THE LAMB TO SLAUGHTER: CHRIST'S PATIENT SUFFERING

LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
EDOTED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah53:7 7He was oppressedand 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.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Patience And The Divine Purpose
Isaiah53:7-12
E. Johnson
In the picture of the Servant of Jehovahwe have an exemplification of the
force of quiet endurance which prevails overviolence, even to victory.
I. AN EXAMPLE OF SUBMISSION TO WRONG. The slave-driver(Exodus
3:7; Job 3:18), or the exactorof a tax or a debt (Deuteronomy 15:2, 3; 2 Kings
23:35), is the image of oppressionin its urgency and its contumely· And the
silence of the suffering One eloquently speaks ofhis resignation(Psalm38:14;
Psalm39:9). The gentle uncomplaining lamb may well set him forth "with
powerat his disposal, yet as meek as if he had no power;with consciousnessof
impending fate, yet calm as if ignorant of it" (cf. Jeremiah11:19; 1 Peter
2:23). The idea of the Lamb of God in the New Testamentrests in part upon
this passage"The two or three who can win it may be calledvictors in life's

conflict; to them belongs the regnum et diadema tutum. His was the lot
representedby our greatpoet as tempting in its extreme anguish to thoughts
of suicide. But from another source the Servant obtains his quietus. He was
not supported by the thought that the meaning of his sufferings was
understood and laid to heart by his contemporaries. Theydid not see that for
the rebellion of the people he was stricken. And even after death insult
pursued his memory (cf. Jeremiah26:23). They buried his body, not amidst
the remains of his departed friends, but with the wickedand the criminal, the
proud deniers of God, or with the rich and haughty Gentiles. This was the last
mark of an ignominy (Isaiah 14:19), and it was all undeserved. How mighty
the contrastof appearancesand results! The despised of men is in reality the
eternally honoured of God.
II. THE DIVINE PURPOSE AND DECREE. There was no cruel accidentor
misunderstanding in all this; it was the result of Divine deliberate will - the
pleasure of Jehovah. The Servant was to lay down his life as a guilt offering.
He was to fulfil and crown the idea of all sacrifice in his ownPerson.
Restitution was to be made for injured rights of property. Israel had become
de-consecrated. Herlife had been forfeited, and satisfactionmust be rendered.
And this is provided in the self-dedicationof the Servant. And the result will
be that he will become the Head of a spiritual posterity (cf. Psalm 22:30). His
piety will be rewarded by length of days. Both these are figures of highest
blessing among the Hebrews (Genesis 12:2; Deuteronomy6:2; Psalm91:16;
Psalm127:5; Psalm128:6; Proverbs 3:2; Proverbs 17:6). He will be promoted
to a scene of high spiritual employment (Isaiah 52:13), the pleasure of
Jehovah" prospering under his conduct. His former spiritual agony and toil of
spirit, his travail (Psalm 110:10;Job 3:10; Jeremiah 20:18;Ecclesiastes2:11-
20; Ecclesiastes4:4-6 for the word), will be abundantly compensatedby the
joy of contemplation of the progressing work of salvation, as the husbandman
is satisfiedwith the sight of the harvest, for which he has "sownin tears." On
the foundation of his sacrifice and his teaching many will be redeemedfrom
sin and become a righteous and a holy people. And so, without bloodshed and
the din of battle, he will become a glorious Conqueror, and the spiritual
kingdom of the Eternal will be among the world-subduing powers. All this
because he humbled himself, because he was devoted, because he loved.

III. LESSONS. How mighty the powerof patience!The hero of God is not
clothed in purple, nor fed on sweets;"daily his ownheart he eats." His hope
sets not with the setting of suns; his faith is earlier in its rising than the stars.
Amidst all his seeming weaknesshe cannot be crushed; and the blows of his
adversaries miss their aim. The spiritual element is immortal, indefeasible,
finally victorious.
"They say, through patience, chalk
Becomesa ruby stone;
Ah, yes! but by the true heart's blood
The chalk is crimson grown." Who was originally meant by the servant of
Jehovahmay remain obscure. We at leastcannot but apply the representation
to the Captain of salvation, the Leaderand Finisher of faith, who endured the
cross for the joy setbefore him. And also to every true servant of the Eternal,
who feels that he was brought into the world to witness for the truth and
devote himself in the cause of love.
"This is he who, felled by foes,
Sprang harmless up, refreshed by blows;
He to captivity was sold,
But him no prison-bars would hold;
Though they sealedhim in a rock,
Mountain-chains he can unlock;
Thrown to lions for their meat,
The crouching lion kissedhis feet;
Bound to the stake, no flames appalled,
But archedo'er him an honouring vault.
This is he men miscall fate,

Threading dark ways, arriving late,
But e'ercoming in time to crown
The truth, and hurl wrong-doers down." = - J.
Biblical Illustrator
He was oppressed.
Isaiah53:7, 8
Christ's sufferings and His deportment under them
I. THE NATURE OF THE SUFFERINGS. "He was oppressed, andHe was
afflicted."
II. THE CARRIAGE OF CHRIST UNDER THEM. "He openednot His
mouth," which is amplified and illustrated by two similitudes, of a lamb going,
to the slaughter, and a sheepbefore her shearers.
1. "He openednot His mouth." This shows two things.(1) The greatpatience
of Christ.(2) His greatlove to man, shownin His wonderful silence, evenwhen
He might justly have spokenin His own defence, but would not seemto
interrupt the designof God.
2. The particular resemblance.(1)"He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter."
It is an emblem of innocence, meekness,and patience. It may import weakness
and slenderness ofappearance in the world. Christ is nothing in show, though
mighty in power. It noteth the meekness andsweetnessofChrist, willingly
yielding to be a sacrifice forus.(2) "As a sheepbefore her shearers is dumb."
Christ did not open His mouth, unless to pray, instruct, and reprove.
( T. Manton, D.D.)
Christ's patience in suffering

J. Trapp.
Christ upon the Cross is as a doctorin his chair, where He readeth unto us all
a lecture of patience.
(J. Trapp.)
The monarch surrenders Himself
C. Clemance, D.D.
In vers. 7, 8 there are five specific predictions: —(1) That the Messiahwould
be subject to oppression.(2)That amidst the oppressionHe would maintain
silence.(3)Thatfrom the midst of oppressionand judicial procedure He would
be hurried off.(4) That beneath all the outer incidents in which men had a
hand, there would be another work going on of which the men of His
generationwould never dream.(5) That this work, unthought of by His
generation, was, that He was being "strickenfor them." How eachof these
predictions was fulfilled in the event we know. It will be simplest for us, as we
stand this side of the history, to note the severalpoints as history.
1. The oppressionto which Christ was subjected was of no ordinary kind. The
first three Gospels indicate to some extent the spirit of hostility which
animated the people, though in the fourth Gospelthe advancing stages ofthat
hostility are most clearlymarked. At the lastwe find Jesus hurried off to trial.
There were two trials: first, the Jewish, and then the Roman one. In the first,
so far was the mind of the accusers setagainstChrist, that neither the fairness
nor even the form of proper judicial procedure was observed. In the facts
of(1) the trial being begun, continued, and finished, apparently, in the course
of one night,(2) witnessesagainstthe accusedbeing sought for by the
judges,(3)the evidence of one witness not being sustained by another,(4)
questions being put to the accusedwhichHebrew law did not sanction,(5)a
demand being made for confession, whichJewishdoctors expresslyforbade,
and(6) all being followedby a sentence pronouncedtwenty-four hours too
soon— in all these six main features the Jewish"trial" was an outrage on
Hebrew law. Nor was the secondtrial a whit more in accordancewith the

rules of Roman procedure. In the first trial the point of law was, the claim of
Jesus to be the Son of God; and, without any proof, that was pronounced
invalid, and therefore blasphemous. In the Roman accusationthe question
concernedthe claim of Christ to be a king; and the point on which the whole
matter turned was this, "Did Christ's Kingdom clashwith Caesar'srights?"
And though the Lord Jesus had expressedHimself with a clearnessonthis
point which ought to have made mistake impossible, yet men came with lies on
their lips to charge Him with plotting againstthe RomanGovernment. Pilate,
the governor, who shows by turns indecision, complaisance,bluster and
subserviency, evasion, protest, compromise, superstitious dread, conscientious
reluctance, cautious duplicity and sheer moral cowardice — is overcome at
last, and decides againsthis knowledge to please the people, perhaps (as men
on the incline of scepticismmust sooneror later be) "strickenwith inward
paralysis from want of a motive and a hope." It would not be easyto sayin
which of the two trials the injustice was the more glaring; there was a more
striking violation of form in the Hebrew trial; but, perhaps, a grosser
violation of consciencein the president at the Roman one.
2. Amid this oppressionthere was no defence of Himself. Once He called
attention to His rights as a Hebrew; once and againHe reaffirmed His claims
when challengedon oath. But "whenHe was reviled, He reviled not again."
Why this silence? He knew His hour was come, and He yielded Himself to the
stroke. He knew that His words would not tell rightly on His accusersin the
state of mind which they cherished. With the far-distant future before Him,
He saw that the sequelwould vindicate His honour, and He could wait. He
loved, too, to show patience rather than to display power; and He would show
us the Divine grandeur of keeping powerin reserve.
3. Underlying all this there was a Divine purpose being wrought out, of which
the men of that generationhad no conception. Man meant one thing, God was
intending another.
4. This greatwork, of which the men of that generationnever dreamt, was
that the Messiahwas cut off, "a stroke for them," for the people who sought
His life and crucified Him. Let us, then,(1) Give the full and loving consentof
our hearts to this Divine arrangement.(2)Learn to see sin in the light in which

