As Jesus concluded the Passover meal with his disciples there is a verse that is nearly always left out of the readings when this is read in sermons and at the Lord’s Supper. The verse right after Jesus finishes instituting the Lord’s Supper is this,
“When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
It seems insignificant…like throw away words but these words tell us something highly significant. Because we know this was a Passover meal (Matt 26:17-19) we know certain things about this meal including how the meal ends. The meal ends in singing and the songs that are sung are the Hallel psalms (Psalm 113-118). The Hallel psalms talk about God who helps the needy and God who delivered their ancestors from the Exodus. That is why these psalms are sung. The Hallel psalms conclude with Psalm 118. I can only imagine Jesus knew all that was about to happen down to the finest detail. As you read Psalm 118 pay close attention to the details and to what is about to happen to Jesus as this was probably the last song Jesus sang before his death (aside from pushing out the opening line of Psalm 22 on the cross),
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Imagine Jesus, in his mind’s eye, imagining the events that are about to unfold as he defiantly sings this victory song…Imagine him singing, “O give thanks to the Lord for He is good…his steadfast love endures forever” as Judas walks to the high priest.
Imagine him singing, “Out of my distress I called on YHWH” as Jesus imagines his walk to the garden where he will cry out to God for a cup that will not pass from him.
Imagine him singing, “With the Lord on my side I do not fear – what can mortals do to me?” seeing the soldiers arrest him, bind him, beat him…
How hard would it be to sing, “There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous…I shall not die but live…the Lord has punished me severely but he did not give me over to death…or…This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes – this is the day the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it”? when you know all that is about to happen?
Through singing this song, Jesus shows us what it is like to stick your thumb in the eye not just of the empire but of Satan himself who will not get the best of the people of God. Instead we sing in the tension. We sing in complete defiance because we know who is truly in charge and we know victory is coming. Praise the Lord!
5 Responses
Many of us have sang with our lips quivering; we have sang between the sobs and the screaming…but we still sing.
…and so as not to sound like “always the victim”, yes, our lips have quivered and we have sobbed for what has happened to us; but also for what we have done to others and to ourselves…but we still sing.
Matt, Larry Cheek from posts on oneinjesus. I see Jay has not been able to communicate for a while, I remember that he encouraged us to also comment on wineskins. I have tried to register, it does not recognize my email as a proper address. I tried to log in through facebook and it says that it is not accepting my registration now. I do have a wordpress blog which the local college had created in a class I had attended which I never used, have not tried it yet, but it does not make any sense why registration will not accept my information. Registration is required to comment. Could I have been tagged as rebellious by comments at oneinjesus? My e-mail larry dot cheek at g-mail dot com. I see that my information had already been filled in in the blanks below, evidently by google.
Larry I am sending you an email on how to login to wineskins. You now have an account in the system. I am sorry about the trouble getting the account created! Thank you so much for asking!
If we could just replace the taking of the contribution with this song, this would be better pairing.
esp.vs.17 “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.”