COMMENTARY

Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Yahweh's servant faces suffering confident of his help. This pericope constitutes the third of the four Servant Songs in Isaiah. Yahweh's servant hears his voice and is therefore fortified with determination to suffer mental agony in terms of ridicule, false accusations, humiliation, and shame. He suffers confidently because he believes Yahweh will vindicate, help, and pronounce him innocent.

Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus' humiliation and God's exaltation of him. Paul is pleading for unity in the Philippian congregation. He uses Jesus as an example of humility. In this pericope Paul shows the dual reality of the humanity and divinity of Jesus. His deity is indicated in the words "in the form of God" and "equality with God." His humanity is e…