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The Psalms strengthened Jesus for his ultimate trial

June 11, 2024
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Daily Scripture

Mark 14:22-26, Psalm 118:1-9, 17

Mark 14
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 I assure you that I won’t drink wine again until that day when I drink it in a new way in God’s kingdom.” 26 After singing songs of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the LORD because he is good,
    because his faithful love lasts forever.
2 Let Israel say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
3 Let the house of Aaron say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
4 Let those who honor the LORD say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
5 In tight circumstances, I cried out to the LORD.
    The LORD answered me with wide-open spaces.
6 The LORD is for me [or with me]—I won’t be afraid.
    What can anyone do to me?
7 The LORD is for me—as my helper.
    I look in victory on those who hate me.
8 It’s far better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust any human.
9 It’s far better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust any human leader.

17 I won’t die—no, I will live
    and declare what the LORD has done.

Daily Reflection & Prayer

Jesus led a Passover meal with his disciples and redefined it. Mark didn’t have to explain “songs of praise” in detail. By tradition, Psalm 118 was the last hallel (praise hymn) Hebrews sang at Passover. It praised God’s steadfast love. Mark 14:26 clearly implied that Jesus, just before his arrest and crucifixion, sang with childlike faith, “The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” and “Give thanks to the Lord because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever.”

  • The Psalmist asked the simple yet profound question, “The Lord is for me…. What can anyone do to me?” To what extent are you able to trust that God is indeed “for” you? How much stronger is that level of trust for you on a beautiful, sunny morning when all is going well than on a cold, gray day when you’ve received troubling news that made you sad?
  • Passover worshippers sang, “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?” (Psalm 118:6) and “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done” (Psalm 118:17). How could those words have held special meaning for Jesus as he sang them hours before his crucifixion? How do they speak to any fear you carry? What can you proclaim about what the Lord has done for you?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, sometimes when upset we’ll think or say, “I didn’t ask to be born.” But that’s also true when loved ones gather, when warm homes shelter us from the cold, or when health lets us play games or pursue hobbies we enjoy. Thank you for the gifts of my life. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Jennifer Creagar

Jennifer Creagar

Jennifer Creagar serves as the Community Assistance Coordination Director in Resurrection's Congregational Care Ministry. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography. Jennifer has faithfully written Insights blogs for a long time--the one we're reading today first came to us in 2017.

I’m a Baby Boomer, and we Boomers were given some interesting reasons to be thankful as we were growing up. We were told to “Eat your dinner, there are starving children in Africa who would be grateful for those green beans,” and “Be thankful for all the good things you have because there are people in this world who are not so blessed.” These may have not been the healthiest messages we ever received. Comparison to others is not a good reason to be filled with gratitude.

In truth, comparison of any kind is a killer of joy and the enemy of living a life grounded in gratitude. We will always be able to find someone whose life seems more difficult than our own, and someone whose life seems much easier and even more blessed. That doesn’t mean that we are somehow more deserving than the person who is suffering, or that we are less loved by God when we see someone who appears to be more “blessed.”

Years ago, right before Thanksgiving, I found out I had cancer, and I was not feeling particularly grateful. Mad, sad, scared–but certainly not grateful. A friend, who had experienced cancer herself, told me this: “A lot of people are going to say stupid things. A lot of people are going to tell you to be grateful you found this early, that it isn’t a different kind of cancer, that you have a wonderful family. All of that is probably true, but that’s not why you can still be grateful. If you can realize that no matter what happens, God is with you and you are never going to be alone, you will feel grateful and blessed. Not blessed by cancer. That’s not a blessing. Blessed by God’s presence in your life and promise to never leave you, no matter what.”

In today’s GPS, the Psalmist gave us the real reason for joy and for gratitude: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever.” There is nothing there about looking at anyone else. Joy and gratitude are about me and God, and about you and God. Joy and gratitude are about the fact that God is good and faithful, and his love lasts into eternity; that it is unshakable, so we do not have to be afraid. The Scripture today tells us that Jesus led his followers in songs of praise before they went out to the Mount of Olives and the path to his crucifixion. They sang about the Lord’s faithfulness and love that lasts forever and gave thanks for that fact, which cannot be compared to anything else.

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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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