To celebrate Passover, Jewish worshipers sing Psalms 113–118, a section called the ‘Egyptian Hallel’. The ceremony builds to a crescendo of appreciation for freedom and the beauty of life given by God. It ends with participants singing and praising God both to please Him and to express their own pleasure. One rabbi explains it as experiencing the “emotional joy of freedom”.

Near the end of the Passover meal the second half of these Hallel psalms are sung. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn and “went out to the Mount of Olives” after celebrating their last Passover together (26:30). They may well have sung this psalm:

The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord’s doing;

It is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:22-24).

Regardless of which hymn they sang, the confidence Jesus had in the goodness of His heavenly Father is astounding. He was able to praise His Father even though He knew He was about to experience His darkest day.

Author

Julie Ackerman Link

Topics

Our Daily Bread