Christ in the Old Testament

Isaiah 53:7

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. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:7-9

As a reminder as we begin this section of Isaiah, all the verbs are in the past tense because all that is said is looking backward from the perspective of the future redeemed Jews. This is primarily a prophecy of the future conversion of Israel. Secondarily it is a prophecy of the cross. Isaiah 53 is an amazing prophecy that looks beyond the cross and then looks back to the cross. These words are the Jews’ confession of that Jesus was the Messiah.

These next three verses look at specific life events of Jesus. Verse 7 looks at his trial, verse 8 looks at his death and verse 9 looks at his burial. We begin with verse 7 which has a pretty consistent translation across all the various versions of Scripture, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word” (NLT).

The Hebrew word for “oppressed” is nāgaś which portrays the idea of harshly demanding or applying pressure for payment or labor. This word was used to describe the slave drivers during Israel’s time in Egypt:

“The slave drivers (nāgaś) kept pressing them, saying, ‘Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.’ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers (nāgaś) beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, ‘Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?’” (Ex 5:13-14).

Nāgaś describes what a lender does to a debtor, what a slave driver does to a slave or what a tyrant does to a nation. Jesus was oppressed by his accusers. He voluntarily absorbed the oppression and did not retaliate. He took on the oppression in order to free the oppressed.

Jesus was also “afflicted” which is the Hebrew word ʽānâ meaning being humbled through affliction. God repeatedly sends affliction as discipline on his people. God first uses this word in a prophecy to Abraham:

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated (ʽānâ) there’” (Gen 15:13).

Jesus was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. The Suffering Servant suffered in silence. Through the unjust trial, the false accusations and the undeserved beating and floggings, Jesus gave no verbal resistance. The Messiah’s silence was foretold and fulfilled:

• “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets” (Isa 42:2).
• “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting” (Isa 50:6).
• “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’ But Jesus remained silent’” (Mat 26:62-63).
• “When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, ‘Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?’ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor” (Mat 27:12-13).
• “When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer” (John 19:8-9).
• “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer” (Luke 23:8-9).
• “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet 2:23).

Fully grasp the silence of Jesus today. Our Messiah came to earth to willingly die for us and offered no resistance when the time came.

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
    and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isa 50:7).

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

A lamb will blindly follow the sheep in front of it right into the hands of its slaughterer. A slaughtered lamb doesn’t choose its death. It doesn’t understand where it’s going or what’s about to happen to it. But Jesus knew full well what lay in front of him. The Lamb of God set his face like flint and resolutely set out for Jerusalem to experience the most barbaric torture and death known to man. He went to the cross in silence because of his love for us.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

Today’s Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am eternally grateful for your unfathomable love for me. Your silence is beyond my comprehension. I pray today that I can love those around me with at least a small fraction of the great love you have for me.