I did not retreat: Is 50, Phil 2, and the Passion according to Matthew on Palm Sunday

# Sunday of the Passion and Lord’s Passion Week

The opening of Holy Week is marked by the paradox that structures all Christian faith: the King enters Jerusalem on a donkey, hailed by crowds, and six days later dies as a criminal on a cross. Isaiah 50:4-7 presents the Servant of the Lord who did not falter in the face of scourging and insults because he knew the Lord would help him. Philippians 2:6-11 sings of Christ’s kenosis—from being equal to God, he emptied himself, took on the form of a servant, was obedient even to death on a cross, and God exalted him above all name. Matthew 26:14-27:66 narrates the Passion in its full extent: from Judas’ betrayal to Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. The three texts describe the same arc: the descent that is the path to exaltation, obedience that leads to glory.

## I. First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7

The third song of the Servant of the Lord presents an interlocutor who each morning receives from God a disciple’s tongue to speak to the weary words that sustain them. “The Lord GOD has opened my ears, and I have not resisted or withdrawn” (Is 50:5). The Servant offered his back to those who scourged him and his face to those who plucked off his beard: “I did not hide my face from insult and spitting” (v. 6). The reason for this non-resistance is not stoicism but faith: “The Lord GOD will help me; therefore I am not confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a stone, knowing that I shall not be put to shame” (v. 7). Face as a stone: not hardened by bitterness but firm in confidence. The Servant does not flee because he knows God sustains him. The Passion reading from Matthew that follows will narrate this firmness pushed to the limit.

## II. Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11

The hymn in the Letter to the Philippians is one of the densest texts in the New Testament. Christ Jesus, “being in divine nature, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped” (Phil 2:6): equality with God is the starting condition. But “he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, becoming like men” (v. 7). The kenosis is voluntary: it is not loss but choice. “Having taken on human form, he humbled himself even further, becoming obedient to the point of death, and death on a cross” (v. 8). The lowest point of the descent is the Cross: the instrument of execution for slaves and criminals. And precisely from this lowest point begins exaltation: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (v. 9). “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (vv. 10-11). The hymn in Philippians 2 is the hermeneutical key for all Holy Week: descent is the path to exaltation.

## III. The Passion: Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew’s Passion narrative recounts Jesus’ final days, from the Last Supper to his crucifixion and burial. It includes details of the Betrayal, Arrest, Trial before Pontius Pilate, Crucifixion, and finally, Joseph of Arimathea’s burial of Jesus. This passage is a powerful depiction of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, setting the stage for Easter Sunday’s triumph of life over death.

# The Passion According to Matthew

The Passion narrative centers on the figure of the Son of Man, who comes not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Judas approaches the chief priests and agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. At the Last Supper, Jesus establishes the Eucharist and foretells the betrayal. In Gethsemane, Jesus prays three times: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Mt 26:39). The disciples fall asleep. Jesus is arrested. Peter denies him three times. Jesus is judged by the Sanhedrin and later by Pilate. Pilate offers to release either Jesus or Barabbas. The crowd demands Barabbas. Pilate washes his hands: “I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood” (27:24). Jesus is flogged, crowned with thorns, carried to Golgotha, and crucified between two thieves. On the cross, darkness covers the land for three hours. Jesus cries out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (v. 46, Ps 22:2). He then gives up his spirit. The veil of the Temple rent in two, the earth quaked, and rocks cracked. The centurion and his soldiers declared: “Truly this was the Son of God” (v. 54). Jesus’ body was laid in a new tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.

## Mary and the Stabat Mater

Simeon said to Mary in the Temple, “A sword shall pierce through your soul” (Lk 2:35). The Passion fulfills this prophecy. Matthew does not mention Mary at the foot of the cross (this role is described by John, Jn 19:25-27), but he does record the presence of women watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (Mt 27:56). Tradition holds that Mary uniquely participated in her Son’s suffering, not through physical distance but interior presence. Isaiah 50 describes the Servant who “did not hide his face from shame.” Mary did not hide hers either; she remained until the end, observing what the disciples had fled to see. Philippians 2 states that Christ emptied himself. At the Passion, Mary too was emptied of all she had hoped for, understood during the thirty-three years prior, and every human security. Her emptiness at the foot of the cross is a maternal participation in the kenotic emptying of the Son. Holy Week begins with palm branches and hosannas; it ends on Holy Saturday, with the stone rolled away from the tomb and Mary watching over what no human eye yet comprehends.