God views it.(3) Live a life of faith on Jesus Christ as being ever in His own
glorious person our atoning sacrifice.(4)Be perpetually thankful and devoted
to Him who consentedto lay down His life for us.(5) Imitate our Saviour. In
its relation to the government of God, the sacrifice ofChrist must ever stand
absolutely alone. But in that aspectof it which represented fidelity to the
truth, and devotion to man, we can imitate it, even though at a far remove. It
is preciselyin connectionwith this view of it that Petertells us, He "left us an
example that we should follow His steps." But how canwe follow such steps?
By patience under wrong. By being willing to renounce our own ease and
comfort, if thereby we may advance the welfare of others. By taking the
sorrows ofothers on ourselves, not only by suffering for them, but by
suffering with them. Suffering for others is the divinest form of life in a sinful
world. By bearing others on our hearts in prayer, even though they may be
our bitterest foes.
(C. Clemance, D.D.)
Yet He opened not His mouth
The silence of Christ
J. I. Blackburn.
(with Matthew 26:63; Matthew 27:14): — What can be said of the silence of
Christ? Much has been said of the words He spake, and too much can never
be said of them, for He spake as never man spake. Muchhas been said of the
sacrifice He made. Much has been said of His miracles, etc., but how little of
His silence, and yet how full of meaning to every thoughtful and inquiring-
mind.
I. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Wonderful that Christ should remain silent,
especiallyunder false accusations — false witnesses giving testimony against
Him, and a wickedjudge about to deliver the charge. He who could with one
word have made the world tremble, witnesses,judge and jury fall dead before
Him, testifying to His innocence as wellas His Divinity by their lifeless bodies.
The silent years of Christ — how wonderful! He who knew so well how to

speak and what to say. But, we canunderstand something of this — it was a
time of restraint, of growth, of preparation. But the preparation is over and
Christ Jesus has assertedHimself. He has declaredHimself by His life and by
miracles to be the Son of God. He is falsely and baselyaccused, declaredan
impostor, sentencedand condemned to die, scourgedmockedspitupon,
arrayed in a gorgeous robe and finally crucified, but silent amid it all. Do you
ask why? The wonder is only increased. It was for our sake.
II. HIS SILENCE WAS FULL OF SUFFERING,suffering that was vicarious
and expiatory. We are not to attribute the justification of sinners to the death
of Christ alone. It was the sinless purity of perfect obedience of His whole life.
III. IT WAS OMINOUS;that is full of foreboding, portentous, inauspicious,
foreshowing ills. It told of the utter degradationof the men before whom He
stood. He had already said and done everything that was necessaryto
establishHis claims to the Messiahship. His silence said, what more can I do
unto My vineyard than I have already done unto it, and having done all He
could do, He answerednow to never a word. It is an appalling signwhen
Christ ceasesto plead with any of us. It shows that we have searedour hearts
— that we are bent on ruin.
IV. CHRIST'S SILENCE WAS INSPIRED, andtherefore full of instruction
as well as the words He spake. I refer now to the generalsilence ofChrist. If
His words were inspired must not His silence have been also? It is absolutely
inconceivable that He who is Himself the Truth could have connived at heresy
in any of the greatdoctrines He taught, or desired that should be taught even
through silence.
1. Take the great doctrine of our Lord's Deity, and was it not the very
question under dispute and for which He had been accused"ofmaking
Himself equal with God"? Now this fundamental doctrine is establishedby a
vast and varied mass of evidence, but no strongerproof of it is anywhere to be
found, as it seems to me, than that to be drawn from the silence of Christ. We
know how Petercheckedthe homage of Cornelius, and how the angel shrank
in alarm from the worship which John offeredhim. But Christ never acted so;
He held His peace;He spake not a word. He never so much as hinted that this

devotion should not be paid Him, and when His enemies accusedHim of
making Himself equal with God, He did not repel the charge with horror.
Meek and lowly as He was He acceptedall the worship that men offered Him;
He welcomedit, and by His silent approval seemedto claim it.
2. Apply it to the authenticity of the Old TestamentScriptures, and what an
argument we find! He held His peace in regardto all these criticisms that are
being made. He condemned the unscriptural traditions of the Jews, but He at
no time questioned the purity or integrity of the Old TestamentCanon.
3. Apply His silence to the perpetuity of the Sabbath law and with what force
it speaks. There are those amongstus who maintain that the Sabbath was only
an institution for the Jews, and that its observance is not binding now under
the Christian dispensation, but Christ nowhere says so. He often spoke in
reference to Sabbath observance. He found the Sabbath a standing ordinance
of God, and He left it such, only freshened by the dew of His blessing.
V. CHRIST'S SILENCE WAS BEAUTIFUL, especiallyduring His dread
trial. It is difficult to speak aright amid enemies and detractors, but it is even
more difficult to be silent right before them. The lip is everready to curl
unbidden, the light of malice hurries to the eye, in a moment the crimson of
angermounts to the cheek before we are aware, but not so with Christ.
VI. CHRIST'S SILENCE IS EXEMPLARY TO US ALL. Self-imposedsilence
often becomes a duty. There are calumnies goodmen cannot refute. There are
accusationswhichthey must leave unanswered.
1. Becauseofthe perils of speech. In self-justificationwe are liable to self-
glorification, to irritability, to extravagance.
2. Becauseofthe blessings of the discipline of silence. If we spend our time in
self-vindication, then farewelllabour for Christ, for we will have no time for
anything else.
(J. I. Blackburn.)
Silent suffering

J. I. Blackburn.
Is it not always true with those that are calledto suffer that they suffer most
at times when one hears no sound from their lips? It is considereda relief to
cry out in the midst of pain. So long as one can plead his case the excitement
of pleading enables him to forget the painfulness of his position. When the
tongue is silent then it is that the brain is busy. What must have been the
thoughts of Christ when He held His peace? Mustthey not have been of the
most painful nature? The silence ofChrist was full of the most awful suffering
and that suffering was expiatory and vicarious. BecauseHe was wounded, we
are healed;and because He keptsilent before this earthly tribunal, we shall
hereafterspeak.
(J. I. Blackburn.)
Christ's speechlessness
F. B. Meyer, B.A.
Why this speechlessness?In part it was due to the Saviour's clear
apprehension of the futility of arguing with those who were bent on crucifying
Him. It was also due to the quiet rest of His soulon God, as He committed
Himself to Him that judgeth righteously, and anticipated the hour when the
Father would arise to give Him a complete vindication. But it was due also to
His consciousness ofcarrying in His breasta golden secret, another
explanation of His sufferings than men were aware of, a Divine solution of the
mystery of human guilt.
(F. B. Meyer, B.A.)
He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter
The sufferings of Christ
J. H. Newman, B. D.

St. Petermakes it almosta description of a Christian, that he loves Him whom
he has not seen. Unless we have a true love of Christ, we are not His true
disciples;and we cannotlove Him unless we have heartfelt gratitude to Him;
and we cannot duly feelgratitude, unless we feel keenly what He suffered for
us. No one who will but solemnly think over the history of those sufferings, as
drawn out for us in the Gospels, but will gradually gain, through God's grace,
a sense ofthem.
1. As to these sufferings, our Lord is calleda lamb in the text; He was as
defenceless, andas innocent as a lamb is. Since then Scripture compares Him
to this inoffensive and unprotected animal, we may, without presumption or
irreverence, take the image as a means of conveying to our minds those
feelings which our Lord s sufferings should excite within us. Considerhow
very horrible it is to read the accounts which sometimes meetus of cruelties
exercisedon brute animals. What is it moves our very hearts, and sickens us
so much at cruelty shown to poor brutes? First, that they have done no harm;
next, that they have no powerwhateverof resistance;it is the cowardice and
tyranny of which they are the victims which makes their sufferings so
especiallytouching. He who is higher than the angels, deignedto humble
Himself even to the state of the brute creation.
2. Take anotherexample, and you will see the same thing still more strikingly.
How overpoweredshould we be, nay not at the sight only, but at the very
hearing of cruelties shown to a little child, and why so? for the same two
reasons, because it was so innocent, and because it was so unable to defend
itself. You feelthe horror of this, and yet you can bear to read of Christ's
sufferings without horror. Our Lord was not only guiltless and defenceless,
but He had come among His persecutors in love.
3. And now, let us suppose that some venerable person whom we have known
as long as we could recollectany thing, and loved and reverenced, suppose
such a one, who had often done us kindnesses,rudely seizedby fierce men,
made a laughing-stock, struck, spit on, severelyscourgedand at last exposed
with all his wounds to the gaze of a rude multitude who came and jeeredhim,
what would be our feelings? Butwhat is all this to the suffering of the holy
Jesus, whichwe bear to read of as a matter of course!A spirit of grief and

lamentation is expressly mentioned in Scripture as a characteristic ofthose
who turn to Christ. If then we do not sorrow, have we turned to Him
(J. H. Newman, B. D.)
Christ the victim and the example
The Thinker.
1. There is only One in whom are fulfilled all the prophecies of this wonderful
Lesson(Acts 8:34, 35).
2. It may be noticed how animals are chosenin Holy Scripture as symbols of
Divine Persons andmysteries; and Christian art has perpetuated the
association. The dove has been the symbol of the Holy Ghost from earliest
times. The man, the calf, the lion, and the eagle representthe four Evangelists,
and are types of the Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection, andAscensionof
Christ. Christ is representedby a lamb, for this was the symbol of our Lord
both in the Old Testamentand the New. Indeed, it was sucha popular symbol
in the early ages ofthe Church, that authority was invoked to check it as a
substitute for His human body.
3. Throughout Holy Scripture, by hints and prophecies, by types and
fulfilment, Christ is depicted by the lamb (Genesis 22:8;the Paschallamb;
the, daily sacrifice in the temple; St. John s exclamation, "Beholdthe Lamb of
God!" John 19:36;1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter1:19; Revelation5:6, 12;
Revelation6:1; Revelation7:14, etc.). The symbol has two aspects — that of
the victim, and that of the example. Let us look at it in both lights.
I. THE VICTIM.
1. The text expresses the willingness of the Sufferer. "He was ill-treated whilst
He bowed Himself, " i.e. "suffered voluntarily," as the simile of the
unresisting animal explains. It is a prophecy of the self-oblationof Christ
(John 10:15, 18). The oblation was the result of love. He was led to the
slaughterwith the full knowledge ofall that was before Him. The
voluntariness of Christ's sufferings is a ground of merit and a secretof

attractiveness. Sacrifice must "be the blood of the soul," the offered will, to
have value before God; and it must be spontaneous, to touch and win the
hearts of men.
2. "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter" reminds us of the greatnessof
Christ's sufferings. He was "obedientunto death," a sacrificialdeath —
different from a mere martyr s death, as the words just before the text show.
The Lord had laid on Him the punishment of Israel's guilt — nay, "the
iniquity of us all." There can be no getting rid of "the poena vicaria here"
(Delitzsch). This is a great mystery. But it is not one man suffering for
another, for "no man candeliver his brother;" but God Himself in man's
nature suffering. Those who think such a mode of redemption unjust, it will
be found, have not graspedthe dogma of the Incarnation, or the oneness of
will in the Divine Persons ofthe BlessedTrinity. It was an act of love. Deathis
the testof love, and the worst kind of death, that of the cross, the most
convincing test. "He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter" is a sentence
which at once would bring up before the mind of the Jew the sacrificial
worship in which he had often takenpart. In the language ofSt. Paul, Christ
"became sin for us" — a Sin Offering — "who knew no sin." In the language
of St. Peter, we were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish."
II. THE EXAMPLE.
1. One of the purposes for which Christ came was to be an Example. The
truth is sometimes obscuredby dwelling too exclusively upon the mystery of
redemption; as, on the other hand, there have not been wanting those who
have been too much absorbedin that view of our Lord as the True Light
which meets the cravings of the human intellect. To keepthe proportion of
faith is not always easy, especiallyas personalneeds and experiences are apt
to exaggeratesome one aspectofa mystery.
2. Christ's life throughout has this twofoldview — sacrificialand exemplary.
We might have expectedthat the latter view would be associatedchiefly with
His public ministry, and the former with His Passion. But it is not so. Both
culminate on the cross. "Christsuffered for us, leaving us an example" (1

