{"id":902066,"date":"2024-02-10T14:54:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T19:54:39","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-06-23T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:08:54","slug":"bible-study-palm-sunday-b-march-24-2024","status":"publish","type":"bible_study","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/bible_study\/bible-study-palm-sunday-b-march-24-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Study: Palm Sunday (B) \u2013 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/palm-sunday-word-b\/\">RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PS-2024-Bible-Study-Graphic-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-302067\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-isaiah-50-4-9\"><strong>Isaiah 50:4-9<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biblical scholars largely place this passage within what is called \u201cDeutero-Isaiah,\u201d the second of three movements in the Book of Isaiah dating to the end of the Babylonian Exile or the early post-exilic period. The passage contains the third of Isaiah\u2019s four songs about the \u201csuffering servant,\u201d who is often identified as the book\u2019s titular prophet, the Messiah, the people of Israel, or some combination of these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this passage, the servant self-identifies as both a student and teacher who is tasked with providing God\u2019s weary people with sustaining words while in exile. God teaches these words to the servant each day and the servant dutifully relays God\u2019s words to the people of Israel, even when doing so results in the servant suffering ridicule or violent persecution. Trusting in God to bring justice and salvation, the servant willingly and self-sacrificially endures this suffering with a \u201cface like flint:\u201d an extremely dense rock used in ancient tool building that signifies the firm resolve of the servant in the face of suffering. But as flint has also been used since antiquity to start fires, the willful suffering of the servant serves as an example for Israel of steadfast and self-sacrificial love for God and neighbor: an example that\u2014when emulated\u2014can spark exponentially more examples for Israel\u2019s neighbors to follow until the world is engulfed in God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Like the suffering servant, Christians are called to proclaim God\u2019s word to a world that often proves hostile to the Gospel. Have you ever experienced hostility or endured suffering when proclaiming the Gospel? What happened? How did you respond?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In our Baptismal Covenant, we vow to \u201cproclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ\u201d (BCP, 305). What is one way this week that you can proclaim the Gospel by example? What is one way you can encourage others to follow this example?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-psalm-31-9-16\"><strong>Psalm 31:9-16<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Psalter is filled with expressions of intense human emotion: the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. In this passage from Psalm 31, we encounter the Psalmist expressing one of their lowest moments. Sorrow and grief compounded with enmity and persecution from friend and enemy alike have resulted in an affliction that has entirely consumed the Psalmist, whose very body is being destroyed by trauma. Suffering is ubiquitous to the human experience, and whether or not we have suffered to the extent expressed in this passage, the Psalmist\u2019s pain and the physical manifestations of that pain are deeply relatable. And in the midst of such immense suffering, perhaps we can understand the Psalmist\u2019s feelings of uselessness and abandonment. <strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Psalmist knows that their abandonment is not absolute. Though the Psalmist has \u201cbecome a reproach to all,\u201d they know that God has not abandoned them. Even as their body is wasting away, the Psalmist remains confident that God is present and in control. Despite the suffering experienced at the hands of their enemies, the Psalmist affirms that it is God alone who is in control over their life and surrenders all their pain and grief into God\u2019s saving hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have you\u2014like the Psalmist\u2014had an experience of intense grief or sorrow that resulted in physical symptoms? How did you find relief? <strong><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Psalmist writes elsewhere that \u201cThe Lord is near to the brokenhearted\u201d (Ps. 34:18). Where have you witnessed God\u2019s presence and control amid great suffering? <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-philippians-2-5-11\"><strong>Philippians 2:5-11<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this passage from Paul\u2019s Letter to the Philippians, the apostle encourages the church at Philippi to frame their thoughts, deeds, and entire lives on the example set by Christ. Paul then appeals to an early Christian hymn to articulate the nature of Christ\u2019s example. The hymn describes Jesus\u2019 incarnation as a process of self-emptying (or <em>kenosis<\/em>), whereby the divine adopted our humanity. And rather than choosing to be born to a wealthy or powerful family, Christ\u2019s <em>kenosis <\/em>goes even further, instead being raised in the lowly town of Nazareth. Though himself divine, the Lord of all, with the name above all others, Jesus consistently spent his life identifying with and serving the least, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. But Christ\u2019s life of self-emptying goes further still, culminating in his sacrificial death on the cross. <strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With this Christ hymn, Paul tells the Philippians and all Christians that the example set by Jesus Christ is a life of humility, self-emptying, and obedient self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Paul encourages us to model our entire lives after this example, prefacing this passage with an exhortation to \u201clook not to [our] own interests but to the interests of others\u201d (Phil. 2:4). This means loving our neighbors\u2014especially the most vulnerable among us\u2014even when doing so requires us to empty ourselves of our notions of status, convenience, or comfort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who are the vulnerable\/marginalized people in your community? How do you identify with them? What barriers might prevent you from identifying with them?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is one act of loving service you can offer this week for the sake of the vulnerable\/marginalized people in your community? What might you need to empty yourself of to complete this act of loving service? <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mark-14-1-15-47\"><strong>Mark 14:1-15:47<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Markan account of the Passion, we encounter the culmination of this week\u2019s readings. Like the Psalmist, Jesus is abandoned, denied, and betrayed by his friends, and the extent of his grief is made clear in Gethsemane. But even in his grief (again like the Psalmist), Jesus obediently surrenders himself to the will of God. Like Isaiah\u2019s suffering servant and as stated in the Christ hymn quoted by Paul, Jesus willingly endures derision, abuse, and all manner of suffering until his brutal death on the cross: Christ\u2019s perfect example of self-sacrificial love for the sake of the whole world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, Jesus had lived his entire life as such an example and this passage depicts several people who have been inspired to follow in his self-sacrificial footsteps. The woman at Simon\u2019s house sacrificing nearly a year\u2019s wages to anoint Jesus for burial, Simon of Cyrene taking Jesus\u2019 cross upon his own shoulders, Joseph of Arimathea boldly requesting Jesus\u2019 lifeless body before dressing and laying it in his own hewn tomb, and Mary, Mary, and Solome bearing witness to Christ\u2019s passion and staying to witness his burial after sundown on the day of Preparation: each has begun to follow Christ\u2019s example by offering their life as a living sacrifice to their God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Of those in this passage who have begun to follow Christ\u2019s self-sacrificial example, who do you find most inspiring? Do you know any such inspiring people in your own life?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As we commemorate Christ\u2019s sacrificial life and death this Holy Week, what sacrifices might God be inviting you to make to better love both God and neighbor?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-ce09f7ee-f7dd-4ac4-8d51-e42226624f67\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Palm-Sunday-Bible-Study.docx\">Word \u2013 Palm Sunday (B) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Palm-Sunday-Bible-Study.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-ce09f7ee-f7dd-4ac4-8d51-e42226624f67\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-ada11f8f-6ed7-4f11-80f5-1ec4badd37b5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Palm-Sunday-Bible-Study.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Palm Sunday (B) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Palm-Sunday-Bible-Study.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-ada11f8f-6ed7-4f11-80f5-1ec4badd37b5\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 Isaiah 50:4-9 Biblical scholars largely place this passage within what is called \u201cDeutero-Isaiah,\u201d the second of three movements in the Book of Isaiah dating to the end of the Babylonian Exile or the early post-exilic period. The passage contains the third of Isaiah\u2019s four songs about&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,36,52,3],"tags":[291],"class_list":["post-902066","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-holy-week","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-palm-sunday-b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":36,"label":"Holy Week"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":291,"label":"Palm Sunday B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/902066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/902066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952026,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/902066\/revisions\/952026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}