Day 18 - Silence yet satisfaction

1st April 2021

Isaiah 53:7-12

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.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Silence yet satisfaction

In this wonderful prophetic chapter, the prophet Isaiah describes, with incredible accuracy, the life and ministry of Jesus (verses 1-4), His death (verses 5-8) and burial (verse 9) and His resurrection and exaltation (verses 10-12).

In simple terms, the chapter tells us that Jesus took the place of guilty sinners and paid the price for their salvation. These were verses read by the Ethiopian eunuch hundreds of years later (Acts 8) which changed his life.

When we look at verses 7 to 12, we could use two headings to try to capture what is said. We could think of Silence in verses 7 to 9 and Satisfaction in verses 10 to 12.

Silence is a dominant feature of Jesus’ final hours. He was silent under suffering (v7), and He was silent when illegally tried and condemned to death (v8). Although the whole process of trial was illegal, Jesus did not object or appeal, but in silence He submitted to death on a cross. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11).

Verse 10 starts with the word ‘Yet’. It denotes a change. It tells us that in spite of what has gone before, then something else is true. In this amazing prophecy, Isaiah tells us that “it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer”. Jesus would be God’s sacrifice for the sins of the world. He would bring satisfaction to His Father. Remarkably, He would also satisfy the law of God which demanded judgement for sin. We can now be justified – God declares believing sinners righteous in Christ. We can give thanks for all that Jesus did on our behalf.

He poured out His life unto death.

He was numbered with the transgressors.

He bore the sin of many.

He made intercession for the transgressors. (v12)

Alan and Julie P