Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

Isaiah continues his song or psalm with a view of the Messiah that may be difficult to understand until you read about how it happened in one of the gospels. When you hear the story of what they did to Jesus, its hard to sit still. Movies of the arrest, beatings, and trial of Jesus bring tears to our eyes. We find it hard not to cry out, ‘stop it, stop it!” Yet, the prophet tells us Jesus did not protest or complain.

Jesus had an army but did not call it to rescue him. Jesus had full power of the Holy Spirit, creating power, but he refrained from using it to stop the agony. The Jewish religious leaders claimed responsibility, and no doubt the screaming crowd felt responsibility. Pilate tried to step aside of the responsibility, but none of these people were to blame.

Jesus went to the cross voluntarily. One word could have stopped it, but he opened not his mouth. One word and hosts of heavenly warriors would have come to his aide. The word was never spoken. One word to the soldiers in the gardens would have stopped the arrest, but the word was not given.

Task for Today: Do you celebrate a silent savior? What do you think of the Messiah who took your place and never said a word? He said ‘yes’ to God and ‘yes’ to you and was silent in his own defense. Fill your own mouth with words of praise.