Day 13. Jesus sang Hymns

Mark 14:26-31

26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ 28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

Directly before this passage of scripture you will read of the Passover meal that Jesus ate with his disciples (also known as the Last Supper). He predicted Judas’ betrayal, broke bread and explained that it was his body to be broken, and also drank the cup of wrath explaining that through His blood a new Covenant would be made for many who would receive Him as Lord. Then in verse 26 we find that the disciples sang a hymn with Jesus. We don’t really think of Jesus as someone who sang hymns, but he did. In fact the Hallel Psalms (113-118) were sung at the Passover Festival, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths when faithful Hebrews would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Hallel, which means “praise to God,” is where we get the word Hallelujah. It is important to note that these Hymns were always sung during festivals when the people would come to make sacrifices. This time the psalms were sung by the disciples along with The Lamb of God Himself who takes away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ. This is the moment that all of the sacrifices pointed to. Jesus was going to be a sacrifice for sin.

Think about this. How amazing would it be to sing the same hymn of praise as Jesus before He gave Himself for us as a sacrifice for sin. Well, you can! Remember, that Jesus is the reason we can sing praise to a God who receives our praise and gives us fellowship with Himself.

Psalm 113

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you his servants;
    praise the name of the Lord.
² Let the name of the Lord be praised,
    both now and forevermore.
³ From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.

⁴ The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
    his glory above the heavens.
⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
    the One who sits enthroned on high,
⁶ who stoops down to look
    on the heavens and the earth?

⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
⁸ he seats them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹ He settles the childless woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.