The Prophetic Jewel

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April 29, Great and Holy Friday – Isaiah 52:13-54:1 Third Reading at Vespers
The Prophetic Jewel: Isaiah 52:13-54:1, especially 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray. Man has gone astray in his way, and the Lord delivered Him over for our sins.” From earliest times the Church has approached today’s astounding prophecy as the fifth Gospel (Barrois, Face of Christ in the Old Testament, p. 120). This crown jewel among the riches of Isaiah is customarily read at Sixth Hour on Great and Holy Friday (and also at Vespers), recalling that portentous moment in AD 33 when from noon “until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land” (Mt 27:45). Surely we read these inspired words with dread in our hearts, fearing that we might be indulging in the mortal error of Uzzah, who foolishly stretched out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant (see 2 Kgs 6:6).

Father Paul Tarazi comments on the “chiastic” structure of this passage, meaning that its verses are arranged in the form of a cross, like the Greek letter X (chi):

A (52:13-15) B (53:1-3) C (53:4-6)

B’ (53:7-9) A’ (53:10-12)

In A, the Servant is glorified before kings, while in B He suffers and is humiliated. C reveals the fact that the Servant’s suffering is for the sin of His fellows. In B’, the Servant’s humiliation and suffering are unto death, while in A’ the Servant is glorified before the great and strong.

Note the crossing which occurs at the letter C. As Tarazi notes, “The new idea can be found at the center. . . . Its theme was not even hinted at by the previous poems [of Isaiah]” (Old Testament Introduction, vol. 2, p. 180). For us, the chiastic form of this famous prophecy of the Lord’s crucifixion warms the heart, calling forth our praise to God. Exploring Isaiah’s chiasm, let us examine its three central elements (A, B, and C).

A. Christ our God has been “exalted and glorified exceedingly” (vs. 52:13) through the ages since that day when He offered Himself up for our iniquities. He is the wonder of nations wherever His Gospel has been proclaimed (vs. 15). Isaiah thus begins with the glory that nations have raised to Christ. He ends with a similar announcement: “The Lord wishes to cleanse Him of His wound. . . . The Lord wishes to take away the pain of His soul, to show Him light . . . and to pronounce righteous the Righteous One who serves many well” (53:10- 11). As a result, “He shall inherit many . . . because His soul was delivered over to death. . . . and He bore the sins of many” (vs. 12).

B In verses 53:1-3 the Lord’s earthly ignominy is highlighted, while in 7-9 the cost of this humiliation becomes clear: “For His life is taken from the earth, and because of the lawlessness of My people He was led to death ” (vs. 8). According to Saint Nikolai of Zicha, Christ “clothed Himself in simple garments, so that He might impress us, not by His garb but by the power of His spirit. . . . By tradition, His face was swarthy and His hair chestnut-colored” (Prologue from Ochrid, vol. 3, p. 253). The saint reminds us that Christ transformed shame and humility into virtues not with words, but by offering His very life.

C In verses 53:4-6 the “fifth Gospel” is proclaimed most clearly. Theodoret of Cyrus pronounces this abiding judgment: “We each fall under the blow of chastisements for having sinned, but He, although He Himself was free from sin, bore His chastisements for our sake. . . . It is He Who has taken the chastisement on Himself and Who has granted us the peace” (Isaiah Through the Ages, p. 787). Christ, the uncreated divine Light Himself, illumines every word of this crown jewel of prophecy!

A salvation Thou produced in the midst of the earth, O Christ our God, when Thou didst stretch out Thy pure hands upon the Cross, calling together all the nations, who cry to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee. – Sixth Hour prayer, Great and Holy Friday
https://theocpm.org/april-29-great-and-holy-friday-isaiah-5213-541-third-reading-at-vespers/


Scripture Readings
Friday, April 29, 2016
Today’s commemorated feasts and saints

GREAT AND HOLY FRIDAY. Nine Martyrs at Cyzicus: Theognes, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichus, Artemas, Magnus, Theodotus, Thaumasius, and Philemon (3rd c.). Ven. Memnon the Wonderworker. Martyrs Diodorus and Rhodopianus—Deacon, at Aphrodisia in Anatolia (3rd-4th c.). St. Basil, Bishop of Ostrog in Montenegro (16th c.). Lazian Martyrs slain in Dudikvati and Papati (Georgian, c. 1820).