Our Silent Savior

"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 its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Is. 53:7


The entire suffering servant passage in Is 53 is very moving when we consider what our Lord endured for us, but I think it is full of characteristics of Jesus that we can learn from. One that I struggle with is that fact that He stood silently and did not speak in His own defense. If ever there was someone who was being wronged and had a right to stand up and defend themselves it was Jesus. I imagine Him standing there for me, thinking of me, and holding fast to the course set before Him because He loves me. He did not give in to the temptation to abort the plan the Father had set in motion just to save Himself. He stood there confidently as the approval and love of the Father lifted His heart. Let the world and the enemy speak their lies and threat. Let them shout at the heavens and be lifted up in their pride. Nothing in all the universe can separate us from the love of the Father.


It seems I take that way out all the time when the going gets hard. We can bear up under unfair or unwarranted persecution because Jesus has already bore that burden.We often fail and open our mouths to speak in our defense when we are trying to carry the difficulty ourselves. Those moments of silence are moments when we allow our way, our pride, and our own rights to fall into the ground and die. Those are the times when we put away the sword and pickup the cross. What a wonderful Savior we have.

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