Let us turn again to God's Word
and our text is found in the familiar 53rd chapter of
Isaiah and verse 7, Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 7, where we read
of the silence of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 done, so he openeth not his mouth." Twice then we have this
statement concerning the Lord Jesus, how he opened not his
mouth. And there's no disputing the
fact that the chapter speaks to us of the suffering servant
of the Lord. It was this very portion of course
that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading when he was met by Philip
there in the 8th chapter of the Act of the Apostles. Remember,
he was returning to Ethiopia, Eunuch was obviously a Jewish
proselyte, he recognised the God of Israel to be the true
God and he is returning to the royal court of Queen Candace
and Philip is directed to go and join himself to the man's
chariots and there at the end of Acts chapter 8 we are told
at verse 32 how Philip draws near and here
is the man reading in Isaiah the place of the scripture which
he read was this he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and
like a lamb before his shearer so opened he not his mouth in
his humiliation his judgment was taken away and who shall
declare his generation for he is taken from the earth and then
the eunuch asks Philip of whom the prophet is speaking of himself
or some other man and Luke writing under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit tells us how Philip opened his mouth and began at
the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus from Isaiah 53
then Philip preached unto the Ethiopian eunuch Jesus. It is Christ plainly that he
said before us here in this chapter so much of the book of Isaiah
is taken up with gospel truths. Some have even referred to it
as the Old Testament gospel or the fifth gospel we might say. It is so full of Christ is this
great book of Isaiah. And here we see in this chapter
the great doctrine of substitutionary atonement. This is what the sufferings
of Christ amounted to. He is suffering, of course, in
the place of others. He is bearing not the punishment
of his own sin. He was still left, but he is
suffering in the sinner's place. Several times then it is asserted
here in verse 4, Surely, says the Prophet, he hath borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows. Verse 5, he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The justicement
of our pleas was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. Again at the end of verse 6,
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. And this is the good pleasure
of God. This is the great purpose of
God, that this Lamb, this servant of God should thus suffer. In verse 10, He pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. How could God do such a thing
as this? How could God in strict justice
punish such a person as the Lord Jesus Christ? He was the servant
of God. And what manner of servant was
he? Well he was sinless as we have
said. in fact he is spoken of here
in verse 11 as my righteous servant my righteous servant he was holy,
he was harmless, he was undefiled he was separate from sinners
how could God then in strict justice visit the punishment
of sin upon such a person as this? well as we said It is the
great truth of substitution, substitutionary atonement. He has made Him to be seen for
us. Who knew no sin, says Paul, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And again we read
of God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin. how these truths are asserted
and repeated time and again in the Scriptures. Christ also at
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust to bring us to
God. And in all of this suffering
we see the willing disposition of the Lord Jesus Christ, His
readiness to bow to this amazing purpose of God. and isn't this
what stands forth here in the text that I've announced this
morning Christ's willingness to die the cruel death of the
cross 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 done so He openeth not His mouth He bows
to it He submits to it so willingly. In fact, here in the text, that
word, he was afflicted, is really a reflexive Hebrew verb. It's an action that reflects
back upon the person who is performing the action. Literally it is to
humble oneself. That's how he was afflicted.
He willingly humbles himself. He submits. He submits quite
voluntarily to this death of the cross. Therefore does my
Father love me because I lay down my life that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from me. I have
power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father, says the Lord Jesus
Christ. he willingly then goes this way
of the cross and as we come to consider the words here in verse
7 he was oppressed and he was afflicted he submitted, he willingly
humbled himself yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as
a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before her shearers he is done
so he openeth not We're looking at these words for a while this
morning. I want to divide what I'm going
to say into two basic sections, two headings. First of all, to
consider something of the silence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
then in the second place, to observe how sheep-like Christ
is in his sufferings. First of all then, is silence. And as we've said, the emphasis
very much falls upon this fact, there's repetition here. And
it's not vain repetition. We know nothing of vain repetition
in the word of God. We at times might feel ourselves
to be guilty of vain repetition, sometimes even in our prayers
and those who preach, we sometimes feel that we're only saying the
same things over and over again, and we are fearful of vain repetition,
but there is nothing of that in God's Word. When there is
anything repeated, there is a reason for it, there is a purpose in
it, there is an emphasis being made. And such is the case here. We have the expression twice,
as I have said, Yet He opened not His mouth. Then again, so he openeth not
his mouth. He was silent. Now, we saw that
surely in that portion of scripture that we were reading. When the
Lord Jesus is brought before the Jewish council, appears before
the high priest, there in Matthew chapter 26, we see how Christ
is silent. He doesn't open his mouth. In
verse 62 there, the high priest arose and said unto him, Answer
us, and nothing. What is it which these witness
against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered
and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us where thou be the Christ, the Son of God. And then Christ
answers, because he has endured the very name of God, and Christ
must answer. But now Christ, you see, is silent
before the high priest, and then subsequently, when on the following
day the Jews bring him before the Roman governor, present him
to Pontius Pilate, again we see that Christ remains silent. in verse 12 of chapter 27. When he was accused of the chief
priests and elders, they answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto
him, Hearest thou not how many things I witness against thee?
