“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his on way;
and the LORD has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and He was afflicted,
yet He opened not His mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:6-7

Sheep in the field or out on the moors – a picture of bucolic delight. However for the eastern shepherd, sheep were difficult creatures. They wandered away and had to be rescued; they seemed to be unaware of the many dangers which lurked all around them. Headstrong and foolish they often were, choosing to go their own way instead of following the shepherd. Isaiah says that is what we have done. We have strayed from the ways of the Lord, the Shepherd. We have chosen to go our own way instead of listening to His voice. We have sinned, every single one of us. Yet, in His mercy and grace, He has placed all our iniquity, all our sin upon His righteous Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself all the sin of all the world. “See all your sins on Jesus laid; the Lamb of God was slain. His soul was once an offering made for every soul of man.”(Charles Wesley)

When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he recognised that here was the promised Messiah, the Servant of whom Isaiah spoke, and he cries out, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John1:29) Jesus was the only one qualified to be the Lamb, the only one who always followed His Father’s way, not His own way, the perfect, spotless, righteous One. We recall how Jesus behaved at His trial and during His torture. Before Pilate, when accused by the chief priests and elders, Jesus gave no answer . Pilate was amazed that Jesus gave no answer to a single charge.(Matt. 27:12-14) In His silence, Jesus was like a sheep before its shearers.

We know how He was led on the Calvary road. He was the innocent Lamb who became the sin-bearer. He took our place. We were the ones who deserved the punishment of death, yet He was slaughtered on the cross to take upon Himself what we deserved: death. He gives to all who believe in Him innocence and righteousness. Amazing love and grace! Our response should be thanks for all He has done for us, with deep gratitude and love.

O Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God,
I love the holy Lamb of God!
O wash me in His precious blood.
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Amen

(LSB 550 refrain)