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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 53

1 Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord’s power revealed through him? 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.⁠ 3 He was despised and rejected by people,⁠ one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 4 But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain;⁠ even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.⁠ 5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.⁠ 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. 9 They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. 10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,⁠ once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life,⁠ and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.⁠ 11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.⁠ “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.⁠ 12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death⁠ and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 53:7 and Matthew 26:63

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

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.

Passages

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.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

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.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

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 ..."
Jonathan Burnside, God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 458.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 53:7 and Matthew 26:63

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