Grow With Pastor Joe

We have a hard time with fairness. It is in the heart of man to desire to be treated fairly, yet we aren’t so concerned about how we mistreat others when we think that we have a self-justification. Everyone, myself included, wants to be treated fairly by others. In our study of the fourth Servant Song of Isaiah in Isa. 52:13-53:12 we have seen that Jesus, the Suffering Servant, was treated unjustly by sinners so that by His substitutional sacrifice sinners could be justified before God. I believe that when we are treated unfairly, we should come back to this passage of scripture and see what our Lord Jesus Christ endured. A.W. Tozer writes, “Christians who understand the true meaning of Christ’s cross will never whine about being treated unfairly.” We complain in unfairness when we don’t get our way at home, church, or our workplace. For that matter, we complain if the ice cream machine breaks down at McDonald’s just before we step up to order. There are countless examples. Even God’s people whined and complained against Him in the wilderness wanderings in Exodus. When we consider the cross and behold the Lamb of God slain for us, how could we complain that we have been mistreated by God or another? Any unjust or unfair treatment that we will experience pales in comparison to what takes place at the cross. Jesus, The Servant, submitted Himself to silently suffer as the substitute for sinners. He was the sinless One dying for sinners. The just for the unjust. The righteous for the unrighteous.

The cross kills any attempt of self-dependence. We have seen in our study that we were helpless and hopeless sinners who lived in self-dependence and self-righteousness which lead us to destruction. However, the Lord Jesus Christ took our place. When we are self-dependent then we become self-defendant. This is not to say that we don’t have a right to personal protection from a home invader. What I am saying is that we don’t have the need to constantly justify ourselves in self-defense when we are treated unjustly or unfairly. Jesus’ treatment as prophesied and described in our passage shows us that Jesus chose to die as a silent lamb suffering in the place of sinners by the hands of sinners and under the wrath of God against sinners. Not once does Jesus cry out, “Father this isn’t fair!” From the false accusations during the illegal trial that sentenced Him to death to the agonizing hours on the cross, Jesus never quit because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair and He submitted Himself to the will of the Father to accomplish the salvation of the redeemed.

Today’s passage is the fourth of five stanzas in Isaiah’s fourth and final Servant Song. Isa. 53:7-9 says, “⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. ⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” In the previous section we saw the depth of the heart of the gospel which is penal substitutionary atonement. We still see the language of substitution in this section as well. Here in these three verses, we see Jesus’ trial (v.7), death (v.8), and burial (v.9). As the previous section described Jesus as our substitute, the picture of such is seen in the lamb illustration. Jesus was called the Lamb of God and we should heed John the Baptist’s declaration to behold Jesus Christ. John 1:29 says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Then the next day he sees Jesus again in John 1:36, “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” We then see Peter describe Jesus as a sinless lamb who saves us by His sacrificial blood atonement (1 Pet. 1:18-20). Then, 27 times in the book of Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God. I believe that it would be fair to say that John the Baptist, Peter, and John the Beloved all had close relationships with the Lord, but also that they had these verses of Isaiah in mind. Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God who came to take away our sin. Our passage of study today as we behold the Lamb was also the same passage that was read by the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. As the Ethiopian reads this, Philip preaches Christ to Him out of Isaiah because Isaiah’s gospel is the declaration that Jesus Christ is the Suffering Servant of Jehovah, the substitute for sinners, and the Lamb who was slain for our salvation. Today we will behold the Lamb and see that He was silent while being slandered and slaughtered.

First, we must behold the slandered and silent Lamb in Isa. 53:7 which says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Two times in this verse we see that Jesus did not open His mouth in self-defense. Jesus is the Sovereign Lord and Lamb, but He submitted as a lamb to suffer as a substitute for sinners. He is the Just One who surrendered to an unjust trial and unjust treatment. There are two parts that we must see to this verse.

One, we must behold the slandering of Jesus. We see that Jesus was “oppressed” which is the word “nagas” which means the exertion of demanding oppressive pressure for payment or labor. It involves the idea of brutal treatment or even enslavement. The word also is used for those who are under oppression as a debtor to another. Jesus faced oppression throughout the entirety of His life, but as we focus on the trial and treatment that He faced on the day of His crucifixion we will see that it was unmatched. Not only was He oppressed, but He was also “afflicted” which is the word “`anah” which means to be afflicted, bowed down, or humbled. Jesus was humility incarnate. He has all might yet lived with meekness. He deserves all honor, yet He lived with humility. He bowed Himself down before His accusers and oppressors. Isa. 50:6 says, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” The use of affliction in this verse is in the passive tense meaning that He was afflicted by an outside force, but He submitted or allowed it to take place. Jesus deliberately submitted to the affliction by sinners for sinners. He volunteered to have violence come against Him. Jesus, the Lamb of God, faced slandering from false accusers, an illegal trial, and a mob of His own people who called for His crucifixion in exchange for a guilty rebel named Barabbas. He was slandered in the three-part illegal Jewish religious trial as he faced Annas, Caiaphas, and then the Sanhedrin (the ruling body of the religious leadership of the Jews). Then He faced Pilate and Herod, then Pilate again who both pronounced Him to be innocent, but the blood thirsty mob of sinners wanted His blood to be on their own hands (Mt. 27:25). Jesus was slandered during the unjust trial while facing unjust treatment. He was the sinless Lamb of God but was treated as a sinner in our place. You can read about the unjust trial and treatment of Jesus in Mt. 26:57-68; Lk. 23; and John 18:19-24.

