Road to Emmaus Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Apr 1, 2009

Gospel at the Procession with Palms – Mk. 11:1-10

First Reading – Is. 50:4-7

Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Second Reading – Phil. 2:6-11

Gospel Reading – Mk. 14:1-15:47

Regarding the divine mysteries of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, his institution of the Eucharist, his agony in the Garden, his trials and his suffering and death, so much can be said, but often one is tempted to be reduced to silence in the face of God’s merciful love. However, I have committed to comment on the Sunday readings throughout the liturgical year, so comment I must.

As you will see, all of the readings for the celebration of Palm Sunday of Lord’s Passion, from Isaiah, Psalms, Philippians and Mark, are integrally linked and thus shed light on one another.

The suffering servant of Isaiah

We start with this Sunday’s Old Testament readings from the prophet Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is frequently referred to as the fifth Gospel because in many cases it reads like it could have been written after the events of the revelation of Christ.

This is perhaps most true of what are called the four servant songs of Isaiah. (cf. 42:1-7; 49:1-6; 50:4-10; 52:13-53:12). It was foretold long ago that the Messiah to come would be full of the Spirit of the Lord, but also that he would be one who innocently suffers for the sake of others.

We hear in the reading from Isaiah, "I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting" (Is. 50:6).

Jesus fulfills this role. He is the suffering servant. In Mark we are told that Pilate has Jesus scourged (15:15). The instrument used for scourging was called a flagrum. It was made of a handle with several leather thongs which were weighted with metal balls and often sharp pieces of sheep bone were tied at various intervals on the leather thongs. He would probably been lashed at least thirty-nine times.

Then the soldiers mocked Jesus by crowning him with thorns, "And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him…" (Mk. 15:19). The crown was not just a circle of thorns around the head, but a cap covering the whole head. The thorns in Jerusalem are known to be up to two inches long, very sharp and inflexible.

Further on in Isaiah we read more about the sufferings of the servant. "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed…and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Is. 53:4-7).

Peter speaks of Christ with this passage in mind. He says, "He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on a tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Pt. 2:22-24).

The new Son of David arrives

Let us now consider Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem through this Sunday’s Gospel reading at the Procession with Palms (cf. Mk. 11:1-10).

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The event is absolutely packed full of meaning. Here we have Jesus entering Jerusalem as the new Davidic King. God’s covenant with David is being fulfilled in Christ. (cf. 2 Sam. 7).

This event would recall a vivid memory of the People of God written about in 1 Kings. The son of David, Solomon, was made to "ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to the Gihon. There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and anointed Solomon…and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’" (1:38-39).

As Matthew quotes in his Gospel this is to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Zechariah, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey" (9:9; cf. Mt. 21:5).

In addition, the garments that they lay before Christ have a royal connotation. Within the context of the anointing of Jehu as King of Israel, we read, "Then in haste every man of them took his garment, and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet, and proclaimed, ‘Jehu is king’" (2 Kgs 9:13).

The Lamb of God arrives

Another important aspect of this event is that it is within the context of Passover. There would have been thousands and thousands of pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem for this feast. Jesus along and these pilgrims were entering Jerusalem five days before the Passover.

The context of the Passover is evident by the shout of the people, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mk. 11:9). This shout of exaltation is but one verse, Psalm 118:26, in a series of Psalms known as the Hallel Psalms. Hallel means "praise Elohim (God)." It is where we get the word Halleluiah which means "praise Yahweh Elohim (Lord God)."

These Psalms would be sung as the people pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and more importantly they were sung during the Passover liturgy itself in the first century.

The fact that it was five days before Passover is also significant. In the first century there was a sacrificial flock raised outside of Jerusalem so when pilgrims came that could purchase a lamb for sacrifice. In Exodus 12, where the institution of the Passover is recounted, the people were to take a one year old male lamb, and on the tenth day of the month begin to inspect the lamb for blemishes until the fourteenth day of the month, which was the day of Passover. In the first century the sacrificial flock was brought in to Jerusalem on the tenth day of that month.

