MATTHEW 21:1-11
Matthew described the event as the deliberate attempt by Jesus to reveal himself a peaceful Messiah. He did this by quoting one of Israel’s prophets directly as he so often did (Zech. 9:9-10). Matthew also alludes to it by the choice of the mount Jesus made in sending two of his disciples into Bethphage to bring him the humblest of beasts of burden. Zechariah’s prophecy symbolized the peaceful choice of a victorious monarch selecting a donkey as his mount instead of a conqueror’s proud steed for his triumphal entry into his capital city. Inevitably the prophecy became attached to the messianic vision of both Jews and Christians. Though he had no intention of being king, Jesus’ disciples and others thwarted him by throwing their garments and branches before him as Jehu had been hailed as king in 2 Kings 9:13.
The early Christians drew many of the narratives about the life and ministry of Jesus from their Jewish background, no matter whether the events so reported were historical or not. Many progressive scholars now declare quite openly that the gospel authors, beginning with Mark, wrote the narrative of the Passion with metaphorical references to many passages in the Hebrew Scriptures. This certainly was one of them.
Did strewing the ground with garments and branches refer to Isaiah’s hailing the returning exiles with “a voice that cries: prepare a road for the Lord through the wilderness” (Isa. 40:3)? Or was it no more than a sign of honor and spontaneous enthusiasm by those caught up in the excitement of the moment?
According to Luke, only the disciples participated in the celebration, but the text also suggests that the crowd remained silent while the Pharisees complained. Matthew and Mark implied that the crowd turned the incident into a messianic demonstration, which may have been precisely the opposite of Jesus’ intention. Could it also have been Matthew’s sense of the drama about to unfold with tragic consequences?
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The part of Isaiah written in exile (Chapters 40-55) contains four servant songs, sections that interrupt the flow of the book but have a unity within themselves. The first (42:1-7) begins “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen ...”; in the second (49:1-7) the servant, abused and humiliated, is commissioned anew; in the third (our passage) he is disciplined and strengthened by suffering; and in the fourth (52:17-53:12) even the Gentiles are in awesome contemplation before the suffering and rejected servant. In late Judaism, he was seen as the perfect Israelite, one of supreme holiness, a messiah. In the gospels, Jesus identifies himself as the servant (or slave), the one who frees all people.
In vv. 4-6, God has “opened my ear”; he has commissioned the servant as one who is taught, i.e. like a disciple. God has made him a “teacher” (a prophet) of the “word” of God, to bring God’s comfort to “the weary”, his fellow Israelites – who reject God. He has accepted this command: he is not “rebellious”. They have tortured him (v. 6), as they did prophets before him, but he has accepted their “insult and spitting”. In vv. 7-9a, the servant says that, because God helps him, he is not disgraced; he confidently accepts the suffering (“set my face like flint”), and will not be put to shame. God will prove him right (“vindicates”, v. 8). He is willing to face his “adversaries”, his accusers – for the godly to “stand up together” with him against the ungodly. He is confident that, with God’s help, none will declare him guilty.
Philippians 2:5-11
In vv. 1-4, Paul has urged the Christians at Philippi, through “encouragement in Christ”, and moved by God’s love for them, to “be of the same mind[set], having the same love, being in full accord ...”. They are to “regard others as better than ... [themselves]”, freely adopting a lowly, unassertive stance before others, replacing self-interest with concern for others.
Vv. 5-11 are an early Christian hymn to which Paul has added v. 8b. He exhorts his readers to be of the same mindset as Jesus – one that is appropriate for them, given their existence “in Christ” (v. 5). Christ was “in the form of God” (v. 6): he was already like God; he had a God-like way of being, e.g. he was not subject to death. He shared in God’s very nature. Even so, he did not “regard” being like God “as something to be exploited”, i.e. to be grasped and held on to for his own purposes. Rather, he “emptied himself” (v. 7), made himself powerless and ineffective - as a slave is powerless, without rights. He took on the likeness of a human being, with all which that entails (except sin), including “death” (v. 8). As a man, he lowered (“humbled”) himself, and throughout his life in the world, was fully human and totally obedient to God, even to dying. (Paul now adds: even to the most debasing way of dying, crucifixion – reserved for slaves and the worst criminals.)
God actively responded to this total denial of self, his complete living and dying for others, by placing him above all other godly people (“highly exalted him”, v. 9), and bestowing on him the name, title and authority of “Lord” (v. 11) over the whole universe (“heaven”, v. 10, “earth”, “under the earth”). God has given him authority which, in the Old Testament, he reserved for himself. (Isaiah 45:22-25)
Submitted by Dick Nelson
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