Wednesday of Holy Week
(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25)
Few passages of Scripture give better context for appreciating Jesus passion than the four so-called Servant Songs which we read on Monday, Tuesday, today Wednesday, and Friday of Holy Week. These passages are taken from the work of an unnamed prophet who is called “Second Isaiah” because his writings are attached to those of the great prophet of Judah. Second Isaiah lives in Babylon with other exiled Jews. He recognizes his call from God to preach to the people about the wonderful deliverance God is going to work on their behalf. Second Isaiah’s writings comprise much of the middle part of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. They appear to be autobiographical telling how the prophet has suffered on behalf of the people.
What Second Isaiah says about his own trials, we can apply with greater relevance to Jesus. In today’s Servant Song, for example, we remember how Jesus communicates with God in prayer, how both Jews and Romans revile him during his court trials, and how God vindicates him when the persecution ends in his death. The Servant Songs announce a completely new form of messianism. No longer is the Messiah a sword-wielding conqueror of armies; rather, he defeats evil by patiently taking upon himself the sins of others.
What Second Isaiah says of the Suffering Servant and what Jesus validates in his own ordeal we Christians should take to heart. We want to make a presumption against the use of force to accomplish our ends because Jesus is non-violent. We also want to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others as Jesus does in the gospels. Such postures will distinguish us from others. Indeed, they will make us a guiding light like Jesus himself which the world will come to acknowledge and, at least in part, to emulate.
No comments:
Post a Comment