Peter2:21); and, as the context shows, the final sufferings are before the
apostle's gaze. A suffering world needs a suffering Example. The Passion
brought out to view the virtues which man is everrequiring to exercise, andin
a manner which exercises a spell upon all who look upon "that sight." Even
those who are blind to the atoning efficacyof the mystery are touched by its
moral loveliness.
3. "Broughtas a lamb to the slaughter;" "dumb before her shearers." This is
a difficult virtue which the words unveil — patience, or meekness. Whatwe
read in the prophecy we see in the Passion(Matthew 27:12, 14;John 19:9) and
upon the cross. "Allthree hours His silence cried." "WhenHe was reviled, He
reviled not again." The lamb, innocent and silent, aptly represents the Lamb
of God, meek and patient in the midst of His slaughterers.
III. LESSONS.
1. Let us seek through the sufferings of Christ to realize the enormity and
malice of sin. Pardon without any revelation of Divine justice and holiness
might have demoralized mankind. We know not "how that satisfaction
operatedtowards God," and the Church has not attempted to define this.
That Christ died "for us men and for our salvation" is all that we are
required to believe. and that is the kernel of the doctrine.
2. Seek to imitate the patience of Jesus — to be silent when "reviled," and to
still within the movements of angerand pride.
3. To be able to do this we must meditate upon Christ's sufferings, and see in
all things, as they reachus, the will of God, though our sufferings may arise
from the faults and sins of others. We must "commit our cause to Him that
judgeth righteously," accepting calmly all that we may have to bear.
4. We must pray for the help of the Holy Ghost, without which we cannot
grow in patience and meekness, whichare "fruits" of the Spirit.
(The Thinker.)
And as a sheepbefore her shearers is dumb

The sheepbefore the shearers
I. OUR SAVIOUR'S PATIENCE. Our Lord was brought to the shearers that
He might be shorn of His comfort, and of His honour, shorn even of His good
name, and shorn at last of life itself; but when under the shearers He was as
silent as a sheep. How patient He was before Pilate, and Herod, and Caiaphas,
and on the cross.
1. Our lord was dumb and opened not His mouth againstHis adversaries, and
did not accuse one of them of cruelty or injustice.
2. As He did not utter a word againstHis adversaries, so He did not say a
word againstany one of us. Zipporah said to Moses, "Surelya bloody
husband art thou to me," as she saw her child bleeding; and surely Jesus
might have said to His Church, "Thouart a costlyspouse to Me, to bring Me
all this shame and bloodshedding." But He giveth liberally, He openeth the
very fountain of His heart, and upbraideth not.
3. There was not a word againstHis Father, nor a syllable of repining at the
severity of the chastisementlaid upon Him for our sakes.You and I have
murmured when under a comparatively light grief, thinking ourselves hardly
done by. But not so the Saviour. Many are the Lamentations of Jeremiah, but
few are the lamentations of Jesus. Jesus wept, and Jesus sweatgreatdrops of
blood, but He never murmured nor felt rebellion in, His heart. I see in this our
Lord's complete submission. There was complete self-conquesttoo. There was
complete absorption in His work.
II. VIEW OUR OWN CASE UNDER THE SAME METAPHOR AS THAT
WHICH IS USED IN REFERENCE TO OUR LORD. As He is so are we also
in this world. Just as a sheepis takenby the shearer, and its woolis cut off, so
doth the Lord take His people and shearthem, taking awayall their earthly
comforts, and leaving them bare.
1. A sheeprewards its owner for all his care and trouble by being shorn. Some
of God s people cangive to Christ a tribute of gratitude by active service, and
they should do so gladly every day of their lives; but many others cannot do
much in active service, and about the only reward they can give to their Lord

is to render up their fleece by suffering when He calls upon them to suffer,
submissively yielding to be shorn of their personal comfort when the time
comes for patient endurance. The husband, or perhaps the wife, is removed,
little children are takenaway, property is shorn off, and health is gone.
Sometimes the shears cut off the man's goodname; slander follows;comforts
vanish. Well, it may be that you are not able to glorify God to any very large
extent except by undergoing this process.
2. The sheep is itself benefited by the operation of shearing. Before they begin
to shearthe sheepthe woolis long and old, and every bush and briar tears off
a bit of the wool, until the sheeplooks raggedandforlorn. If the woolwere
left, when the heat of summer came the sheepwould not be able to bear itself.
So when the Lord shears us, we do not like the operationany more than the
sheepdo; but first, it is for His glory; and secondly, it is for our benefit, and
therefore we are bound most willingly to submit. There are many things
which we should like to have kept which, if we had kept them, would not have
proved blessings but curses. A stale blessing is a curse.
3. Before sheepare shorn they are always washed. If the GoodShepherd is
going to clip your wool, ask Him to washit before He takes it off; ask to be
cleansedin spirit, soul and body.
4. After the washing, when the sheephas been dried, it actually loses whatwas
its comfort. You also will have to part with your comforts. The next time you
receive a fresh blessing callit a loan. A loan, they say, should go laughing
home, and so should we rejoice when the Lord takes back that which He had
lent us.
5. The shearers take care not to hurt the sheep:they clip as close as they can,
but they do not cut the skin. When they do make a gash, it is because the
sheepdoes not lie still: but a carefulshearerhas bloodless shears. The Lord
may clip wonderfully close:I have known Him clip some so close that they did
not seemto have a bit of woolleft, for they were stripped entirely.
6. The shearers always shearat a suitable time. It would be a very wicked,
cruel, and unwise thing to begin sheep-shearing in winter time. Have you ever
noticed that wheneverthe Lord afflicts us He selects the best possible time?

7. It is with us as with the sheep, there is new woolcoming. Wheneverthe
Lord takes awayour earthly comforts with one hand, one, two, three, He
restores with the other hand, six, a score, a hundred; we are crying and
whining about the little loss, and yet it is necessaryin order that we may be
able to receive the greatgain. If the Lord takes awaythe manna, as He did
from His people Israel, it is because they have the old corn of the land of
Canaanto live upon. If the water of the rock did not follow the tribes any
longer, it was because they drank of the Jordan, and of the brooks.
III. LET US ENDEAVOUR TO IMITATE THE EXAMPLE OF OUR
BLESSED LORD WHEN OUR TURN COMES TO BE SHORN.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Easternsheep-shearing
Those who have seenthe noise and roughness of many of our washings and
shearings will hardly believe the testimony of that ancient writer Philo-
Judaeus when he affirms that the sheepcame voluntarily to be shorn He says:
"Woollyrams laden with thick fleecesput themselves into the shepherd's
hands to have their woolshorn, being thus accustomedto pay their yearly
tribute to man, their king by nature. The sheepstands in a silent inclining
posture, unconstrainedunder the hand of the shearer. These things may
appear strange to those who do not know the docility of the sheep, but they
are true."
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Lying still under the Divine hand
I went to see a friend, the other day, who has had a greatnumber of sore
affliction, yet I found her singularly cheerful and content; and when I was
speaking with her about the matter, she said, "I have for years enjoyed
perfect submission to the Divine will, and it was through what I heard you
say." So I askedher, "Whatdid I say?" She replied, "Why, you told us that

you had seena sheep that was in the hands of the shearers, and that, although
all the woolwas clipped off its back, the shears nevercut into its flesh; and
you said that the reasonwas because the sheepwas lying Perfectlystill. You
said, 'Lie still, and the shears will not cut you; but if you kick and struggle,
you will not only be shorn, for God has resolvedto do that, but you will be
wounded into the bargain.'"
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
He was oppressed- (‫ׂשגנ‬ niggas'). Lowth renders this, ‹It was exacted.‘
Hengstenberg, ‹He was abased.‘Jerome (the Vulgate), ‹He was offered

because he was willing.‘ The Septuagint ‹He, on accountof his affliction,
opened not his mouth,‘ implying that his silence arose from the extremity of
his sorrows.The Chaldee renders it, ‹He prayed, and he was heard, and
before he opened his mouth he was accepted.‘The Syriac, ‹He came and
humbled himself, neither did he open his mouth.‘ Kimchi supposes that it
means, ‹it was exacted;‘ and that it refers to the fact that taxes were
demanded of the exiles, when they were in a foreignland. The word used here
(‫ׂשגנ‬ nāgas') properly means, “to drive,” to impel, to urge; and then to urge a
debtor, to exact payment; or to exacttribute, a ransom, etc. (see Deuteronomy
15:2-3; 2 Kings 23:35.)Compare Job3:18; Zechariah 9:8; Zechariah10:4,
where one form of the word is rendered ‹oppressor;‘ Job39:7, the ‹driver;‘
Exodus 5:6, ‹taskmasters;‘Daniel11:20, ‹a raiserof taxes.‘The idea is that of
urgency, oppression, vexation, of being hard pressed, and ill treated. It does
not refer here necessarilyto what was exactedby God, or to sufferings
inflicted by him - though it may include those - but it refers to all his
oppressions, and the severity of his sufferings from all quarters. He was urged
impelled, oppressed, and yet he was patient as a lamb.
And he was afflicted - Jahn and Steudel propose to render this, ‹He suffered
himself to be afflicted.‘ Hengstenberg renders it, ‹He suffered patiently, and
opened not his mouth.‘ Lowth, ‹He was made answerable;and he openednot
his mouth.‘ According to this, the idea is, that he had voluntarily taken upon
himself the sins of people, and that having done so, he was held answerable as
a surety. But it is doubtful whether the Hebrew will bear this construction.
According to Jerome, the idea is that he voluntarily submitted, and that this
was the cause of his sufferings. Hensler renders it, ‹God demands the debt,
and he the great and righteous one suffers.‘It is probable, however, that our
translation has retained the correctsense. The word ‫הׂשע‬ ‛ânâh in Niphil,
means to be afflicted, to suffer, be oppressedor depressedPsalm119:107, and
the idea here is, probably, that he was greatly distressedand afflicted. He was
subjectedto pains and sorrows whichwere hard to be borne, and which are
usually accompaniedwith expressions ofimpatience and lamentation. The
fact that he did not open his mouth in complaint was therefore the more
remarkable, and made the merit of his sufferings the greater.

