“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Christ’s silence before His accusers was necessary for the fulfillment of prophecy. The ancient Prophet Isaiah had predicted that the Messiah would be “brought as a lamb to the slaughter” and stand silently before His accusers “as a sheep before [the] shearers.” In spite of the spurious and incinerating charges lodged against Him, He would “open not His mouth” in His own defense.

In addition to being necessary for the fulfillment of prophecy, Christ’s silence was also necessary for the fulfillment of the divine plan of salvation. If Christ had escaped the cross by successfully advocating for Himself, you and I would be left without an advocate and eternally condemned (1 John 2:1-2). If Christ had not been silent before His accusers, the redeemed of the Lord would be incapable of saying so, and consequently left without anything to say (Psalm 107:2).

The silence of Christ actually speaks volumes about his voluntary and vicarious death on the Cross of Calvary for the sin of the world. Christ wasn’t forced to die on the cross by the guilty verdict at His trial. Instead, He voluntarily died on the cross, because it was the will of His Father. He said so Himself in John 10:17-18: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

Christ’s blood was shed on the cross, not spilt. To spill implies an accident. There was nothing accidental about Christ’s death on the cross. It was deliberate, intentional and voluntary. It was the propitiatory work of Christ and the predetermined will of God. Though it appeared to be the work and will of man, it really had nothing to do with either.