Two, we must behold the silence of Jesus. Throughout the unjust trial and treatment which He willingly endured and gave Himself to, He intentionally remained silent. There in Isa. 53:7 we see that Jesus would not open His mouth in self-defense. Our natural tendency is to defend ourselves even if we are in the wrong. Sinners don’t suffer silently. We whine and complain. We gripe and defend ourselves. We’ll stop at nothing to defend ourselves, but we are still sinners who can never truly be able to have pure motives or actions. Jesus was never in the wrong. He could not and would not sin. The only who had ever lived that had the right to defend His personal righteousness was the Lord Jesus Christ. We see Jesus’ silence during His trials before the religious kangaroo court in Mt. 26:57-68 that Jesus “held his peace.” As my mother used to say, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” Then, in Mt. 27:11-14 we see that Jesus chose silence before Pilate as His life is then exchanged for Barabbas. It tells us that Pilate “marveled greatly.” No doubt Pilate had many criminals facing the brutal death of the cross plead their case of innocence and do anything to get out of the cruel death that awaited them. Yet Jesus who did not deserve this death or the unjust trial or treatment that He chose to endure, we see that He submitted to it to save us from our sins. He accepted Man’s unrighteous judgment and God’s righteous judgment against sinners. 1 Pet. 2:19-25 describes Jesus as an example while also giving an expectation for Christians who suffer unjustly saying, “¹⁹ For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰ For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. ²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: ²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” It is important to note that Peter is quoting directly from Isa. 53:7-9 and that He tells us that Jesus “committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” Who is that? That is the Lord our Heavenly Father. We see that Jesus cried on the cross for the Father to forgive them because they knew not what they were doing and that Jesus’ final cry is a total committal of Himself to the care of His Father as He gives up His life (Lk. 23:34, 46). C.H. Spurgeon preached, “What power He thus exerted in remaining silent! Perhaps nothing displays more fully the omnipotence of Christ than His power of self-control!” Jesus demonstrated His strength through His silence, but on the other hand, we demonstrate how weak we are by speaking up when we are mistreated. If Jesus didn’t exercise His infinite righteous right of self-defense, what makes us think that we need to be so prickly and defensive in our life?

            Second, we must behold the slaughtered and silent Lamb in Isa. 53:7. Lambs were used in Old Testament sacrifices going back to Abraham’s day, the Passover, and the continual sacrifices under the Old Covenant. Now, Christ, the true and perfect Lamb of God has laid down His life in the place of sinners. As we saw in the previous section, Jesus satisfied God’s holy wrath and justice as our sins are imputed to Him. It is by His merit and mercy that we are justified before God. Our passage says that “he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Sheep are naturally docile creatures. When it is time for their slaughter, they walk up to have their throats slit without hesitation or comprehension. No fear or dread. When sheep are sheered for their wool, they make no verbal argument, nor do they put up a fight. There is a great difference between a lamb and our Lord, the Lamb of God. The animal is willing to be sheered or slaughtered because it doesn’t comprehend what is happening to it. So, it stays docile unto death. Yet Jesus has all knowledge and comprehension. He was fully aware of what He was doing every step of the way. He is worthy to be slaughtered because He was sinless and He was willing to be slaughtered silently in submission to God’s will to accomplish our salvation. By the way, if Jesus isn’t sinless then His death accomplishes nothing. The Lamb of God was silent because He was sinless and submitted to the plan of God. Jesus gave no verbal protest to the unjust trial or treatment. At any moment He could have called for their destruction and His rescue, but instead He silently submitted to suffer as our substitute. Our Lord could have begun to righteously lay out the sins of all of His accusers or pronounce their judgment; instead, the Lord silently suffered for them, for me, and for you. He is the worthy and willing sacrifice whose blood alone is sufficient to save us from our sins. Jesus is the worthy and willing Lamb of God that volunteers for death in the stead of sinners. Why does this matter? It matters because we have a Savior who was not only worthy, but willing. Jesus didn’t go kicking and screaming to the cross. He didn’t hesitate. Although the dread of the cup of wrath caused Him deep anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see that He took each step of His own will toward the cross and willingly sipped each drop of God’s holy hatred toward sin in our place. This gives us comfort because it tells our hearts that Jesus was and is worthy and willing to save souls. He alone is worthy and able to save, but it is His willingness and affection that make our salvation so sweet.            

As we bring this to a close, we must behold the Lamb and as we do our hearts should sing His praises. May we praise Him loudly for His silence as He endured the slandering and slaughtering under the unjust trial and treatment for our sins. Are we not moved at the willingness of Christ to suffer silently for us? Can we complain about our treatment to Him who faced the cross in our place? The same Lamb who was slandered and slaughtered in silence for our sin is also the sovereign Lord. He is the Sovereign Lord and Lamb who will one day no longer be silent, but out of His mouth will come a sharp two-edged sword that will cut down His enemies and judge all. Until that day, we will face unjust trials and treatment at the hand of the wicked. How we respond matters? May we follow the example of Christ and suffer silently for His name’s sake. May we stop being so quick to self-justify or defend our honor. May we humble ourselves and rest in Him who judges righteously. Behold the Lamb and remember that one day, all injustice will be ended. Christ is the suffering silent substitute Lamb of God for sinners. Hallelujah, what a Savior!