READ: Isaiah 53:7, 5-6
3 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

REFLECT:
Reading Mark 15:1-15 this past week in preparation for the sermon kept bringing to mind this text from Isaiah. In the Gospel accounts, especially in the trial before the Jewish religious leaders and before Pilate—Mark 14 and 15 respectively—Jesus remains silent during most of his trial. He doesn’t defend himself. Even though he knows He is being falsely accused, he doesn’t seek to clear the record.

I have a hard time relating to this. When I’m being accused of something I didn’t do, I don’t often find myself silent. I want to set the record straight. I want the truth to be known. I want to be vindicated!

Not Jesus. Because in this moment, the truth wasn’t what mattered most to him. What mattered most was fulfilling his role as Messiah…serving as ransom in our place…serving, as Isaiah depicts here as the Lamb who suffers in our place so that we don’t have to. If transgressions or ‘sin’ can be defined as “missing the mark”, then all our mark-missing is placed on Jesus, who then, in his suffering and death, puts it to rest. All mark-missing is buried with Jesus’ body. And when he rises, he proves victory and power over sin, suffering, and death.

RESPOND
Reflect on the image of Lamb or sheep in the Bible. Where else do you see these images used? What do you think it communicates about Jesus that He was crucified during the celebration of Passover?

The next time you are on the defense for something you may or may not have done, reflect on Jesus’ example. How might you react differently to your accusers based on his example?