Isaiah 53 (Part 6) – Isa 53:7-8

Click here for the Entire Series and Outline.

Click here for the previous sermon in this series.

Click here for the next sermon in this series.

.

Isaiah 53 (Part 6) – Isa 53:7-8

Isa 53:7 – 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 sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

1. He was oppressed,
   1. Oppressed adj. – 1. Pressed down or weighed down physically or mentally; burdened, troubled, depressed; reduced to straits or difficulties; esp. harassed or crushed down by tyranny or unjust treatment; downtrodden.
   2. Oppress v. – 1. trans. To press injuriously upon or against; to subject to pressure with hurtful or overpowering effect; to press down by force; to crush, trample down, smother, crowd.
   3. Jesus was mentally depressed, in dire straits, and downtrodden when He suffered for us.
   4. He was crushed under the judging hand of God.
   5. Oppression is one of the judgments of God for sin (Deut 28:15, 33; Jdg 4:1-3).
   6. Jesus suffered oppression when He suffered for our sins.
2. and he was afflicted,
   1. Afflicted adj. – Cast down, depressed, oppressed, in mind, body or estate; hence, grievously troubled or distressed.
   2. Jesus was cast down, depressed, and grievously troubled and distressed when he suffered for us.
   3. Affliction is one of the judgments of God for sin (Psa 107:17; Lam 1:5).
   4. Jesus suffered affliction when He suffered for our sins.
3. yet he opened not his mouth:
   9. Yet adv. – III. 9. a. as adv. or conj. (developed from I), introducing an additional fact or circumstance which is adverse to, or the contrary of what would naturally be expected from, that just mentioned: In spite of that, for all that, nevertheless, notwithstanding. Sometimes strengthened by nevertheless, etc. Often correlative to though, etc.
   10. In spite of the fact that he was oppressed and afflicted, Jesus did not complain.
   11. He did not revile those who reviled Him, nor did He threaten them (1Pe 2:23).
   12. Jesus suffered silently.
4. he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
   1. Jesus was the lamb of God which took away the sin of His people (Joh 1:29; Mat 1:21).
   2. He was the antitype of the Passover lamb which symbolized the salvation of God’s people via a substitutionary sacrifice (Exo 12:3-7, 13, 23; 1Pe 1:19; 1Co 5:7).
5. and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
   1. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Act 8:32-35).
   2. When Jesus stood before the chief priests and Pilate and was accused of the Jews, He said nothing (Mat 26:59-63; Mat 27:12-14; Joh 19:9-10).
   3. David seems to also prophesy of this event in Psa 38:12-14.
   4. There is a time to keep silent (Ecc 3:7), and this was one such time for our Lord.

Isa 53:8 – He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 

1. He was taken from prison and from judgment:
   1. Prison n. – 1. Orig. The condition of being kept in captivity or confinement; forcible deprivation of personal liberty; imprisonment; hence, a place in which such confinement is ensured; spec. such a place properly arranged and equipped for the reception of persons who by legal process are committed to it for safe custody while awaiting trial or for punishment; a jail.
   2. Judgment – 1. a. The action of trying a cause in a court of justice; trial. (Now rare or merged in 3.) 3. a. The sentence of a court of justice; a judicial decision or order in court.
   3. The events of Jesus’ arrest and trial were a fulfillment of this prophecy.
      1. A band of men came and laid hands on Jesus and took hold of Him (Mat 26:48, 50) and took him to the high priest where the scribes and elders were assembled to have Him tried (Mat 26:57).
      2. Jesus was in prison by definition, being in a condition of confinement while awaiting trial (Luk 22:68).
      3. Jesus was brought into the judgment hall (Joh 18:28) before Pilate’s judgment seat (Joh 19:13).
         • He was held there for the night into the next day (Luk 22:63).
         • The next day He was taken from the place of confinement and judgment to be crucified (Joh 19:14-16; Luk 23:24-26).
      4. Jesus also fulfilled this prophecy in another way.
         1. He was condemned to death on the cross, and His body spent three days in the grave.
         2. He was taken from judgment and from the prison of the grave when God raised Him from the dead, proving that His judgment had been taken away (Rom 4:25; Act 13:28-30; Act 2:23-24).
         3. “The consequence of this to Christ was his resurrection and advancement to perpetual honour. This makes the offence of the cross perfectly to cease; he yielded himself to die as a sacrifice, as a lamb, and, to make it evident that the sacrifice he offered of himself was accepted, we are told here, Isa 53:8, [1.] That he was discharged: He was taken from prison and from judgment; whereas he was imprisoned in the grave under a judicial process, lay there under an arrest for our debt, and judgment seemed to be given against him, he was by an express order from heaven taken out of the prison of the grave, an angel was sent on purpose to roll away the stone and set him at liberty, by which the judgment given against him was reversed and taken off; this redounds not only to his honour, but to our comfort; for, being delivered for our offences, he was raised again for our justification. That discharge of the bail amounted to a release of the debt.” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Isa 53:8).
      5. In Act 8:33, this part of Isa 53:8 is quoted thusly: “In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:”
         1. There are a couple of possible interpretations of this verse.
         2. Interpretation 1:
            • Jesus came to execute judgment (Joh 5:22, 27, 30; Joh 8:26; Joh 9:39).
            • While Jesus was being humiliated during His trial and crucifixion, and time in the grave, His judgment which He came to execute was taken away from Him.
            • His judgment would return to Him after His resurrection when He would show judgment unto the Gentiles through His word that He sent into the earth (Mat 12:18-21 c/w Isa 42:1-4) and personally at His second coming (Act 17:31).
         3. Interpretation 2:
            • When Jesus was treated unjustly and tried and sentenced to death for crimes He did not commit, His judgment was taken away.
            • In other words, the just judgment He deserved was taken from Him.