Good Friday Scriptural Reflection--Fr. Bert

Scripture: Lectionary # 41. Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Psalm
31:2.6.12-13.15-16.17.25. Hebrews 4:14-16.5.7-9. John:Passion Narrative
18:1-19:42:

Jesus, on this day, is the Suffering Servant, who when lifted up (on the
Cross) will draw all to himself. Our first reading has one of the most
contested and interpreted texts of the Scriptures both as found in the
Hebrew texts and in the forty citations of it in the Koine Greek of the New
Testament. In John, the Servant of God, Jesus is "lifted up" on the Cross
as he returns to his Father. This term 'lifted up" is also found in Isaiah
53:1 and probably is the source for John's theology of the triumph of Jesus
while being lifted up on the Cross. We have been reading and listening the
the Suffering Servant songs from Isaiah but today's passage is the
highpoint of these hymns. The earliest testimony of the Christians about
Jesus' death depend on interpreting it in the light of this passage and
that of Psalm 22. It is difficult to interpret not only in Judaism but
also in Christian exegetical studies. In Jewish interpretation it can have
many implications; here are a few: 1) the Servant can mean the entire
community of Israel redeemed by God; 2) it could mean the faithful
"remnant" that survives the Babylonian Captivity; 3) it is also seen as an
ideal description of the Servant Leader of God, the Suffering Servant; 4)
Moses and Jeremiah have been identified as the Suffering Servant.

Does it refer to the Messiah? According to the historical critical study
of Isaiah 52-53 it does not mean the Messiah. However, the early Christian
converts who came from Jewish origins did interpret this passage as
referring to Jesus as a prefigurement of what he would undergo in his
sufferin and death and his triumph in his resurrection. The fact that it
is cited more often than other texts from the Hebrew Scriptures shows that
the evangelists saw it and reread their own scriptures as a text that
explained Jesus' passion, death and resurrection. Jesus thus is not a
threat to the Romans for he is not a royal messianic figure nor a political
one. Even less is he a zealot or power-laden messiah; He is simply a
Suffering Servant of God modeled in the likeness of the divine revealed
text of Isaiah.

John's Passion Narrative is always proclaimed on Good Friday. His Gospel
reflects some of the themes that are easily seen in our above citation from
Isaiah 52:13-53:12. In Isaiah 53:1 the theme of "being lifted up" is
evident. John uses this term to refer to Jesus' crucifixion. The Synoptics
(Mark, Matthew, and Luke) predict Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection
three times; John prefers to speak of it as his "being lifted up" in glory.
Thus there are parallels in John in Isaiah 53:1 with the three "lifting up"
verses in John, namely, John 3:14, 8:28; and 12:34. John 1:29 has a
reference to Jesus as the "lamb of God" another theme present in Isaiah
52-53. In fact, the word for lamb in the Aramaic would be talya (a child or
"servant"). Finally, in John's first epistle (I John 3:5) there is an
allusion to Isaiah 53:9. We know that in the Fourth Gospel, Jesus is being
led to the Cross at the same time the lambs were being slaughtered in
preparation for the Passover meal and celebration. We are inundated with
texts from Isaiah that are used in the New Testament to identify Jesus as
the chosen Servant of God, albeit it, a suffering servant. These texts and
the Passion Narrative are primary sources for our serious prayer and
meditation about the person of Jesus on the day he died which we now call
Good Friday. Amen.