7 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 (Isaiah 53:7 NKJV).
2,000 years ago, around this very season, our LORD Jesus faced the darkest hour of His life. He would be betrayed by one of His twelve chosen friends and denied by one of His three closest friends, and deserted by all. Left to face the chief priests who accused Him of crimes He did not commit and sins He was not guilty of, He stood there alone, silent, and unhindered. This was the very reason why He came into the world to die for a lost world, and without His innocent blood, we would be lost.
By His shed blood, anyone who will come to Him will receive forgiveness and inherit eternal life. By the chastisement that was thrust upon Him, He brought us peace that the world cannot even comprehend. A peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away. And by His stripes, or by the wounds on His back, we are healed. Everything that we need for life and for excellence, He has provided.
2,000 years ago, Jesus stood silent, not answering, not retaliating, not even defending Himself—He stood silent. Isaiah prophesied that as a lamb is silent before its shearers, Jesus would be silent. And as a lamb which is led to the slaughter is silent, so would Jesus the Messiah be silent. Jesus did not rebuff one accusation but accepted all that they blamed Him for. And for the Joy that was set before Him, that is you and I and all who will come in repentance, He endured the cross. Scorning its shame, but not resisting its excruciating pain, Jesus hung on the cross, the very emblem of suffering and pain, for six hours for you and me. He took all our sin, all of our guilt, and all of our iniquity upon Himself and bore it on dark Calvary.
May the love that Jesus showed us 2,000 years ago on Calvary, may it shine in our hearts today. And may His blood not be shed in vain for us, but that we live as obedient servants, loving our God, and serving our Savior, for He died in our place so that we might live unto righteousness.
Father, thank You for Your blessings on us. Thank You for the privilege of being called sons and daughters of the LORD God, Most High, and thank You for salvation. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.