Emphasis Contributors
Passion Sunday - B
Mark Ellingsen
The theme of Passion Sunday is about how God’s love shines through the cross and changes us.
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The First Lesson has its origins in the second oldest of the three distinct historical strands of prophecy which comprise the Book of Isaiah. It seems quite clearly not to have been the work of the 8th-century BC Prophet Isaiah who worked in Judah (the southern kingdom), but rather to have emerged soon after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 539 BC and so during the Babylonian Captivity. This text is taken from The Book of Consolation, a series of eschatological prophecies. It is the so-called third servant Song. There is much dispute about the identity of the servant in these songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:1-6; 52:13 – 53:12)....
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The First Lesson has its origins in the second oldest of the three distinct historical strands of prophecy which comprise the Book of Isaiah. It seems quite clearly not to have been the work of the 8th-century BC Prophet Isaiah who worked in Judah (the southern kingdom), but rather to have emerged soon after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 539 BC and so during the Babylonian Captivity. This text is taken from The Book of Consolation, a series of eschatological prophecies. It is the so-called third servant Song. There is much dispute about the identity of the servant in these songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:1-6; 52:13 – 53:12)....
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The sufferings of the servant in this passage are personified in Israel. That is what the prophet saw in a people destroyed by the Babylonians, their city leveled, their temple destroyed, their artifacts carried away by a jeering conqueror to a foreign land. Suffering, humiliation, and death. But the prophet was originally celebrating the survival of the people and the extraordinary miracle of their return.
The early Christians, whose scriptures were the Hebrew Bible, available to them in a Greek translation known as the Septuagint, interpreted the sufferings of the servant in this passage as personified in Jesus, who unjustly bore rejection and disfigurement, bearing our infirmities, and now, restored in resurrection, saving all of us “...
The sufferings of the servant in this passage are personified in Israel. That is what the prophet saw in a people destroyed by the Babylonians, their city leveled, their temple destroyed, their artifacts carried away by a jeering conqueror to a foreign land. Suffering, humiliation, and death. But the prophet was originally celebrating the survival of the people and the extraordinary miracle of their return.
The early Christians, whose scriptures were the Hebrew Bible, available to them in a Greek translation known as the Septuagint, interpreted the sufferings of the servant in this passage as personified in Jesus, who unjustly bore rejection and disfigurement, bearing our infirmities, and now, restored in resurrection, saving all of us “...
Lectionary Commentary and Sermon Illustrations
Emphasis Preaching Journal provides in-depth lectionary-based commentary on lectionary texts, plus thousands of sermon illustrations to help you create riveting sermons.For over 45 years, Emphasis has provided subscribers with scripturally sound, lectionary-based commentaries and sermon illustrations that connect with the people in the pews.
For each week, Emphasis writers delve into the heart of the lectionary readings, providing you with several fresh, solid ideas -- based squarely on the lectionary texts -- for creating sermons that speak powerfully to your audience. They look for overall themes that hold the readings together. Then, they zero in on the themes and the specific scripture links, suggesting directions for the sermon and worship service. Since a single idea each week may not provide what you are looking for at that particular time, writers suggest several, giving you the opportunity to select the one that matches your specific needs.