It is not a coincidence that Jesus will come into Jerusalem on the tenth day and then in the proceeding days undergo inspection by Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate. John the Baptist had already pointed out that Jesus is, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn. 1:29). It is also no coincidence that while being inspected by Pilate he is declared to be without fault (cf. Jn. 18:38; 19:4, 6).

Interestingly scholars have noticed a conspicuous absence from the retelling of the Last Supper, which was a Passover meal, namely there is no mention of a lamb. On the contrary, there is in fact mention of a lamb. Jesus is the lamb. There doesn’t need to be any other lamb. Also, like the Passover institution of Exodus makes abundantly clear, those celebrating the Passover must eat the lamb in order to be saved. Jesus, through his words of consecration, gives the apostles the true lamb that must be eaten, his very own body, blood, soul and divinity. This is so they might be saved and attain eternal life" (cf. Jn. 6:53-56).

The sacrifice of the Lamb begins in the upper room and continues all the way to Calvary. John, who was at the foot of the cross, makes sure that we do not miss the fact that Jesus is the new and eternal Lamb of God. He wants us to know that a hyssop branch was used to raise wine to Jesus’ lips. Hyssop was what was used in the first Passover to put the blood of the lamb of the door posts and lintel of the homes (cf. Ex. 12:22). He also wants us to know that Jesus did not have his bones broken so that what is written in Exodus 12:46 might be fulfilled, "not a bone of him shall be broken" (Jn. 19:36).

Isaac and Jesus

In addition to this connection with Passover, the overall context of the passion and crucifixion narrative helps us to realize that there is a fulfillment of something that took place in Abraham’s day.

Abraham was called by God to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. Isaac will ask, "Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (Gen. 22:7). Abraham responds, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son" (Gen. 22:8). Every since then the people have been waiting for the lamb.

God the Father did in fact provide himself the lamb for sacrifice, his only beloved son, the Second Person of the Trinity now become flesh for our salvation.

My God, My God

However, we know that the Lamb would not remain slain. We know this from the context of the suffering servant songs of Isaiah, from the context of the offering of Isaac and paradoxically from the words Jesus utters from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk. 15:34).

In Isaiah we learn that the suffering servant, the lamb that was led to the slaughter, "shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high…he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand…" (52:13; 53:10).

In the context of Abraham’s offering of Isaac we learn that Abraham expected that he and his son would go off and worship and "come again to you" (Gen. 22:5). The Letter to the Hebrews makes clear what is going on in Abraham’s mind: "He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead" (11:19). And interestingly, Isaac is delivered back to his father "on the third day…" (Gen 22:4).

We know that the Lamb would not remain slain through Jesus’ cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk. 15:34). Jesus, from the cross, is quoting the opening line of the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, and by doing this the whole Psalm is taken as being referenced. These are the opening lines to Psalm 22.

This Psalm opens with a cry of dereliction, but the more important thing is that it ends in a confident expectation that God will deliver him. As Mary Healy notes in her commentary, The Gospel of Mark, "the lament turns into a song of praise. The sufferer begins to celebrate God’s liberation, and vows to declare the greatness of God to his brethren in the midst of the assembly" (321).

Conclusion

As we begin the celebration of Holy Week let us call to mind the fact that the same people who cried out "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" also cried out "Crucify him!" (Mk. 11:9; 15:13).

The same people who greeted him upon his triumphal entry also chose the notorious Barabbas to be released. Fascinatingly the name Barabbas means "son of the father." Of course we know that Jesus is the true Son of the Father. However, each and every moment of every day we can turn against him through our sins, which is in effect crying out "crucify him!"

Let us pray to the Lord that we be freed from the slavery to the sins we commit so that we might live in true freedom as sons and daughters of God the Father, in union with Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.