And they answered him to, Never were in so much that the governor
marvelled brightly. Going there we see how the Lord
Jesus Christ is silent. He doesn't seek to defend himself. What is the significance of the
silence? What is the point and purpose
of the Lord Jesus Christ thus not opening his mouth? in any
way to explain himself or to justify himself. Well, first
of all, we have to recognise here that there is in it some
admission of guilt. It's interesting, isn't it, when
we read of the great purpose of the law in Romans chapter
3, what does Paul say? We know that what's in soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. There is the point of the law
to stop men's mouths. They stand guilty, they cannot
in any way justify themselves. That is the power, the authority
of the law of God. In that awful day that is yet
to come, the great day of judgment, when the books are opened and
amongst them that great book of the law, those who are under
the law, They will be condemned out of that Lord of God. All
the world will be pronounced guilty. Every mouth will be stopped. Men will not be able to excuse
themselves, silence yourself. In that sense is the admission
of guilt. And yet, and yet, here is the
Lord Jesus Christ and He is silent. in that mock trial that he has
to endure, be it before the Jewish council or before the Roman governor
Pontius Pilate. Christ is silent. In that sense
it's an acknowledgement of guilt, but Christ, we know, is the guiltless
one. Christ is free from all sin,
holy, harmless. undefiled and separate from sinners
as we have it as we said here in verse 11 God acknowledges
he is my righteous servant the righteous servant of God or remember
how Satan is set before us in scripture not only as the great
tempter he is that and we tempted the Lord Jesus
Christ and we sorely tempted Christ And tempted Christ as
none other has ever been tempted. Because he could find nothing
in Christ, of course, that he could take any advantage of. And so all the powers of darkness
are brought to bear, as it were. And now Satan comes with those
blasphemous temptations, that blasphemous, if thou be the Son
of God. If thou be the Son of God. Or
what an if is that? The price to deny is eternal
sonship. And the Lord Jesus resists Satan,
and he departs from him, but it's only for a little season.
When he comes to the end of his ministry, the Lord Jesus says
to his disciples, ye are they which have continued with me
in my temptations. In that sense, we might say that
all his life is temptation. The whole scene of the life of
the Lord Jesus Christ is one in which he is constantly assaulted
by the great adversary. And he is the accuser of the
brethren, is he not? Which accuse them day and night
before God. He doesn't just come with his
temptations, he comes also with his accusations. We know it.
If we know anything of the good fight of faith, we know it. We're
tempted. And alas! There is much in us,
much in our fallen nature, that the devil takes advantage of. And how often we're ensnared,
how often we fall. And we are those who are prone
to sins, and there are those sins that we might say are our
darling sins. And we sin, and we sin again,
and we're ashamed. And we would come and make our
confessions, and yet we feel, how can we make a sincere confession
when we've come so many times with these confessions? And the
devil, you see, is accusing us then. He'll shut our mouth. He
doesn't want us to come and to acknowledge our sins and to make
our confessions and to seek God's forgiveness. Having drawn us
into sin, having tempted us, having gained the advantage over
us, he then accuses us and silences us. Now, when he comes to the
Lord Jesus Christ, yes, he tempts us. But what does Christ say
at the end? The prince of this world cometh,
he says, and hath nothing in mind. He has nothing in mind. He was tempted, but he never
sinned. He never fell in with the wicked
suggestions and blasphemous thoughts of Satan. He resisted Satan.
