Word of Salvation – Vol.42 No.35 – September 1997
Our Silent Sufferer
A Sermon by Rev. A. Quak on Isaiah 53:7
Scripture Readings: Matthew 27:32-44; Isaiah 53:1-12
Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you ever been involved in a car accident, or had a near miss? Have you ever had a really anxious moment when you had split seconds to save your child from trouble? If you have, you know of the unusual experience which often accompanies these moments. Time seems to slow down. Reactions which take tenths of a second seem to take much longer. You feel yourself and your mind focussing intently on each individual movement. Reactions which take fractions of a second seem to last for ages.
The text we are faced with this morning asks us to have that same focus. Many of us know the narrative of the death of Jesus very well – perhaps too well. Stop and think, says Isaiah. Many small events and situations are combined to make up the passion of Christ. You can’t just gloss quietly over them. Take the time to focus. Focus intently on what the Lord has done for you. This is what we will do this morning, people of God – focus. Focus on only one point: Jesus, the suffering servant, suffered in silence.
To really enhance our appreciation of the silence of Christ in the face of His accusers, I want to draw your attention to three points this morning.
1) Christ offers Himself.
2) Christ offers Himself for affliction.
3) Christ offers Himself for affliction in silence.
May we, through these points, be faced with the seriousness of Christ’s silence. For it is a silence which contributes to our salvation.
Christ offers Himself… and it is a crying shame that more people don’t recognise this glorious fact. People in this world think they can do without Christ. They go from day to day ignoring the plain facts. Jesus Christ had to offer Himself, He could do no other. He has to deal with sin – for sin separates us from a God who loves us. Sin is that impassable chasm which we have made between us and our Father. No one can cross that chasm; indeed mankind is not even trying to cross the chasm. We’re all on the other side, playing with the world – playing with fire – the fires of hell.
What a pitiful sight we were in the sight of God. Children of God who have turned away from the only One who gives true life. Yet, what does He cry out to us? What does He say to us pitiful ones? Are they words of anger? Are they words of hatred? No! He cried out to us across the chasm, “I love you. Even though you have turned from Me. Even though you have deserted Me. Even though you made yourself My enemies. I love you.” Across the chasm we don’t even respond to His voice. We don’t even recognise that the world we live in belongs to God and is given to us by God. We continue to play with the world while God works out our salvation.
This is the picture Christ has of us: A picture of the helplessness and hopelessness of humanity. Then He offers Himself. Not because He is obligated to. Not because we called out to Him and asked Him to start building a bridge. No, our Lord Jesus Christ stood up as a volunteer when His Father’s compassion was shown to the world. The Son knows there is no other way. A sinless sacrifice is required, and no one else could offer it except for Jesus Christ.
So, the Messiah offers Himself, to be sin for us – to deal with the debt we owe; to build a bridge across the chasm we have created. Our Rock offers to put off His glory, the glory of heaven, and take on the body of a man. God condescends to become one of those whom He has created. Human limitations; temptations; frailties. Christ offers Himself to take on the wrath of God. To be despised by His own Father. To deal with sin once and for all. No wonder angels cry out, “Salvation to the Lamb.” For who can think of a greater act of grace; un-earned favour in the sight of God? Who can paint a picture which shows more love than this? Christ offered Himself to be sin for this world.
Actually we can paint a greater picture. The offer is great, but it gets better. For Jesus Christ offered to be the sacrifice of mankind even though He knew what this offer would mean. He never made an uninformed decision when He volunteered for this mission. Jesus knew, before He was formed in Mary’s womb, what He was in for. He is the One who gave these words to Isaiah, predicting His own death. Words which were penned 700 years before the coming of Jesus Christ. Yes congregation, He knew. He knew the pain, the suffering, the anguish, the brokenness, the humility and the rejection He was going to face. Yet, Christ offers Himself. As we focus on the fact that Jesus suffered, we are faced with a picture of grace which continues to grow. Christ offers Himself.
We are now in a position to consider the second point this morning, Christ offers Himself for affliction. The Hebrew language has a device called reflexive verbs. These verbs point to actions which are initiated by the same subject. For example, a criminal may give himself up to the police; it’s an action which is initiated by the criminal. In our text we have two reflexive verbs. Oppressed and afflicted. Yes, congregation, Jesus caused Himself to be oppressed. Jesus caused Himself to be afflicted. Jesus offered Himself. He knew what He was going to be in for. But He still went out of the way to be sin for us.
Never let this fact slip from your mind, for there are many times Jesus could have escaped the cross. For example, if He had broken His usual routine, on the night He was betrayed, He would never have reached the cross. Luke 21:37 tells us, “Each day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.” On the night Jesus was betrayed, Luke 22:39 says that “Jesus went as usual to the Mount of Olives” were He prayed and where Judas found Him. Had He broken His routine, Judas would never know where He was. Take the time later today to read John 18, here Jesus basically forces the guards to arrest Him. Again and again, Jesus went out of His way to be sin for us. To pay the punishment for us.