Yet he opened not his mouth - This means that he was perfectly quiet, meek,
submissive, patient, He did not open his mouth to complain of Godon account
of the greatsorrows whichhe had appointed to him; nor to God on accountof
his being ill-treated by man. He did not use the language of reviling when he
was reviled, nor return upon people the evils which they were inflicting on
him (compare Psalm 39:9). How strikingly and literally was this fulfilled in
the life of the Lord Jesus!It would seemalmost as if it had been written after
he lived, and was history rather than prophecy. In no other instance was there
ever so striking an example of perfectpatience; no other person ever so
entirely accordedwith the description of the prophet.
He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter - This does not mean that he was led
to the slaughteras a lamb is, but that as a lamb which is led to be killed is
patient and silent, so was he. He made no resistance. He uttered no complaint.
He suffered himself to be led quietly along to be put to death. What a striking
and beautiful description! How tender and how true! We can almostsee here
the meek and patient Redeemerled along without resistance;and amidst the
clamor of the multitude that were assembledwith various feelings to conduct
him to death, himself perfectly silent and composed. With all powerat his
disposal, yet as quiet and gentle as though he had no power; and with a
perfect consciousness thathe was going to die, as calm and as gentle as though
he were ignorant of the design for which they were leading him forth. This
image occurs also in Jeremiah, Jeremiah11:19, ‹But I was like a lamb or an
ox that is brought to the slaughter.‘
As a sheep - As a sheepsubmits quietly to the operationof shearing. Compare
1 Peter2:23, ‹Who when he was reviled, reviled not again.‘Jesus never
opened his mouth to revile or complain. It was openedonly to bless those that
cursed him, and to pray for his enemies and murderers.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.

Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Isaiah53:7". "Barnes'Notes onthe New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/isaiah-
53.html. 1870.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
THE FOURTH STANZA
"He was oppressed, yetwhen he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a
lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheepthat before its shearers is
dumb, so he openednot his mouth. By oppressionand judgment he was taken
away;and as for his generation, who among them consideredthat he was cut
off out of the land of the living for the transgressionof my people to whom the
stroke was due. And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich
man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceitin
his mouth."
This stanza is a return to the theme of suffering on the part of the Servant,
stressing in the first verse (Isaiah 53:7) his silence in the face of accusers,
mockers, and the "judges" of the tribunals before which he was arraigned.
"The Septuagint (LXX) renders part of this passage, as follows:He was led as
a sheepto the slaughter, and as a lamb before the sheareris dumb, so he
opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was takenaway; who
shall declare his generation? for his life is takenfrom the earth: because of the
iniquities of my people he was led to death."[12]
It is evident at once that the declarations ofour version (American Standard
Version) and the Septuagint (LXX) vary considerably. Isaiah 53:8, for
example, in the Septuagint(LXX) states that it was Jesus'judgment of
innocence pronounced by Pilate which was "takenaway" through mob

violence and the humiliation of Jesus;but in the American Standard Version
it is Jesus who is taken away. We believe that both renditions are correct,
because both are true. When Philip encounteredthe Ethiopian eunuch on the
road to Gaza (Acts 8:29ff), the portion of Isaiah which the eunuch was
reading and which formed the basis of Philip's preaching Jesus unto him
evidently came from the LXX.
"As a lamb that is led to the slaughter ..." (Isaiah53:7). This is an agricultural
simile based on the truth that a goatslaughteredin the traditional manner
responds with blood-curdling cries that can be heard a mile away; but a sheep
submits to the butcher's knife silently. The same phenomenon occurs when
the animals are sheared. Jesus submitted to the outrages perpetratedagainst
himself, offering no more resistance thana lamb, either shearedor
slaughtered.
"In his humiliation ... his judgment was takenaway..." (Isaiah 53:7, as in
LXX), The verdict of Pilate was one of innocence;but, swayedby the yells of
the bloodthirsty mob, Pilate took awayhis judgment and orderedhis
crucifixion.
"His generationwho shall declare?"(Isaiah53:7, LXX). There are two
understandings of this, both of which may be right, for both are true. (1)
"Who shall declare the number of those who share his life, and are, as it were,
sprung from him? Who can count his faithful followers?"[13]
(2) Bruce, however, rendered the passage, "Who candescribe his
generation?"[14]Who indeed could describe that wickedgenerationwhich
despisedand murdered the Son of God? What a crescendo ofshame was
reachedby that evil company who resistedevery word of the Saviour of
mankind, mockedhim, hated him, denied the signs he performed before their
very eyes, suborned witnesses to swearlies at his trials, rejectedand shouted
out of court the verdict of innocence announced by the governorof the nation,
and through political blackmail, mob violence, and personal intimidation of
the Procurator, demanded and achievedhis crucifixion? Who could describe
the moral idiocy of a generationthat taunted the helpless victim even upon the
cross, that gloatedoverhis death, and that, when he rose from the dead,

bribed the sixteen witnessesofit with gold to deny that it had indeed
occurred? Who indeed can describe that generation?
Bruce further stated that betweenthe times of Isaiah's promised "Immanuel"
(Isaiah 7:14) and Daniel's "Sonof Man" (Daniel 7:15), and the personal
ministry of Christ, "No one identified the Suffering Servant of Isaiahwith the
Davidic Messiah, exceptJesus."[15]
Christ did indeed identify himself as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. "A
Servant ... who would give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). "How is
it written of the Sonof Man, that he should suffer many things and be set at
naught"? (Mark 9:12). "How indeed, unless the Son of Man be also the
Servant of the Lord"?[16]Thus Jesus Christ himself affirmed that the Son of
Man and the Suffering Servant are one and the same!
In our opinion, Isaiah53:8, as in the American Standard Versionis much
weakerthan the Septuagint (LXX); and that may have accountedfor the fact
of the New Testamentquotation's following the LXX. In our version, Isaiah
53:8 becomes a rather long sentence, stressing the fact that Christ died instead
of the Old Israel, to whom the stroke was due. Of course, this is true enough;
but if this indeed is the correctrendition, why was not the vicarious nature of
Jesus'death statedin the previous stanza? It is the "sufferings" whichare
discussedhere? We may read it either way; and it is true either way!
"And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death
..." (Isaiah 53:9). This is the most amazing prophecy in Isaiah. The significant
fact is that the word "wicked" here is plural, and the words "rich man" are
singular.[17]
"Those who condemned Christ to be crucified with two malefactors onthe
common execution ground, `the place of a skull' meant his grave to be with
the wicked(of course, that is the reasonwhy so many soldiers were assignedto
the task of crucifixion; they would dig the graves. - J.B.C.), with whom it
would naturally have been, but for the interference of JosephofArimathea.

The Romans buried crucified persons with their crosses nearthe scene of
their crucifixion."[18]
This does not prophesy that Christ would be buried in two graves, but that
"they" would make two graves. There is no way that this prophecy could have
been fulfilled by one grave; two are absolutelyrequired!
There is a greatdeal more than appears in the lines here. Jonahalso, the great
Old Testamenttype of Jesus, being the only one of the Old Testament
specificallycited and identified as a type of Himself by the Lord, had two
graves. There is hardly room in a work of this kind for a full accountof that;
but the reader is referred to Vol. 1 (Joel, Amos, Jonah) in our series of
commentaries on the minor prophets, pp. 345-347.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Isaiah53:7". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/isaiah-53.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,.... He was injuriously treated by the
Jews;they used him very ill, and handled him very roughly; he was oppressed
and afflicted, both in body and mind, with their blows, and with their
reproaches;he was afflicted, indeed, both by God and men: or rather it may
be rendered, "it was exacted", required, and demanded, "and he
answered"F21, or"was afflicted";justice finding the sins of men on him, laid

on him by imputation, and voluntarily receivedby him, as in the preceding
verse, demanded satisfactionof him; and he being the surety of his people,
was responsible for them, and did answer, and gave the satisfaction
demanded: the debt they owedwas required, the payment of it was calledfor,
and he accordinglyanswered, and paid the whole, every farthing, and
cancelledthe bond; the punishment of the sins of his people was exactedof
him, and he submitted to bear it, and did bearit in his own body on the tree;
this clearlyexpresses the doctrine of Christ's satisfaction:
yet he opened not his mouth; againstthe oppressorthat did him the injury,
nor murmured at the affliction that was heavy upon him: or, "and he opened
not his mouth"; againstthe justice of God, and the demand that was made
upon him, as the surety of his people;he ownedthe obligationhe had laid
himself under; he paid the debt, and bore the punishment without any dispute
or hesitation: "he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheepbefore
her shearers is dumb"; or, "as a sheep to the slaughter, and as an ewe before
her shearer"F23;these figurative phrases are expressive, not only of the
harmlessness andinnocence of Christ, as consideredin himself, but of his
meekness andpatience in suffering, and of his readiness and willingness to be
sacrificedin the room and steadof his people; he went to the cross without
any reluctance, which; when there was any in the sacrifice, it was reckoneda
bad omen among the Heathens, yea, such were not admitted to be offeredF24;
but Christ went as willingly to be sacrificedas a lamb goes to the slaughter
house, and was as silent under his sufferings as a sheepwhile under the hands
of its shearers;he was willing to be stripped of all he had, as a shorn sheep,
and to be slaughteredand sacrificedas a lamb, for the sins of his people:
so he openednot his mouth: not againsthis enemies, by way of threatening or
complaint; nor even in his own defence;nor againstthe justice of God, as
bearing hard upon him, not sparing him, but demanding and having full
satisfaction;nor againsthis people and their sins, for whom he suffered; see 1
Peter2:23.
Copyright Statement

