Because everyone loves a good story
A Good Friday Meditation
“After they sang a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matt. 26:30).
It’s such a simple verse—one we’ve probably passed over dozens of times. It’s a brief sentence between the last supper and the crucifixion, so it’s no wonder we don’t often spend much time on it. But did you know that the text to this hymn is right there in the Bible? It’s a psalm of triumph and salvation, both historical and prophetic. That’s why putting these words in the mouth of our dying Savior only deepens my thankfulness and sorrow for all that he suffered for me.
Dramatic Irony
Maybe you’ve heard of the term “dramatic irony” before. It’s used in drama and literature to sharpen the poignancy of a situation in which the audience knows something important that the character doesn’t know. For example, if a character is bragging about his health and wealth and invincible youth as he flies down the road in his sports car, dramatic irony would be our knowing that the bridge is out ahead.
It happens in life as well as literature. For example, have you ever known some terrible news that you haven’t yet broken to your kids? They’re skipping joyfully through the day, playing and laughing as usual, but it breaks your heart to know what’s about to happen. I can’t help but think that’s how Jesus must be feeling as he sings this hymn with his friends.
The Hallel
The Jewish people are very faithful to their traditions. That’s why we know that, at the time of the Passover, Jesus and his disciples would have been singing the Hallel. Hallel means “praise” in Hebrew and refers to Psalms 113-118. These were songs of praise for Israel’s deliverance in the Old Testament, but the exclamations of joy and freedom take on a haunting, tragic shade in light of Jesus’ impending suffering. Some of them are also prophetic about the Messiah who was to come, which heightens the dramatic irony even more. Psalm 116 is an excellent example of this, but I’d like to focus on Psalm 118 since it’s the last thing Jesus sang before walking willingly to his death.
The justice, joy, and salvation spoken of in Psalm 118 were to be horrifically stripped from Jesus just hours after he sang this hymn. All the promises to God’s people were to be withheld from God’s own Son as he paid for their sin. Jesus knows what’s coming as he sings these words, but the disciples still seem to be ignorant. They probably sang it in autopilot or, if they were thoughtful, they would have sung it joyfully at the past salvation of God. But Jesus…I wonder if he could even get through the hymn. He was about to weep so hard in the garden that blood would seep out of his pores. Was he dry-eyed during this ironic, prophetic hymn? I certainly wouldn’t have been.
Psalm 118
The whole psalm is rich with Messianic foreshadowing, but I’ll only focus on a few verses for brevity’s sake. If you have time, though, read through the whole psalm (or the whole Hallel!) this Good Friday. I know it will make you appreciate even more the beautiful, tragic, triumphant plan of God.
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;/ the Lord answered me and set me free. Jesus called to the Father in distress, but the answer was silence. God had turned his face away as Jesus took on our sin so that he could answer us in our distress and set us free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear./ What can man do to me? It was God’s plan that the Father would forsake Jesus so that man could slaughter him. But because He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, we know that we have nothing more to fear.
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,/ and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,/ but he has not given me over to death. Jesus knew he would be given over to death, and he bore it willingly so we could live and recount the Gospel—the greatest deed of the Lord.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,/ that I may enter through them/ and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord;/ the righteous shall enter through it. Jesus is the gate through which we enter the presence of the Lord. He was torn open so we could be made righteous and enter through him.
22 The stone that the builders rejected/ has become the cornerstone./ 23 This is the Lord’s doing;/ it is marvelous in our eyes. Jesus was despised and rejected by men, cast out and killed by the religious of his day. All of this was the Lord’s doing in order to magnify Christ as supreme—a marvelous design.
27 The Lord is God,/ and he has made his light to shine upon us./ Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,/ up to the horns of the altar! He made the Light to be extinguished as Jesus, our sacrifice, was nailed to the cross. But he did that so his Light could shine on us eternally.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;/ for his steadfast love endures forever! Because of what Jesus suffered, we can all sing this together. His love endures forever!
And the most beautiful part of all is that God raised Jesus three days later, making these words not only joyfully historic and tragically ironic but also triumphantly prophetic! Jesus was once again restored to full glory and fellowship with the Father. The Stone which the builders rejected had become the Cornerstone at last. Hallelujah! I hope this psalm encourages your soul today, Sunday, and all year long.
3 Comments on “A Good Friday Meditation”
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I suspect that there’s a problem with your copy/paste from the ESV, which for all Grudem’s hoo-hah has the pedigree of the RSV and still follows Tyndale’s commoner method of caps for God’s name, Yahweh. [Lord] doesn’t cut it, depotentiates the text, in English reverts to Wycliffe slavish use of the Latin Vulgate, and feeds the West’s Sabellian slide (http://mdtc.eu/wggc100.html). It is better adjusted back to [LORD].
On v5, your reflection that [Jesus took on our sin ] nicely avoids the idea that he became sin, and highlights him as warrior—nicely worded. On vv17-8 you noted that Yeshua went beyond the psalmist by being given over to death, and his willingness to go the extra mile. Some good reflections, though [men] (on 22-3) might be a little sever on adult males of the human species—not all women or children welcomed God’s agents.
Thank you for your thoughts, Steve! I see what you mean about the use of “Lord” vs “LORD.” Translations always lose something, don’t they? Language can be clumsy.
That’s such an amazing Hymn and you’re right, I honestly never realized we were able to read it right there in the Psalms. What a beautiful hymn of what Christ has done for us. I truly don’t appreciate that daily. Thanks for the excellent post!