The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in mind. There
was nothing that he could be accused of. He really was the
guiltless one, and yet he remains silent, as if he was the guilty
one. It is not Christ's own sin, is
it? It's not Christ's guilt, but
it is that of others. Remember what we said at the
outset, in this chapter we see so clearly, so plainly, that
great Gospel truth of substitution, that it is Jesus in the sinner's
place. Surely He hath borne our grace
and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our pleas
was upon Him. With His stripes we are healed. The Lord hath laid on Him the
iniquity of us all. It's those sins of his people
reckoned to his account imputed to him. He's in their place,
in their room, in their stead. And so Christ is silenced before
his accusers, as if he is the one who is worthy to die. 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
done. So he openeth not his mouth. The remark of the Puritan Thomas
Manton I find very striking. He says this, Christ holds his
peace that we might speak and have boldness with the Father.
Christ holds his peace. He doesn't say a word. He bows
to it all. He willingly goes the way of
the cross to suffer for his people. Why does he hold his peace? That
we might have boldness. Does he not say when they come
to arrest him, if you seek me, let these go their way. Or let
the disciples go their way. You come from behind, the one
who is to suffer for them in their place. And so we, because
he goes that way so regularly, we can come with such boldness
before God. Let us therefore come boldly
to the throne of Christ, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in every time of need. Or we can come with boldness. And you know the significance
of the word there in Hebrews for boldness. That compound word,
it has the idea of coming with all words, all speech. It's two words really, it's translated
by the single English word boldness, but very literally it means all
speaking. That's how we're to come. You
see, now God bid us to come, take with you words, he says,
and turn to the Lord and say, take away all iniquity and receive
us graciously. That's how we're to come. We're
to take words with us. We might think sometimes that
our prayers are such poor prayers and our words seem such vain
words and we feel so little. Let us remember Him who is the
Great Mediator and the Great High Priest who takes our poor
prayers and He makes those prayers to prevail before the throne
of God. Because He is that One who remains
silent as He submits you to that dreadful punishment of sin that
was the sinner's mistake. That the sinner might come before
God and have that to plead that will ever always prevail. even
the blood shedding, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
see then Christ here as silent because he is, as it were, the
guilty one. And he will suffer for those
who really are the guilty ones. But then also, his silence indicates
something further, does it not, In it we see how Christ acquiesces
in the will of God. He acquiesces in the divine will. And it is God's will that he
has come to accomplish here upon the earth. I came down from heaven,
he says, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. We read There in Matthew 26 how
they arrested him, if we had read previously of course, we
would have read the account of his sufferings in the garden
of Gethsemane, the place where they came to arrest him. And
how there he agonises in his prayers to God as he contemplates
what is before him, that mockery of a trial that he is going to
endure when he is taken before the Jewish council and then taken
before the Roman governor. not only that mock trial but
also those bitter sufferings that he would endure upon the
cross hanging between heaven and earth and that he contemplates
these things we see him there in Gethsemane wrestling in prayers
with God but what is the burden of his prayer not as I will he
says but as thou wilt He will acquiesce in God's will, even
there in all the bitterness that his soul experiences in Gethsemane. And remember the significance
of the place, the name of the place, Gethsemane means the holy
place. And our heart brings it out in
his hymn, Gethsemane the holy place. And why so called that
Christians get fit knife, fit place where vengeance strove
and griped and grappled hard his knife. Or what do we know
of submission to God's will in the midst of our trials? Here
is Christ submitting to the divine will. It was a bitter path that
he must tread, you see. And he's no stoic as he goes
through these things. What do we know? of wrestling
with God in prayer, and desire us in all our wrestlings that
God's will should be done, and submitting to God's will, even
in the midst of all our trials and all our troubles and all
our tribulations. We have Christ set before us
in Scripture as a pattern, do we not? He is more than a pattern,
of course He is. As we have sought to emphasise
this morning, He is the One who has made the great sacrifice,
substitutionary atonement. but he is also a blessed pattern,
is he not? to the people of God Peter writing in in his first
epistle and there at the end of chapter 2 says even here unto
were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving
us an example that ye should follow his steps who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled,
reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the truth,
that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose
stripes ye were healed. He was reviled. He reviled not
again. He suffered. He fettered not. He committed himself to him that
judges righteously. This is what Christ is doing
in all his silencing. He doesn't seek to justify himself
before men. He leaves his cross in the hand
of God. He will bow to the divine will.
He will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Is there not, friends, something
for us to learn then from the blessed silence of our Lord Jesus
Christ? But I said we consider two headings,
and the second thing I want to remark on briefly is this, that
Christ here is seen to be so sheep-like, like a lamb. He is a lamb, of course. 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
he is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Now what do we see
when we consider that he is so sheep-like? Well, first of all,
do we not see him as one who willingly identifies himself
with sinners? It's interesting to observe the
juxtaposition of these verses 6 and 7. In verse 6 his people
are said to be sheep-like. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own wine. That's sheep-like, is it not?