The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/isaiah-
53.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he k opened not his mouth: he is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is
dumb, so he openednot his mouth.
(k) But willingly and patiently obeyed his father's appointment, (Matthew
26:63); (Acts 8:32).
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Isaiah 53:7". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/isaiah-53.html.
1599-1645.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
oppressed— Lowth translates, “It was exacted, and He was made
answerable.”The verb means, “to have payment of a debt sternly exacted”
(Deuteronomy 15:2, Deuteronomy 15:3), and so to be oppressedin general;
the exactionof the full penalty for our sins in His sufferings is probably
alluded to.
and … afflicted — or, and yet He suffered, or bore Himself patiently, etc.
[Hengstenberg and Maurer]. Lowth‘s translation, “He was made
answerable,”is hardly admitted by the Hebrew.
opened not … mouth — Jeremiah11:19;and David in Psalm38:13, Psalm
38:14;Psalm 39:9, prefiguring Messiah(Matthew 26:63;Matthew 27:12,
Matthew 27:14; 1 Peter2:23).
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah53:7". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/isaiah-53.html. 1871-8.
Keil & DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testament
The fourth turn describes how He suffered and died and was buried. “He was
ill treated; whilst He suffered willingly, and openednot His mouth, like the
sheepthat is led to the slaughter-bench, and like a lamb that is dumb before

its shearers, and opened not His mouth.” The third pers. niphal stands first in
a passive sense:He has been hard pressed(1 Samuel 13:6): He is driven, or
hunted (1 Samuel 14:24), treated tyrannically and unsparingly; in a word,
plagued ( vexatus ; compare the niphal in a reciprocalsense in Isaiah 3:5, and
according to the reading ‫ׂשגנ‬ in Isaiah29:13 in a reflective sense, to torment
one's self). Hitzig renders the next clause, “and although tormented, He
opened not His mouth.” But although an explanatory subordinate clause may
precede the principal clause which it more fully explains, not example can be
found of such a clause with (a retrospective) ‫אעהו‬ explaining what follows;for
in Job 2:8 the circumstantial clause, “sitting down among the ashes,” belongs
to the principal fact which stands before. And so here, where ‫עׂשהׂש‬ (from which
comes the participle ‫עׂשהׂש‬ , usually met with in circumstantial clauses)has not a
passive, but a reflective meaning, as in Exodus 10:3 : “He was ill treated,
whilst He bowedHimself (= suffered voluntarily), and opened not His mouth”
(the regular leapfrom the participle to the finite). The voluntary endurance is
then explained by the simile “like a sheepthat is led to the slaughter” (an
attributive clause, like Jeremiah11:19); and the submissive quiet bearing, by
the simile “like a lamb that is dumb before its shearers.” The commentators
regard ‫עמלוׂש‬ as a participle; but this would have the tone upon the last
syllable (see Isaiah1:21, Isaiah1:26; Nahum 3:11; cf., Comm. on Job , at Job
20:27, note). The tone shows it to be the pausal form for ‫ׂשוללמע‬ , and so we
have rendered it; and, indeed, as the interchange of the perfect with the future
in the attributive clause must be intentional, not quae obmutescit, but
obmutuit . The following words, ‫אלו‬ ‫חּתפי‬ ‫אחא‬ , do not form part of the simile,
which would require tiphtach , for nothing but absolute necessitywould
warrant us in assuming that it points back beyond ‫ליל‬ to ‫נע‬ , as Rashiand
others suppose. The palindromical repetition also favours the unity of the
subject with that of the previous ‫ח‬etaciled ehtfo ssentcerroc eht dna ‫ּתתי‬
accentuation, with which the rendering in the lxx and Acts 8:32 coincides. All
the referencesin the New Testamentto the Lamb of God (with which the
corresponding allusions to the passoverare interwoven) spring from this
passagein the book of Isaiah.
Copyright Statement

The Keil & DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testamentis a derivative of a
public domain electronic edition.
Bibliography
Keil, Carl Friedrich & Delitzsch, Franz. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/kdo/isaiah-53.html. 1854-
1889.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is
dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He opened not — He neither murmured againstGod, nor reviled men.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian Classics EtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/isaiah-53.html. 1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
7.He was punished. Here the Prophet applauds the obedience of Christ in
suffering death; for if his death had not been voluntary, he would not have
been regardedas having satisfiedfor our disobedience. “As by one man’s
disobedience,” says Paul, “allbecame sinners, so by one man’s obedience

many were made righteous. (Romans 5:19) And elsewhere,“He became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”(Philippians 2:8) This was
the reasonofhis silence at the judgment-seat of Pilate, though he had a just
defense to offer; for, having become answerable forour guilt, he wished to
submit silently to the sentence, that we might loudly glory in the righteousness
of faith obtained through free grace.
As a lamb shall he be led to the slaughter. We are here exhorted to patience
and meekness,that, following the example of Christ, we may be ready to
endure reproaches andcruel assaults, distress and torture. In this sense Peter
quotes this passage,showing that we ought to become like Christ our Head,
that we may imitate his patience and submissiveness. (1 Peter2:23) In the
word lamb there is probably an allusion to the sacrifices under the Law; and
in this sense he is elsewherecalled“the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/isaiah-53.html.
1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Isaiah53:7 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 sheepbefore her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Ver. 7. He was oppressed, andhe was afflicted,]Heb., It, the punishment of
our sin, was exacted;and he, being our surety, was afflicted. Or, It was
exacted, and he answered, i.e., satisfied.

Yet he opened not his mouth.] Though he "suffered, the just for the unjust,"
[1 Peter3:18] with the unjust, upon unjust causes,under unjust judges, and
by unjust punishments. Silence and sufferance was the language of this holy
Lamb, "dumb before the shearer," insomuchas that Pilate wondered
exceedingly. The eunuch also wondered when he read this text, Acts 8:32, and
was converted. And the like is related of a certain earl calledEleazar, (a) a
choleric man, but much altered for the better by a study of Christ and of his
patience. "I beseechyou, by the meekness ofChrist," saith Paul; and Peter,
who was an eyewitness ofhis patience, propoundeth him for a worthy pattern.
[1 Peter2:23] Vide mihi languidum, exhaustum, cruentatum, trementum, et
gementem Iesum tuum, et evanescetomnis impatientiae effectus. Christ upon
the cross is as a doctor in his chair, where he readeth unto us all a lecture of
patience.
He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.]Or, As a sheepthat is led to the
slaughter, which, when we see done, we should think of Christ, and see him as
it were in an opera glass. The saints of old did so in their sacrifices;and this
was that hidden wisdom David speaks of, Psalms 51:8;the ceremoniallaw was
their gospel.
And as a sheepbefore her sheareris dumb.] The word Rachelsignifieth an
ewe. [Genesis 31:38;Genesis 32:14]This ewe hath brought forth many lambs,
such as was Lambert and the restof the martyrs, who, to words of scornand
petulance, returned Isaac’s apologyto his brother Ishmael, patience and
silence;insomuch as that the persecutors saidthat they were possessedwith a
dumb devil. (b) This was a kind of blasphemy.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/isaiah-
53.html. 1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Isaiah53:7
St. Petermakes it almosta description of the Christian, that he loves Him
whom he has not seen;speaking of Christ, he says, "Whom having not seen,
ye love." Unless we have a true love of Christ, we are not His true disciples;
and we cannot love Him unless we have heartfelt gratitude to Him; and we
cannot duly feelgratitude unless we feel keenly what He suffered for us. No
one who will but solemnly think over the history of those sufferings, as drawn
out for us in the Gospels, but will gradually gain, through God's grace, a sense
of them, will in a measure realise them, will in a measure be as if he saw them,
will feeltowards them as being not merely a tale written in a book, but as a
true history, as a series of events which took place.
I. Our Lord is calleda lamb in the text, that is, He was as defenceless andas
innocent as a lamb is. Since, then, Scripture compares Him to this inoffensive
and unprotected animal, we may, without presumption or irreverence, take
the image as a means of conveying to our minds those feelings which our
Lord's sufferings should excite in us. Consider how very horrible it is to read
the accounts whichsometimes meet us of cruelties exercisedon brute animals.
What is it that moves our very hearts and sickens us so much at cruelty shown
to poor brutes? (1) They have done no harm; (2) they have no power of
resistance;it is the cowardice and tyranny of which they are the victims which
makes their sufferings so especiallytouching. He who is higher than the angels
deigned to humble Himself even to the state of the brute creation, as the Psalm
says, "I am a worm, and no man; a very scornof men, and the outcastof the
people."

