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From: Isaiah 50:4-9a

Third Song of the Servant of the Lord

[4] The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught; that
I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by
morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
[5] The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned
not backward. [6]I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those
who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

[7] For the LORD GOD helps me; therefore I have not been confounded;
therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not
be put to shame; [8] he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend
with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come
near me. [9a] Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty?

Commentary:

50:4-9. The second song dealt with the servant’s mission (cf. 49:6);
the third song focuses on the servant himself. The term “servant” as
such does not appear here, and therefore some commentators read the
passage as being a description of a prophet and not part of the songs.
Still, the context (cf. 50:10) does suggest that the protagonist is
the servant. The poem is neatly constructed in three stanzas, each
beginning with the words, “The Lord God” (vv. 4, 5, 7), and it has a
conclusion containing that same wording (v. 9). The first stanza
emphasizes the servant’s docility to the word of God; that is, he is
not depicted as a self-taught teacher with original ideas, but as an
obedient disciple. The second (vv. 5-6) speaks of the suffering that
that docility has brought him, without his uttering a word of
complaint. The third (vv. 7-8) shows how determined the servant is: if
he suffers in silence, it is not out of cowardice but because God
helps him and makes him stronger than his persecutors. The conclusion
(v. 9) is like the verdict of a trial: when all is said and done, the
servant will stand tall, and all his enemies will be struck down.

The evangelists saw the words of this song as finding fulfillment in
Jesus--especially what the song has to say about the suffering and
silent fortitude of the servant. The Gospel of John, for example,
quotes Nicodemus’ acknowledgment of Christ’s wisdom: “Rabbi, we know
that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs
that you do, unless God is with him” (Jn 3:21). But the description of
the servant’s sufferings was the part that most impressed the early
Christians; that part of the song was recalled when they meditated on
the passion of Jesus and how “they spat in his face; and struck him;
and some slapped him” (Mt 26:67) and later how the Roman soldiers
“spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head” (Mt
27:30; cf. also Mk 15:19; Jn 19:3). St Paul refers to v. 9 when
applying to Christ Jesus the role of intercessor on behalf of the
elect in the suit pressed constantly against them by the enemies of
the soul: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” (Rom 8:33).

St Jerome sees the servant’s docility as a reference to Christ: “His
self-discipline and wisdom enabled him to communicate to us the
knowledge of the Father. And he was obedient onto death, death on the
cross; he offered his body to the blows they struck, his shoulders to
the lash; and though he was wounded on the chest and on his face, he
did not try to turn away and escape their violence” ("Commentarii In
Isaiam", 50, 4). This passage is used in the liturgy of Palm Sunday
(along with Psalm 22 and St Paul’s hymn in the Letter to the
Philippians 2:6-11), before the reading of our Lord’s passion.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 26:14-25

Judas Betrays Jesus

[14] Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the
chief priests [15] and said, "What will you give me if I deliver Him
(Jesus) to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. [16] And
from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Him.

Preparations for the Last Supper

[17] Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to
Jesus, saying, "Where will You have us prepare for You to eat the
Passover?" [18] He said, "Go into the city to such a one, and say to
him, `The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at
your house with My disciples.'" [19] And the disciples did as Jesus
had directed them, and they prepared for the Passover.

[20] When it was evening, He sat at table with the twelve disciples;
[21] and as they were eating, He said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you
will betray Me." [22] And they were very sorrowful, and began to say
to Him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" [23] He answered, "He who
has dipped his hand in the dish with Me, will betray Me. [24] The Son
of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he
had not been born." [25] Judas, who betrayed Him, said, "Is it I,
Master?" He said to him, "You have said so."

Commentary:

15. It is disconcerting and sobering to realize that Judas Iscariot
actually went as far as to sell the man whom he had believed to be the
Messiah and who had called him to be one of the Apostles. Thirty
shekels or pieces of silver were the price of a slave (cf. Exodus
21:32), the same value as Judas put on his Master.

17. This unleavened bread, azymes, took the form of loaves which had to
be eaten over a seven-day period, in commemoration of the unleavened
bread which the Israelites had to take with them in their hurry to
leave Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:34). In Jesus' time the Passover supper was
celebrated on the first day of the week of the Unleavened Bread.

18. Although the reference is to an unnamed person, probably our Lord
gave the person's actual name. In any event, from what other
evangelists tell us (Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10), Jesus gave the disciples
enough information to enable them to find the house.

22. Although the glorious events of Easter have yet to occur (which
will teach the Apostles much more about Jesus), their faith has been
steadily fortified and deepened in the course of Jesus' public ministry
(cf. John 2:11; 6:68-69) through their contact with Him and the divine
grace they have been given (cf. Matthew 16:17). At this point they are
quite convinced that our Lord knows their internal attitudes and how
they are going to act: each asks in a concerned way whether he will
prove to be loyal in the time ahead.

24. Jesus is referring to the fact that He will give Himself up freely
to suffering and death. In so doing He would fulfill the Will of God,
as proclaimed centuries before (cf. Psalm 41:10; Isaiah 53:7).
Although our Lord goes to His death voluntarily, this does not reduce
the seriousness of Judas' treachery.

25. This advance indication that Judas is the traitor is not noticed by
the other Apostles (cf. John 13:26-29).