He was oppressed,
and He was afflicted,
Yet
He did not open His mouth;
Like
a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And
like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So
He did not open His mouth. Is 53:7
Why in this passage, is Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, likened
to a “rachel,” the word for female sheep? Why is he not likened to the
“king” of the sheep world, the leader, the dominant one, a ram? When
trying to get a ram to slaughter, they place their front feet in front of them
and will not budge. Two hundred pounds (100 kilos) or more of flesh
pulling the opposite direction are not easily led to slaughter.
Jesus, however, is identified as a female sheep. Lambs led
to slaughter and sheep who submit to shearing are easy to lead. They do not
resist or put up a fight. Revelations 5:6 and 13:8 teach that he was
slain before the foundation of the world, and he is standing by the throne of
Yahweh. As the Passover Lamb (1 Cor 5:7), the way to power, glory, and all
righteousness is through extreme sacrifice and servanthood.
As a rachel, a little lamb, he is also likened to a totally
pure and unblemished sheep. He is pure, more than the total absence of sin, but
also pure in heart and mind with single-minded devotion to his Father and his
Father’s kingdom values.
How about you? Are you passively submitting to what the
Father is asking you to do, even if it means painbearing for your people, just
as Jesus bore pain for us?