Jesus Sang

 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

Hi Friends!

Resurrection Sunday was a week ago, but something stood out to me as I was reading about Jesus' last night; and I just this weekend had time to journal it. The night before He went to the cross, Jesus sang. Knowing full well what was to come, He sang. And it wasn't a sad song that Jesus sang. He and His disciples were celebrating Passover. During Passover, Psalms 113-118 were generally sung. They are noted for joy and thanksgiving and are called the Hallel psalms. Since it was at the end of their meal, the hymn referred to in verse 26 was most likely Psalm 118. Guess how it starts:

1- Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Jesus knew what was about to happen to Him. He knew He would be betrayed by Judas. He knew Peter would deny knowing Him. He knew all His disciples would scatter. He knew He would have to go through illegal trials and that He would be mocked and beaten horribly. Jesus knew He would hang on a cross in agonizing pain. He knew, and yet He still gave thanksgiving to the Father.

Verses 5-7 of Psalm 118 speak to hard times:

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.

What must Jesus have been thinking when He sang these verses? There are no harder times than what He was about to endure. He was on His way to the Mount of Olives where He would cry out to the Father, pleading with Him if there were any other way. But of course, there was not another way. And Jesus was obedient. The Father was with Him, as always, except that when Jesus hung on the cross bearing our sins, then He experienced separation from the Father. How unbearable that must have been for Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father! I can't imagine. Mere mortals mocked Him, beat and abused Him, crucified Him. But they weren't in control. No, not at any point were they in control. Jesus controlled it all. And He triumphed over the enemy.

We should be familiar with Psalm 118:22-24:

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.

Let us rejoice TODAY and be glad. That day, the day before His death, Jesus was able to rejoice and be glad. And He, of course, is the Cornerstone. He knew He would be rejected and killed, but this was the day the Lord had made. This day- there would be no other like it. Jesus sang as if that day would be a good day, not an awful one. It was THE DAY. Jesus willingly went to the cross that day for each of us. We can rejoice in that day because of what He did for us.

Psalm 118 ends with these final verses:

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.

Jesus sang praise and thanksgiving to the Father. He was about to endure savage cruelty that was completely undeserved, not that cruelty is ever deserved, but He was utterly innocent. And yet, as He and the disciples sang, they pronounced that God the Father was in complete control. Jesus knew. And He praised. And He thanked. And He rejoiced. What an amazing Savior we have.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Grunge Elements 3, Brotherly Love, Note This, Playful Alpha, and the Make Music stencil. I applied distress oxides to the page with sponge daubers for the background. And colored in "Jesus" with Prismacolor pencils. Before stamping, I spritzed the page with water so the distress oxides would react with the water.

Have a blessed week. Read Psalm 118 and praise our Lord! Andrea