That's sheep-wonder. And that's what God's children
do. We're prone to wonder. We're
so bent on our backsliding. We are the sheep. And yet, here
we see how Christ willingly identifies himself with his people. Are
they sheep? Well, he is a lamb. He is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter. Oh, they turn everyone to his
own way. Oh, striking is the expression,
we're so willful, you see. We're so willful in our sinful
ways, are we not? What is our natural mind? The
carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the
law of God, says Paul, neither indeed can be. This is our natural
mind. The carnal mind, the fleshy mind,
the mind that we're born into this world with. It's not just
an enemy of God, it's enmity. And it can never be subject to
the law of God. We're so willful. Oh, the very
notion of the sinner having a free will and having that freedom
to make a decision for God, to choose for God. If he will, he
never will. Because his very nature, of course,
is sin. The fall of man is total. We are depraved in every part
of our being. The mind, the will, the affections,
everything about us is in that state of enmity against God. And yet the amazing thing is
that the Lord Jesus Christ comes just where his people are. That's
the great thing, isn't it? I'm always struck reading some
of the old writers. There are those men and there
are many good gracious godly men that you might read and we
look to them and we think what remarkable holy men they are.
I remember many many years ago reading the memoir of Robert
Murray McShane because it was written by his great friend Edward
Bonner and written only shortly after McShane's very early demise. He was only 29 when he died and
he was a burning and a shining light there in St Peter's in
Dundee. When I read McShane's memoir,
he was such a holy man, and there was much to be admired and much
that one would desire to know of his experience, but he was
somewhere up here, you could never quite reach the heights
of a McShane. But I remember then subsequently
reading some of the sermons of Mr. Philpott, and what the difference
was is I found that Mr. Philpott just came down where
I was, that was the great thing. When these men seem to come down
where we are, and open up the way as it were, and as they minister
the word of God, they so minister it that one's able to relate
to some of the things they're saying. And those are the writers that
one draws the greatest comfort from. Yes, we can read the others,
and it's good to read the lives of those holy men of God. Thank
God for those who come and, as it were, put the meat of God's
Word right into our mouths and feed our souls. We're told concerning
the ministry of Ezekiel, and he ministers, of course, to those
who were taken into exile, they were removed into captivity into
Babylon and he is commanded there in Ezekiel chapter 3 and verse
15 to go where they are and he says this I sat where they sat oh what a prophet was Ezekiel
he sat just where they were he came right into their situation
and he was able to minister to them there in the captivity Well,
if that was true of a man like Ezekiel, how much more is it
true of the Lord Jesus Christ? He comes just where His people
are. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. That's the amazing thing. He
is without sin, yes, of course He is. He is my righteous servant,
as we have it here in verse 11. He is truly the Holy Son of God,
manifest in the flesh. And there He comes where His
people are. He identifies with sinners. He willingly identifies
with those that He came to save. This man receiveth sinners, we
are told, and eateth with them. How the scribes and the Pharisees,
when they took up those words, They were ridiculing Christ. They identified Him with the
sinner, you see. And they dismissed Him as the
friend of the sinner. And yet that's the glory of the
Saviour, is it not? Christ identifies with sinners. Are they silly shits? Or we like
sheep have gone astray? We have turned every once in
His own way. Ah, but he comes, you see, where
we are. He comes into the very place
of the sinner, brought as a lamb to the slaughter, as the iniquity
of his people is altogether laid upon him, and he'll die in their
groom and in their stead. He is sheep-like then in the
sense that he identifies with sinners, He is sheep-like because
it must be so, in that there is the scripture to be fulfilled.
And He is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world,
is He not? That's the great purpose of God.