Christ offers Himself for affliction. And how terrible that affliction was.
Look at Isaiah 53:6 – “The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.”
Picture your sin, and give each sin one point. You speed, one point. You get angry, one point. Neglect to show love, waste time at work, exacerbate your children, ignore your neighbour, don’t use opportunities to speak of Christ. One point, one point, one point. On and on we can go, congregation. And this could easily be one day in our lives. Multiply the sins by 365 days, then by 70 years. Multiply that by the number of the elect, a great multitude. Staggering isn’t it, when we think of sin is such terms. God was angry. Sin had to be paid for. And Christ was afflicted for all that sin.
Christ offers Himself for affliction. You think mankind would be more thankful. But how does man respond to that offer? Consider Isaiah 53:3 – “He was despised and rejected by men… and we esteemed Him not.” Such arrogance we have! Christ came to take the iniquity of us all, and we spit in His face. We lynched Him. We – who have no trouble esteeming rich pagans, crooked politicians, immoral movie stars, ungodly rock groups – we despised the One who comes and offers eternal salvation through His sacrifice. We rejected Him, yet He was afflicted for us.
Surely this offer would be accepted graciously by the Father. But how does God respond to Christ’s offer? Verse 4 – “We considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted.” The punishment for our sin, He took. Our rejection for His salvation, He took. The banishment from the sight of God, He took. As He hung on the cross Jesus cried out to His Father, as He always did in times of need and distress. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” But heaven was silent. The voice which once said, “This is My Son, with Him I am well pleased,” turned His back and poured out His wrath.
Christ offers Himself for affliction. An offering which covers our sin. An offering which causes Him to be smitten by God, struck down by the Father. An offer which causes Him to be despised and rejected. How does the Lord respond when He sees the various reactions to this offer? This question brings us to the third point this morning. In the face of being despised by God, He is silent. In the face of being despised by man He is silent. Rejected. Despised. Mocked. Hated. Yet, the Saviour of the world. Hold that truth in mind as we consider the third point this morning. Christ offers Himself for affliction in silence.
Let us take the time to focus on these moments of silence. At the Lord’s Supper Jesus tells His followers that one of them will betray Him. In Matthew 26:25, Judas says, “Surely not I?” and the Lord says, “Yes it is you.” But nothing else is said. The temptation to plead with Judas, to seek to change the heart of Judas, would be so real for He knew how great the suffering would be. Yet, the servant of Man is silent. He knew His time had come.
Again, before the Sanhedrin, Jesus is being accused. What fools they were. False accusation after false accusation is given, but there was no evidence to put Him to death. Jesus could well have asked for time to produce witnesses of His own – He had a right to. He could have stalled His suffering, indeed, even avoided it. Yet, He was silent. In the face of His biased, hanging judge, Caiaphas, He says nothing.
Once again, in the face of Pilate and Herod, Jesus was accused. Yes, He was a Jew, but He had the right to call upon the laws of the land and avoid the punishment. Yet, He held His words.
Again and again, Jesus’ silence permeates the passion narrative. When the crowd cry out for the release of Barabbas, Jesus is silent. When He is mocked and beaten, Jesus is silent. He is arrested – He could have called upon a legion of angels – yet, He is silent.
People of God, reflect on that silence. For in His silence, Jesus is making one of the loudest statements of His life – my silence is for your salvation. If I cry out, even once, I would be able to avoid the terrible suffering which I have volunteered to endure. A few words of defence could end the affliction. One word could summon 12 legions of angels. Nothing. Christ offers Himself for affliction… in silence.
Not a word passes His lips, asking for mercy. Not a word can be found pleading His innocence. Indeed, even in the greatest hour of trial, when He does break His silence, He cries out, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Who, here, can know the silence of the Saviour, a silence which is given for your eternal salvation, and not respond in acceptance and wonder? Who, here, can know how difficult it must have been for Christ to hold His peace in affliction and oppression, and not bow down in humility? Who, here, can withhold praise to the Lamb of God as we realise the seriousness of the silence Jesus has maintained?
Christ offers Himself as He responds to the helplessness of God’s creatures. Christ offers Himself for affliction, knowing that He will be despised by the ones He has come to save.
Christ offers Himself for affliction in silence, in full submission to the Father, knowing He would be crushed by the One whom He has served with 100% obedience. One word of innocence, one word of protest is all that was needed. Yet, the Lamb of God is silent, as a sheep is silent before his slaughterers.
He is silent for you. For your salvation.
Praise God! Lift up the name of Jesus, your Saviour today.
This deafening silence has given you eternal life.
Amen.