April 9, Liturgy of the Passion

Read the author's column on the liturgy of the Palms.

The lectionary passage from Isaiah gives honor to the “tongue of a teacher.” Throughout his life, Jesus has carried the roles of prophet and priest, healer and even king. Yet it is his identity as rabbi, as teacher, that marks his last days. While the Gospel of John is known for Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples, Jesus is no less a teacher at the end of his ministry in Matthew—though in attitude and action as well as in word.

As the beginning of the end unfolds, Jesus self-identifies as teacher (didaskalos). Through each interaction that follows, he teaches us. He shows us how he himself keeps learning, keeps his ears open to “listen as those who are taught”—not for his own benefit but so that he may “sustain the weary with a word” (Isa. 50:4). He models humility without humiliation, insult without disgrace. Each scene in the last chapters of Matthew offers hard-won lessons in the life of faith.