II. Take anotherexample, and you will see the same thing still more
strikingly. How overpoweredshould we be, not at the sight only, but at the
very hearing, of cruelties shownto a little child—and why so? For the same
two reasons, becauseit was so innocent, and because it was so unable to
defend itself. We feel the horror of this, and yet we can bear to read of
Christ's sufferings without horror. There is an additional circumstance of
cruelty to affectus in Christ's history, which no instance of a brute animal's
or of a child's sufferings canhave; our Lord was not only guiltless and
defenceless, but He had come among His persecutors in love.
III. Suppose that some agedand venerable person whom we have known as
long as we could recollectanything, and loved and reverenced,—supposesuch
a one rudely seized by fierce men, made a laughing-stock, struck, spit on,
scourged, and at last exposedwith all his wounds to the gaze of a rude
multitude who came and jeered him: what would be our feelings? But what is
all this to the suffering of the holy Jesus, whichwe canbear to read of as a
matter of course. A spirit of grief and lamentation is expresslymentioned in
Scripture as a characteristic ofthose who turn to Christ. If then we do not
sorrow, have we turned to Him?
Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times" vol. v., p. 86 (see
also J. H. Newman, Parochialand Plain Sermons, vol. vii., p. 133).
References:Isaiah53:7.—Outline Sermons to Children, p. 94; Spurgeon,
Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1543;G. S. Barrett, Old TestamentOutlines, p. 221.
Isaiah53:7, Isaiah53:8.—C. Clemance, To the Light Through the Cross, p.
57. Isaiah53:9.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 286. Isaiah53:10.—J.
Parsons, ChristianWorld Pulpit, vol. i., p. 440;Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv.,
No. 173, vol. x., No. 561;Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 93; Clergyman's
Magazine, vol. x., p. 147;Preacher's Monthly, vol. x., p. 352;H. Melvill, Penny
Pulpit, No. 1966;C. Clemance, To the Light Through the Cross, pp. 100,
106,115,123, 130.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/isaiah-
53.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Isaiah53:7. He was oppressed, &c.— It was exacted, and he engagedfor, or,
and he answeredit, and opened not his mouth, &c. Or, The debt was
demanded, &c. Chandler: who remarks, that thus the learned L'Empereur
renders the word ‫ׂשגנ‬ niggas, as we also do in ch. Isaiah 58:3. "God insistedon
an adequate punishment for maintaining the honour of his laws, which was
impaired by so generala defection;and this person, of whom I have been
speaking, is made the sacrifice. And in all his sufferings he was not more a
lamb for sacrifice, thanhe was a lamb for innocence, patience, and
resignation, while he was treated as a sacrifice."
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Isaiah53:7". Thomas Coke Commentary on
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/isaiah-
53.html. 1801-1803.

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
DISCOURSE:970
CHRIST’S BEHAVIOUR UNDER HIS SUFFERINGS
Isaiah53:7. He was oppressed, andhe was afflicted, yet he opened, not his
mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheepbefore her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
THE preaching of Christ crucified has in every age beenthe greatmeans of
converting men to God: nor is there any passageofScripture, which may not,
by a judicious expositionof it, be improved either for leading us to Christ, or
for instructing us how to honour him in the world. But it is scarcelypossible
for any one to read the chapter before us, without having his thoughts led to
Christ in every part of it. It is rather like a history than a prophecy, since
every thing relating to him is so circumstantially described, and, insteadof
being enveloped in obscurity, is declaredwith the utmost plainness and
perspicuity. The portion of it selectedfor our presentconsiderationwas
signally honoured of God to the conversionof the Ethiopian eunuch, who, on
his return from Jerusalem, was reading it in his chariot: God sent his servant
Philip to unfold to him the mysteries contained in it: and Philip, having at his
request seatedhimself in the chariot with him, “beganat the same Scripture
and preachedunto him Jesus [Note:Acts 8:27-28; Acts 8:32; Acts 8:35.].”
May the same divine energy accompanyour ministrations, while we lead your
attention to that adorable Saviour, and point out to you both his sufferings,
and his behaviour under them!
I. Let us contemplate the sufferings of Jesus—
At the first view of this passagewe should be led to expatiate upon the
greatness ofour Redeemer’s sufferings:but there is a very important idea
containedin it, which, though obscurely intimated in our translation, might
with propriety be more strongly expressed:the prophet informs us that Jesus
was to be afflicted in an oppressive manner, as a man is, who, having become
a surety for another, is draggedto prison for his debts. This sense of the words

would more clearlyappear, if we were to translate them thus; “It was exacted,
and he was made answerable [Note:Bishop Lowth.].”
Agreeably to this idea, instead of dwelling on the intenseness ofhis sufferings,
we shall rather speak of them as vicarious.
We, by sin, had incurred a debt, which not all the men on earth or angels in
heaven were able to discharge. In consequence ofthis, we must all have been
consignedoverto everlasting perdition, if Jesus had not engagedon our behalf
to satisfy every demand of law and justice. When he saw that there was none
able or willing to avert from us the miseries to which we were exposed, “his
own arm brought salvationto us [Note:Isaiah59:16.].” As Paul, interposing
for the restorationof Onesimus to the favour of his masterwhom he had
robbed, said, “If he hath robbed thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine
account;I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it,” so did
our Lord, as it were, address his Father on our behalf; that a full
compensationbeing made for our iniquities, we might be restored to the
divine favour.
Jesus having thus become our surety, our debt “was exactedofhim, and he
was made answerable” forit. The demands of justice could not be relaxed.
Howeverdesirous the Fatherhimself was that man should be spared, the
honour of his government absolutelyrequired that the violations of his law
should be punished. On whomsoeverguilt should be found, whether on the
principal or the surety, it must be marked as an object of God’s utter
abhorrence. Noteven his only dear Son, if he should stand in the place of
sinners, could be exempt from the penalty due to sin. Hence, when the time
was come, in which Jesus was to fulfil the obligations he had contracted, he
was required to pay the debt of all, for whom he had engaged;and to pay it to
the very utmost farthing.
It was by his sufferings that he dischargedthis debt. Let us only callto mind
the sentence originallydenounced againstsin, and we shall see that he
endured it in all its parts. Were our bodies and our souls doomed to
inconceivable misery? He sustained, both in body and soul, all that men or
devils could inflict upon him. Was shame to be a consequenceof

transgression? Neverwas a human being loaded with such ignominy as he;
“the very abjects mocking him incessantly, and gnashing upon him with their
teeth [Note: Psalms 35:15-16.].” Were we to be banished from the presence of
God, and to have a sense ofhis wrath in our souls? Behold, Jesus was “bruised
by the Father” himself; and experiencedsuch bitter agonies ofsoul, that the
blood issued from every pore of his body; and he who had sustainedin silence
all that man was able to inflict, cried out by reasonof the darkness ofhis soul,
and the inexpressible torment that he suffered under the hidings of his
Father’s face. Were we subjected to a curse? He was, by the special
providence of God, doomed to a death, which had long before been declared
accursed;and was given up into the hands of the Romans, in order that he
might, in the strictestsense, “be made a curse for us [Note:Crucifixion was
not a Jewish, but a Romanpunishment.].” Finally, had the decree gone forth,
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die?” He filled up the measure of his sufferings
by death, and effectedour deliverance by “giving his own life a ransom for
us.” It may be said indeed, that we had deservedeternal misery; whereas that
which he endured was but for a time. This is true; nevertheless there was no
defectin his payment; because his temporary sufferings were equivalent to the
eternal sufferings of all the human race;equivalent, as far as relatedto the
ends for which they were inflicted, to the honour of the divine perfections, and
the equity of God’s moral government. Indeed, the value of his sufferings
infinitely surpassedall that ever could have been endured by man: if the
whole world of sinners had been suffering for millions of ages, the demands of
the law would never have been satisfied;eternity itself must have been the
duration of their torments: but the dignity of Christ’s nature, as God overall,
stamped an infinite worth on all that he did and suffered. Hence his death was
a full, perfect, and sufficient propitiation for the sins of the whole world: in
the hour of his death he “blotted out the handwriting that was againstus,
nailing it to his cross.” Thus was our debt wholly cancelled;and “there now
remains no condemnation to them that believe in him.”
Having this glorious end in view, he exhibited, throughout the whole of his
sufferings, the most wonderful magnanimity in,
II. His behaviour under them—

Nothing can exceedthe beauty and propriety of the images, by which our
Lord’s patience is here illustrated. As a sheep, when the sheareris stripping it
of its clothing, makes neither noise, nor resistance;and as a lamb sports about
even while being driven to the slaughter, yea, and licks the very hand that is
lifted up to slay it, so our blessedLord endured all his sufferings silently,
willingly, and with expressions oflove to his very murderers.
Twice is his silence noticedin the text, because it indicated a self-government,
which, under his circumstances, no createdbeing could have exercised. The
most eminent saints have opened their mouths in complaints both againstGod
and man. Job, that distinguished pattern of patience, even cursedthe day of
his birth. Moses, the meekestofthe sons of men, who had withstood
numberless provocations, yet, at last, spake so unadvisedly with his lips, that
he was excluded, on accountof it, from the earthly Canaan. And even the
Apostle Paul, than whom no human being ever attained a higher eminence in
any grace, broke forth into “revilings againstGod’s high-priest,” who had
ordered him to be smitten contrary to the law. But “there was no guile in the
lips of Jesus;” nor did he ever once open his mouth in a sinful or unbecoming
manner. On one occasionindeed he expostulates with his Godand Father,
“My God, my God! why hast thou forsakenme?” But herein he did not
express the smallestdegree of impatience, or of murmuring againstGod. As a
man, he could not but feel, and as a goodman, he could not but bewail, the
loss of the divine presence;and in this complaint he has shewnus the
intenseness ofhis own sufferings, and the manner in which every goodman
ought to plead with God in an hour of distress and trouble. Nordid he ever
utter any vindictive threatenings againsthis enemies. He foretold indeed the
destruction which they would bring upon themselves when they should have
filled up the measure of their iniquities: but this he did with tears and sorrow
of heart, not to intimidate them, but to express his affectionfor them. His
silence before the tribunal of Pilate was not a stubborn or scornful silence, but
a meek and dignified resignationof himself to the will of his blood-thirsty
enemies. How easilycould he have retorted all their charges upon them, and
put both his judge and his accusersto shame! But his time was come;and he
would not but that all the prophecies should be accomplishedin him.
Moreover, whenhe was smitten unjustly before the very seatof justice, he

