued children from the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14) in singing His praises.

Sing His praises therefore you, His redeemed, and let His light shine through you to reveal the beauty of His love—love so divine.