Nothing about the death of Christ was fair. We can look back and see that, of anyone who has ever existed, the Son of God is the last one who should ever have been killed for the crimes He was accused of. Yet despite the lies and slander of His accusers, Jesus Christ never tried to escape the wrongful punishment coming His way.
Christ in the Old Testament
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
Israel understood the significance of lambs. According to the Law, God allowed Israel to temporarily cover the price of their sins through the regular sacrifice of animals. Although there was never an animal so perfect that no further sacrifices would need to be made, we see Isaiah looking forward to a very special lamb that would be our final sacrifice. Yet unlike other lambs, this lamb wouldn’t need to be held down while it yelled in protest.
This innocent lamb would go silently, and willingly, to be sacrificed for the sins of His people.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:61-62)
Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” And the chief priests started accusing Him of many things. But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!” But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed. (Mark 15:1-6)
Nothing about the death of Christ was fair. The Messiah was arrested, falsely accused, beaten, and executed. Yet during all of this, He didn’t fight or protest. He didn’t defend Himself or explain the ridiculousness of these accusations. In fact, the majority of His responses were confirming His identity as the Son of God.
Even Pilate, someone who cared little for the politics of the Jews, saw the unfairness in front of him. He knew Jesus could have easily said almost anything in defense of Himself, and the cruelty would have been easy to end. Yet Christ remained silent before His accusers, knowing He was being led to the cross. And at the cross, He knew He would face the wrath of God in our place.
The Son of God could have stayed in Heaven. He could have come as a conquering king. He could have fully revealed Himself as God and avoided the humiliation of His trial and execution. The King of Kings could have used His infinite power to end everything He chose to endure for sin-loving enemies of God who could never deserve such salvation and forgiveness.
Can we express anything but unending gratitude for our Savior? He stayed silent before His accusers, willingly becoming our final, ultimate sacrifice. He didn’t do any of this because we are so good and worth it, but because He is so perfect and worthy of our unending worship.
