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 her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53.7
This passage is uncomfortable to read because of the imagery of an innocent lamb suffering a brutal death. Slaughter is the ugly word that sets the tone in this verse, but it is essential to understand this image in the context of Israel’s history.
Exodus 12 details the instructions from the Lord to Moses on how the Israelites will slaughter their unblemished lambs in order to use the blood to mark themselves as protected from God’s Angel of Death at the first Passover and eat of the lamb to give them strength for their coming journey.
After that, it was required to regularly sacrifice an animal for man’s sins. Blood gives life to the animal, and it was that “life” that would protect man from a death in sin. Leviticus 1 details graphically how the lamb is to be slaughtered as a burnt offering for the sins of man. These sacrifices had to continue, because none was perfect enough to redeem all of our sins.
But the sacrificed lamb in Isaiah 53:7 is indeed the perfect analogy for our Lord Jesus Christ. Obeying his Father’s will, Christ, the unblemished lamb, took our sins upon himself and was silently led to the slaughter- oppressed and afflicted in a brutal and painful crucifixion. But through his perfect sacrifice he accomplished what no animal sacrifice could. By our faith in Christ and through his blood, he has redeemed our sins, delivering us from death and giving us life with Christ forever.
Woody Wooddell
