Is 50:4-7; Ps 21(22); Phil 2:6-11; Mark 14:1 – 15:47
Second Isaiah was writing during the exile of the Israelites in Babylon after Jerusalem was destroyed. The people are discouraged, in despair, and tempted to give up their faith in God. In today’s ‘servant-song’ Isaiah offers consolation, recommending non-resistance and trust in the Lord.
Isaiah’s words express our horror at the way Our Lord was treated. But, trusting confidently in his Father, Jesus “sets his face like flint”, even though it is covered with spittle.
The Psalm moves from this mood to express unshaken faith, praising God for our redemption and the promised conversion of all peoples.
The hymn in Philippians rejoices that – unlike Adam – Jesus did not seek to be equal to God. But God raised him high, so that all creation should “acclaim Jesus as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.
Jesus died just before Passover, when Jews celebrated their freedom from slavery. The soldiers, the Jewish leaders, the inscription on the Cross, all ironically give Jesus his true title of “King of the Jews”, the Messiah, who frees us from death. When Jesus dies, the first human being in Mark’s gospel to recognise Jesus as “Son of God” is a Gentile, the centurion. All the disciples had run away when Jesus was arrested. Only some women watched, and they saw where he was buried.
Psalm Response: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?