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
The silence of Jesus is greatly significant. We know that God demands blood in payment for sin. Through the sacrificial system, God demonstrated time and time again that the blood of an animal was required to restore His sinful people back to him. The animal sacrifice would cleanse the nation of its sins for a moment but then it would be required again and again. The author of Hebrews explains this old system:
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
as is written about me in the Scriptures.’
“For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” (Heb 10:1-7, 10, NLT).
The point of Isaiah 53:7 is to contrast the silence of the ignorant sheep and the deliberate self-submissive silence of Jesus. Sin involves the will. That’s why animals aren’t sinners because they have no will. We are sinful because we made that choice. But that is also why the sacrifice of animals are not able to perfectly cleanse us from our sins – they aren’t able to willingly sacrifice themselves and be our substitute. Only a person can substitute for people.
So then comes Jesus. He is silent before his accusers. He is scourged, beaten and crucified and he doesn’t open his mouth. The silence is the significance of the event because Jesus voluntarily gave his life for us. He is the perfect sacrifice. The perfect Lamb of God – spotless and sinless – willingly became our substitute. John McArthur says, “This is the high point of the Old Testament… He accepted the unrighteous judgment of man in order to accept the righteous judgment of God to make unrighteous sinners the recipients of that very same righteousness.”
Jesus does not speak a word against anybody for anything they do to him. In the midst of all the lies, abuse, torture and pain, Jesus is silent and brings no accusations against his enemies. He doesn’t question their motives or even ask for an explanation. He quietly goes to the cross.
So let’s turn inward for a moment. We would do well to learn to tame our tongues if it’s even just for a fraction of the time that Jesus was silent. This world comes at us daily with false accusations, misquotes, invented motives and just outright lies at times. These don’t always demand a response. In fact, the vast majority of the time they don’t demand a response. As Christ-follwers, we need to practice holding our tongue. Scripture is filled with this command:
“Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues” (Prov 10:18-19)
“Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue” (Prov 11:12).
“The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues” (Prov 17:27-28).
“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity” (Prov 21:23).
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10).
I am guilty of defending myself at every turn. I need to do better. Do I need to always see that my rights are protected? No. Do I need to point out on social media how wrong people’s positions are on the given topic of the day? No. Do I need to defend my actions to people who falsely accuse me of being someone that I am not? No.
These people are fools. They lack wisdom and understanding and their tongues prove it to be true. The prudent hold their tongues. The one who has understanding holds their tongue. The wise and discerning person holds their tongue. Let’s be quick to listen and slow to speak. Let’s save our words and let our tongues be used for praising our Jesus who was perfectly willing to be silent.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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