These things that we read in Isaiah concerning Him, are being
written some 700 years before the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And when he comes, when he comes in the fullness of the
time, what does his forerunner John the Baptist say? What is
John's message to those disciples? He says, behold, the Lamb of
God, take us away the sin of the world. All from now the scripture
must be fulfilled. All these prophecies all the
types and figures that we have in the Levitical law. Remember
the great feast of the Passover and the Paschal Lamb. Isn't that
a foreshadowing of Christ? And doesn't Paul say as much
to the Corinthians, even Christ? Our Passover is sacrificed for
us. The Scripture must be fulfilled. All these things must be fulfilled. We see it so many times there in the Gospels. When they come to arrest him
in the Garden of Gethsemane We started reading at verse 57
there in Matthew 26, if we had just gone back a few verses,
when Peter it was who draws a sword to defend Christ. What does Christ
say? Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the Scripture
be fulfilled that it must be so? there at verse 54 in Matthew
26. So, then shall the Scriptures
be fulfilled that it must be so. It must be so. Why? Because
he treats us. And he is that Lamb, slain from
the foundation of the world. But then, here we see Christ
in our text to be so lamb-like in that he is passive. He is
passive. Brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
as a sheep before her shearers he is done, so he openeth not
his mouth. We have here then what is often
referred to as his passive obedience. The theologians often divide
Christ's life, the obedience of his life, into those two parts,
the active obedience, the life that he lives, He's made of a
woman, he's made under the law, and in his life he honours and
magnifies the law, he obeys the commandments, he accomplishes
righteousness, he lives the life that is perfect, that's his active
obedience, that's that robe of righteousness, those garments
of salvation that in justification God is pleased to impute to the
sinner, clothing him, in garments of righteousness. But then there's
the passive obedience. He is obedient, says Paul, unto
death, even the death of the cross. And in that passive obedience,
as they call it, we see him suffering now. Yes, it's the law of God. that he is still very conscious
of and he will honour and magnify it in dying just as he honoured
and magnified it in living. In his life, it's the precept,
it's obedience to the commandments. In death, it's the penalty of
the broken law. He will honour the law, you see,
by paying the redemption price, by shedding his precious blood
in the place of the sinner. And yet, though it's convenient,
doctrinally to think in terms of active obedience and passive
obedience, yet surely, all of Christ's obedience is active
obedience. It's all active. No man taketh it from them. I
have power, I have authority to lay it down, I have authority
to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. He is the one who is sacrificing
himself. He is not only the Lamb of God,
he is the Great High Priest making the sacrifice. They don't take
his life. Again, you see, theory is active. When it comes to the end, we
read in Luke chapter 9, when the time was come that he should
be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. His face was as a flint. He will
go to Jerusalem. He is determined to go to Jerusalem,
because he knows now that the time has come. For many times
the Jews would have stoned him for blasphemy, but his time was
not yet come. When the time was come, that
he should be received of her, he steadfastly sets his face
to go to Jerusalem and there when they come into the garden
and he is with the disciples and he is praying and then Judas
the betrayer and others are drawing near what does he say? he says
to the disciples rise let us be going behold he is at hand
the betrayer he rises up Yusuf he will put himself into their
hands. For he is determined. Determined
to accomplish all the goodwill and pleasure of God. Yes, he
is sheep of his passive in that sense, but how active he is.
Now we are the sheep. But he is the mark, isn't this
one of the marks of those who are truly the sheep of Christ.
We also know something of determination. What does God says through Jeremiah,
you shall seek me and find me when you shall search after me
with all your heart. That's determination, is it not?
Is that how we seek Him? Is there that determination in
us, to seek Him? With all our heart. No half-hearted
religion for us. Whole-hearted in our desires
towards Him, in our longings to know Him. or that we might
be those who are able to learn from Christ. He is a great substitutionary
atoning saviour, but he is also a pattern to us. 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 done, so He openeth not His mouth. Amen. in number 150 and the tune is
Houghton or Houghton number 808. This deep well of God comes forth
to be slain and offers his blood to purge off our stain with pitiless
anguish and groans on the tree. The Saviour did languish for
sinners like me. The sweet Lamb of God comes forth
to be slain, and offers His blood to purge off the stain. With bitterest anguish and groans
on the tree, the Saviour, in language for sinners like me. Look on Him, my soul, and gaze
on His love. His pride may control His blood has settled to the
first broken bones, His love to consoles the hearts harder
than stones. Right worthy indeed he is of
thy faith And saints have all need to trust in his name nor feed on their graces, nor
strut with unbrain, but wallow their faces and worship the Lamb. Oh, here is a feast of
delicate food, I'll get this lamb for a treat,
And if you are minded, you free me. Another repose my spirit would
have, And bless every taste, Lamb of God, I come to Thee,
I come to Thee, I come to Thee. at thy proper cause, that path
I would tread which pleases my heart. Thy patience inherit,
thy lowliness ruin, catch all thy sweet spirits, and burn with
thy love. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you
all. Amen.