Scripture Study for
Palm Sunday of The Passion of The Lord
Isaiah 50:4–7 / Psalm 22:2a / Philippians 2:6–11 / Mark 14:1 — 15:47 or 15:1–39
<< Back to LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
The prophet’s ability to speak and the words that are spoken all come from God, but they are given for the sake of the weary. The speaker suffers both physical attack and personal insult. Despite this, he does not recoil from his call. He willingly accepts what appears to be the consequence of his prophetic ministry to the weary. In the face of his affliction, he maintains that God is his strength. For this reason, he declares that he is not disgraced and he will not be put to shame. There are no grounds to make these claims other than utter confidence in God.
The Philippians hymn states that though in the form of God, Christ chose the form of a slave. Without losing his Godlike being, he took on the likeness of human beings. He did not merely resemble a human being, he really was one. In a sense, Christ’s crucifixion, a common punishment for slaves, was inevitable given his controversial teaching. However, his subsequent exaltation is as glorious as his humiliation was debasing. It is important to note that while Christ was the subject of his self-emptying, his superexaltation is attributed directly to God. Now every knee shall do him homage and every tongue shall proclaim his sovereignty.
The entire Passion narrative lays bare the contradiction of Jesus’ life and the paradox of God’s reign. The initial fear of the religious leaders shows that Jesus had a following among the people, but it was the people who cried for the release of Barabbas and Jesus’ own death. Among his intimate followers, only the women remained faithful; one anointed him, others kept watch at his crucifixion and took note of where he was buried. Of the men who knew him well, one betrayed him, another denied him, and the rest fled for safety. It was a foreigner, a centurion, who publicly acclaimed his divinity. At the moment of his greatest agony, he was recognized as the Son of God.