Texts in Conversation
Matthew 26 describes Jesus remaining silent during his trial, a small detail that was likely intended to echo Isaiah 53, where the suffering servant does not open his mouth when treated unjustly.
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Isaiah 53:7
Hebrew Bible
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. 7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. 8 He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Matthew 26:63
New Testament
62 So the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Although the trials of Jesus share many features with modern miscarriages of justice, there are some aspects that remain unique. From a miscarriage of justice perspective, the most difficult problem is Jesus’s silence. Roman law gave the accused an opportunity to defend himself (compare Acts 25:15–16), and there were a number of formal opportunities for Jesus to do so. But he did not take them Jesus’s silence evokes the silence of the “servant” figure of Isaiah, which is integrated into the overall prophetic message of judgment and return from exile found in Isaiah 40–55 ..."
Burnside, Jonathan P.
God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible
(p. 458) Oxford University Press, 2011
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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