made no other reply than this; “If I have spokenevil, bear witness of the evil;
but if well, why smitest thou me?” Thus, in the midst of all the cruelties and
indignities that could be offered him, he never once uttered an angry, a
vindictive, or an unadvised word.
Indeed there was not only a submission, but a perfect willingness, on his part,
to bear all that he was calledto suffer. When first he became our surety, and
it was proposedto him to assume our nature for that purpose, he replied, “Lo,
I come, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart
[Note:Psalms 40:6-8.].” When Peterwould have dissuadedhim from
subjecting himself to the miseries which were coming upon him, our Lord
rebuked him with a just severity, as the very first-born of Satan;since none
could more effectually do the part of Satan, than he, who should attempt to
divert him from his purpose of suffering in the place of sinners. “With great
earnestnessdid he desire to eatthe lastpassoverwith his disciples,” and “to be
baptized with his bloody baptism;” yea, and “was greatlystraitenedtill it
should be accomplished.” He might easily have escaped, whenJudas with a
band of soldiers came to apprehend him in the garden; but, notwithstanding
“he knew all things that were coming upon him,” he voluntarily went up to
them, and askedthem, whom they sought: and, after lie had shewn them by
one exercise ofhis power that he could easily have struck them all dead upon
the spot, even as Elijah had done before him [Note:John 18:6.], he gave
himself up into their hands, stipulating howeverfor his disciples (as he had
long since done in effect with his heavenly Father for us), “If ye seek me, let
these go their way.” At the time of his death also, to convince the people that
his nature was not exhausted, he with an exceeding loud voice committed his
spirit into his Father’s hands, shewing thereby, that no man took his life from
him, but that he laid it down of himself: and the evangelistparticularly
marked this by saying, “He yielded up,” or, as the word means, he “dismissed
his spirit [Note:Matthew 27:50 . ’ αφῆκε τὸ πνεῦμα.].”
In the midst of all his sufferings he abounded in expressions oflove to his very
murderers. When he came within sight of that infatuated, that malignant city,
instead of feeling any resentment, he wept over it, and pathetically lamented
the invincible obstinacywhich would shortly involve it in utter ruin. Many,
even thousands of its blood-thirsty inhabitants, were interested in that

intercessoryprayer, which he offered on the very eve of his crucifixion; the
blessedeffects ofwhich were fully manifested on the day of Pentecost. While
he yet hanged on the cross, insteadofaccusing them to his Father, he prayed
for them, and even pleaded their ignorance in extenuation of their guilt;
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And after he had
risen triumphant from the grave, he still manifested the same unbounded
compassion, directing his disciples to make the offers of salvationfirst to that
very people, who had treatedhim with such consummate cruelty [Note: Luke
24:47.];and to assure them, that the blood which they had shed was ready to
cleanse them from the guilt of shedding it.
Such was the behaviour of our blessedLord, every way suited to his august
character, and calculatedto promote the greatends of his mission: for while,
by his sufferings, he paid the penalty that was due from us, and thus “finished
transgression, and made an end of sin,” he fulfilled also the obedience which
the law required, and “brought in for sinners an everlasting righteousness
[Note:Daniel 9:24.].”
This subject, replete with wonder, affords us,
1. An occasionfor thankfulness—
Let us for a moment endeavour to realize our state before God. We have
sinned againsthim: we have multiplied our transgressions:they are more in
number than the stars of heaven, or the sands upon the sea shore. We owe to
God a debt of ten thousand talents; and are unable to pay the leastfarthing
towards it. What if we exert ourselves to serve God better in future? If we
could live as angels in future, we could make no satisfactionfor our past
transgressions:the not continuing to increase our debt would not discharge
the debt alreadyincurred. But we cannot help adding to the score every day
we live. What then should we do, if we had not a surety? Where should we
hide ourselves from our creditor? How should we contrive to elude his search,
or to withstand his power? Alas! our case would be pitiable indeed. But
adored be the name of our God, who has “laid help upon One that is mighty!”
Adored be that Jesus, who undertook to pay the price of our redemption, and

who says, “Deliverhim from going down to the pit, for I have found a ransom
[Note:Job 33:24.].”
To view our situation aright let us consider ourselves, like Isaac,already
devoted to death, and the arm of Godhimself uplifted to inflict the fatal
stroke. When there seemedno prospectwhateverof deliverance, mercy
interposed to avert the impending ruin: and Jesus, like the ram caught in the
thicket, offered himself in our stead[Note:Genesis 22:13.]. And shall we be
insensible to all his love? Will not “the very stones cry out againstus, if we
should hold our peace?” O then “let them give thanks, whom the Lord hath
redeemed, and delivered from the hand of the enemy.”
But this subject affords us also,
2. A pattern for our imitation—
The delivering of us from destruction was by no means the only end of our
Saviour’s suffering: he further intended to “leave us an example, that we
should follow his steps;” that as he, “when reviled, reviled not again, and
when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously; so we and all his disciples, should walk according to the same
rule.” And how excellentis such a disposition! how incomparably more
glorious does Jesus appear, when “giving his back to the smiters, and his
cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, and when he hid not his face from
shame and spitting,” than any of the heroes ofantiquity riding in their
triumphal car, and dragging captive princes at their chariotwheels!If then
we would be truly great, let our first victory be over our own spirit. Let us
“possessour souls in patience,” that, “patience having its perfect work, we
may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” “If our enemy hunger, let us feed
him; if he thirst, let us give him drink; that by so doing we may heap coals of
fire on his head,” not to consume him, but to melt him into love. Let us “not
be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good[Note: Romans 12:20-21.].”
Difficult, no doubt, this conduct is: but can we want an inducement to it, when
we reflect how Christ has loved us, and given himself for us? Should we think
it much to forgive our fellow-servanta few pence, when we have been forgiven
ten thousand talents? Let us remember that all our professions offaith, if we

be destitute of this love, are vain and worthless. “If we could speak with the
tongues of men and angels, orhad faith to remove mountains,” or zeal to
endure martyrdom, yet if we wanted the ornament of a meek, patient, and
forgiving spirit, we should be “only as sounding brass, or as tinkling
cymbals.” God has warnedus, that, as the masterseized his unforgiving
servant, and casthim into “prisontill he should pay the utmost farthing;” “so
will he also do unto us, if we forgive not from our hearts every one his brother
their trespasses[Note:Matthew 18:35.].” Let us then set Christ before our
eyes:let us learn of him to forgive, not once, or seventimes, but seventy times
seven;or, to use the language ofthe Apostle, let us “be kind one to another,
tender-hearted, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us [Note: Ephesians 4:32.].”
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Simeon, Charles. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". Charles Simeon's Horae
Homileticae. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/shh/isaiah-
53.html. 1832.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted; he was sorelypunished for our sins.
But there is another translation, which seems to be more emphatical, and
more agreeable to the Hebrew text; It (to wit, our iniquity lastmentioned, or
the punishment of all our sins) was exactedor required, (as this word most
properly and frequently signifies, of which see my Latin Synopsis. God’s

justice expectedand required satisfactionfrom us for our sins; which, alas!we
could not make to him,)
and he was afflicted or punished; he bore the guilt and punishment of our sins
in his body upon the tree, as is said, 1Pe 2 24;or, as others render this last
word, and he answered, i.e. became our surety, or undertook to pay the debt,
and to suffer the law in our stead, and for our sake.
Yet he opened not his mouth; he neither murmured againstGodfor causing
him to suffer for other men’s sins, nor reviled men for punishing him without
cause, nor used apologiesorendeavours to save his own life; but willingly and
patiently acceptedof the punishment of our iniquity.
Is dumb; bears the loss of its fleece orlife without any such clamour or
resistance as othercreatures use in such cases.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Isaiah53:7". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/isaiah-53.html. 1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
7. He was oppressed, etc. — This verse expressesthe treatment he received
and his conduct under it.
He opened not his mouth — The prophet observes the scene in perspective
vision, and so uses the future in the words. He will not open his mouth. The
prophetic past thus employs the future tense. The silence of Messiahunder
cruelties is, not unaptly, compared to that of the innocent lamb — a

comparisonmuch maintained throughout the New Testament. (See caseof
Jesus before Pilate.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/isaiah-
53.html. 1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
In spite of God"s punishment for sin, the Servantwould bear it without
defending Himself (cf. Isaiah42:2-3; Isaiah49:4-9; Isaiah50:5-7; Jeremiah
11:18-20;Jeremiah 12:1-3;Matthew 26:63;Matthew 27:12-14;Mark 14:61;
Mark 15:5; Luke 23:9; John 19:9). He would allow others to "fleece" Him and
even kill him without even protesting (cf. Acts 8:32-33;1 Peter1:18-19). Israel
protestedGod"s shearing of her ( Isaiah40:27; Isaiah49:14; Isaiah63:15). He
would not be a helpless victim but one who knowingly and willingly submitted
to death (cf. Luke 9:51). Jeremiahused the same figure to describe himself-
but as a naive person who did not know what would happen to him ( Jeremiah
11:19). The sheepmetaphor is apt because the Israelites usedlambs as
sacrificialanimals to covertheir sins (cf. Genesis 22:7-8;Exodus 12:3; Exodus
12:5; Leviticus 5:7; John 1:29).

"The servant ... does nothing and says nothing but lets everything happen to
him." [Note:David J. A. Clines, I, Hebrews , We and They: A Literary
Approach to Isaiah53 , pp64-65.]
"All the references in the New Testamentto the Lamb of God (with which the
corresponding allusions to the passoverare interwoven) spring from this
passagein the book of Isaiah." [Note:Delitzsch, 2:323.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Isaiah 53:7". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/isaiah-53.html. 2012.
JosephBenson's Commentaryof the Old and New Testaments
Isaiah53:7. He was oppressed— By the intolerable weight of his sufferings,
and he was afflicted — By the most pungent pain and sorrow. Or, as the
Hebrew ‫עאו‬ ‫ׂשגה‬ ,detcaxe saw tI,srehto dna htwoL pohsiB yb deredner si,‫ׂשהׂשע‬
and he answered, or, was made answerable. God’s justice required
satisfactionfrom us for our sins, which, alas!we were incapable of making,
and he answeredthe demand; that is, became our surety, or undertook to pay
our debt, or suffer the penalty of the law in our stead. Yet he openednot his
mouth — He neither murmured againstGod for giving him up to suffer for
other men’s sins, nor reviled men for punishing him without cause, nor used

