Hallelujah!

"This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made," the congregation sang joyfully in church last night. Later, when Howard, who was leading the service, asked for testimonies, I shared something I had learned about this song. This was the hymn that Jesus and the disciples sang after the last supper as he was on his way to the cross!

It is from Psalm 118:24, which is part of the Hallel that was sung at Jewish festivals such as the Passover. The Bible says in Matthew 26:30, "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." Jesus, as a Jew and a rabbi, would have known the Hallel and and its implications.

Jesus had just presented them with the object lesson of the passover meal, which was traditionally the lamb, unleavened bread, and wine. But in his illustration, Jesus does not mention the lamb. Even though the disciples didn't realize it, this was because Jesus himself was the Lamb. As clearly as possible, Jesus tells them that the wine is His blood of the new testament and the broken bread is His body.

Peter had previously protested that Jesus should not die, and now he swears that he will never deny Christ. It is clear that he cannot accept what is about to happen. But another verse in Psalms 118, says, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head stone of the corner," verse 22. They had all sung the hymn that night but didn't realize it was being fulfilled in their ears.

Even now, as we celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus when he came into the world, many do not know or even acknowledge His birth. Instead, Christmas is almost an orgy of excess and self-indulgence, creating greed and distraction from its real meaning, especially among the young and impressionable, who are fed a diet of ever more ridiculous scenarios from the media "Christmas" presentations.

A history-making, world-changing event on which the calendar of history turns occured some 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born. It was so important that the very hosts of heaven heralded it in blinding brilliance in a celestial event to terrified shepherds who searched until they found the newborn Babe. Wise men who watched the heavens recognized the significance of the star, indicating a King had been born.

Although we don't know the date, it is well-documented that Jesus was born. And although we celebrate His birth, instead, we are asked to remember His death with the Lord's Supper. Because of Him, we can indeed sing, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!".