apologies orendeavours to save his own life; but willingly and quietly
acceptedthe punishment of our iniquity, manifesting, through the whole scene
of his unparalleled sufferings, the most exemplary patience and meekness, and
the most ready and cheerful compliance with his heavenly Father’s will.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Benson, Joseph. "Commentaryon Isaiah53:7". JosephBenson's
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rbc/isaiah-
53.html. 1857.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Will. The pagans were very attentive that the victim should not make much
resistance.(Macrobius iii. 5.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Isaiah 53:7". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/isaiah-53.html. 1859.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
oppressed:or, hard pressed.
opened not His mouth. Idiom for silence and submission. Compare 1 Peter
2:22, 1 Peter2:23.
He is brought. Quoted in Acts 8:32, Acts 8:33.
a lamb. Compare John 1:36.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/isaiah-53.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. Lowth, after Cyril, translates, 'It was
exacted( nigas (Hebrew #5065)), andHe was made answerable'( na`
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah53:7". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/isaiah-
53.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(7) He was afflicted . . .—More accurately, He let himself be afflicted, as
implying the voluntary acceptanceofthe suffering.
Opened not his mouth.—The silence of absolute acquiescence,as in Psalms
38:14;Psalms 39:9.
As a lamb to the slaughter.—It is suggestive,as bearing both on the question
of authorship, and that of partial fulfilment, that Jeremiah (Jeremiah11:19)
appropriates the description to himself. In our Lord’s silence before the
Sanhedrin and Pilate it is allowable to trace a consciousfulfilment of Isaiah’s
words (Matthew 26:62;Matthew 27:14). (Comp. 1 Peter2:23.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/isaiah-53.html. 1905.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge

yet
Matthew 26:63; 27:12-14;Mark 14:61; 15:5; Luke 23:9; John 19:9; 1 Peter
2:23
he is
Acts 8:32,33
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Isaiah 53:7". "The Treasuryof Scripture
Knowledge". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/isaiah-
53.html.
Preacher's Complete HomileticalCommentary
OUR SAVIOUR'S SUFFERINGS AND SUBMISSION
Isa . He was oppressed, &c.
The whole field of Scripture is of infinite value, yet the Christian peculiarly
prizes those parts of it wherein Christ, the hidden treasure, the one pearl of
greatprice, is most fully exhibited to the view. This chapter holds a first rank
in His esteem, becausehere, long before our Redeemer's incarnation, He was
evidently set forth crucified. Isaiahhere discourses ofHim with a pathetic

tenderness and minuteness of detail, as if he had been an eyewitness ofHis
sufferings. Had he stood with John at the cross, orwatchedwith Mary at the
sepulchre, he could scarcelyhave presenteda more vivid and touching picture
of the sufferings of Christ and the glory by which they were followed. The
purport of the chapter is, that the Messiahwoulddevote Himself as a
voluntary sacrifice, a real and effectualexpiation, suffering the heaviestwoes
and all the bitterness of death, in concurrence with the gracious intention of
Jehovah, and for the salvationof rebellious men.
I. THE OVERWHELMING NATURE OF THE REDEEMER'SSUFFERIN
The suffering of Christ in Gethsemane was not bodily pain; physically he was
in health and vigour, at the prime of life, and in the flowerof His age. The
torture of the cross was before Him, with all the preliminary accumulation of
woe;but I cannotthink that the mere apprehension of these will sufficiently
accountfor what He endured. His mind had long been familiar with the death
that He was to die, and He knew and had predicted His speedyresurrectionto
a glorious life. Now, it seems impossible that an event, howeverpainful, which
was to be immediately succeededby "fulness of joy," could have thrown Him
into such mysterious agonyof mind. In after times, martyrs—men and
women—had to entertain the prospectand undergo the infliction of death in
forms as lingering and dreadful as His; and they anticipated and endured
with cheerfulness, joy, magnanimity, rapture … Some other cause must
certainly be found for Christ's darkness and distress of mind, distinct from
the mere apprehensionof the cross.
The seatof His suffering was the soul. But it is again and againaffirmed that
He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners;" that He was
"without spot"—hadno speck orstain of guilt upon His conscience. He could
not therefore be oppressedby any feeling of personaldemerit. He had no
frailty, no defect;He had never erred in thought, word, or deed; He had no
conscious deficiencies to oppress Him, nothing to acknowledgeandconfess
with shame, no necessityto pray for mercy, no iniquity to fill Him with terror
at the thought of God: in spite of all this, however, His soul was "troubled"—
was "exceeding sorrowful, evenunto death"—overpoweredand besetwith
bitter anguish.

I know of no principle on which this mental suffering of a perfectly innocent
and holy being can be rationally accountedfor, except that which refers it to
the factof His being a sacrificialand propitiatory victim. "His soul was made
an offering for sin," &c.… Can any accountbe given on this ground of the
causes andnature of His extraordinary mental agonyand terror?
The Scriptures, I think, seemto refer to three sources ofthis distress and
anguish.
There was some mysterious conflict with the great adversaryof God and man,
from whose tyranny He came to redeem us. When discomfited in the
Temptation, the Devil, it is said, "departedfrom Him for a season," andin
Gethsemane he seems to have returned, for it was then, as Christ Himself
expressedit, "the hour of the powerof darkness."… The combined forces of
the bottomless pit were brought againstHim, and in some way, impossible to
be explained, overwhelmed Him with darkness, discomposedHis spirit, and
alarmed His soul by infamous suggestions.
Then it is also said, that "it pleasedthe Father to bruise Him and to put Him
to grief," that "Jehovahmade His soul an offering for sin;" that He calledfor
the sword, and awoke it againstthe Shepherd, and pierced and smote Him.
Here was some mysterious infliction direct from the hand of God, some
wonderful withdrawal of His countenance and complacency, orat leastof
their sensible manifestation; fire descendedfrom heaven to consume the
sacrifice.
It is also said that our iniquities were "laid upon Him," and that, in some
sense, He bore the curse and penalty of transgression. I need hardly say, that
we reject the notion that He literally endured the punishment of sin; this
would have been impossible, since that includes actualremorse, and Christ
could never feelthat He was a sinner, though He was treatedas if He were;
nor would it have consistedwith the nature of the Gospeland the display of
mercy, since, the penalty literally exacted, mercy would be impossible, and the
sinner might demand his release from justice. Still there was suffering in the
mind of Christ, flowing into it from human guilt; His pure mind had such an
apprehension of sin, such a view of all its vile and malignant properties; its

possible attributes and gigantic magnitude so rose and spreadbefore Him,
that He started in amazement from the dreadful object, and trembled, and
was terrified exceedingly;sin was "laidupon Him," and it sank and crushed.
Him, and, in some sense, its poisonand bitterness entered into His soul. The
conclusionto which I am led, I confess, is this, that while I deem it impossible
for Jesus to have endured that literal remorse, which is the natural and direct
punishment of sin, yet I do think that His agony of mind was the nearestto
this which it was possible for Him to experience. He was so affectedby the
pressure of sin on all sides, that He felt something like the terror, anguish, and
agitationof a burdened conscienceanda wounded spirit. His mind was in a
tempest when His agonywas at its height; it wrought upon His frame till His
sweatwas blood; the arrows of God seemedto have entered into His soul, He
had all the appearance ofa sinner strickenfor his sins. I againrepeat, that
this could not literally be the case;I can only say that it was the nearestto it
that Christ could feelor Godinflict; and I see not that there is any more
mystery in something of this nature being felt, than in the factof a perfectly
pure and spotless being suffering at all.—T. Binney, LL.D.: Sermons, Second
Series, pp. 157-162.
As it was no common sufferer who is here pointed out, so they were no
common sufferings He endured. "He was oppressed."Who? "The brightness
of the Father's glory!" We are so constituted as to be more affectedby the
afflictions of distinguished men than by those of the multitude; our sympathy
is awakenedwhenprinces endure great reverses andhardships; when
sicknessclouds the royal brow, and death enters the pavilion of the mighty,
whence we are ready to imagine every care is excluded. But here you have the
extreme of greatness in conjunction with the extreme of suffering. "HE was
oppressed!"
The union and combination of various forms of suffering is implied:
"despised," "rejected,""Manofsorrows," "acquaintedwith grief."
Describedas bearing griefs, carrying sorrows, strickenand smitten of God,
afflicted, wounded, bruised, subjected to chastisementand stripes, and here
"oppressed."It did not suffice that He was shorn as a sheep—strippedand
deprived of His riches, ornaments, and comforts; but His life is demanded.
"He is brought to the slaughter."

1. He suffered at the hand of God. "Smitten of God." Voluntarily standing in
the sinner's place, He must endure the first penalty of sin. In nothing is the
righteous displeasure of Godagainstsin more displayed, His determination to
visit us to the uttermost more exemplified, than in the sufferings of Christ. He,
even He, must be smitten with the sharp sword of sin-avenging justice (Zec ).
It would seemas though all the former executions of justice had only been
inflicted as with a sword asleep, orin the scabbard, comparedwith what Jesus
felt. Against Him it was awakened, unsheathed, and made to descendwith
unmitigated force and severity.
2. He suffered at the hand of man. It was much that He was to be "a Man of
sorrows,"but more that He was "despisedand rejectedof men." He who was
ready to relieve every burden and break every yoke, was Himself afflicted by
those whom He came to redeem. He who would not so much as "break a
bruised reed," was oppressedthrough the whole course of His life. Contempt,
reproach, and persecutionwere the requitals for His acts of mercy (Mat ; Mat
12:24;Mat 9:2-3; Joh5:8-9; Joh5:16).
Let this console His suffering disciples, that they only follow the footsteps of
the Prince of sufferers; they only drink of His cup. Let them examine, and
they will find that the very grief that oppressesthem oppressedHim. Be
consoledby the consciousnessofsharing His sympathy, and by the certain
prospectof sharing His triumph. The cross, the grave, the stone, the seal, the
Roman guard, and the watchful Sanhedrim were in His case allin vain; and
He has promised that the rebuke of His people shall be taken away.
3. He suffered from the assaults ofhell (Luk ). The temptation in the
wilderness, the agonyin the garden, and the sufferings of the cross were all
connectedwith Satanic agency. Satanwill not fail to trouble even where he
despairs to conquer.
II. THE SILENT SUBMISSION WITH WHICH CHRIST ENDURED
SUFFERING.
"He is brought as a lamb," &c. The lamb goes as quietly to the slaughter as to
the fold. By this similitude the patience of Christ is exemplified, not that He
was absolutelysilent, for more than once He replied to the falsehoods and

THE LAMB TO SLAUGHTER: CHRIST'S PATIENT SUFFERING

THE LAMB TO SLAUGHTER: CHRIST'S PATIENT SUFFERING

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THE LAMB TO SLAUGHTER: CHRIST'S PATIENT SUFFERING