Psalm 118 in Jesus’ last week

Psalm 118 in Jesus’ last week

Psalm 118

 

Establish the need: Have you ever heard of the song, “This is the day that the LORD has made”?

 

Purpose: To marvel at this Messianic prophecies of Christ’s last week.

1. Psalm 118:26 on Palm Sunday
2. Psalm 118:22-23 mentioned by Jesus during the week
3. Psalm 118:22-24 on that DAY

 

Reminder:

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

Background

• This is a Hillel Psalm; The Jews would have read Psalm 113-118 during the three major religious holiday: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacle.  Psalm 118 would have been the last Psalm read.
• The part of verse we are reading in, is a bit different because of the shift of the subject of the “stone.”

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Psalm 117: Christ and love to the nations

Christ and love to the nations

Psalm 117

 

Establish the need: How does this short Psalm fit in with Jesus reading and singing it the night before He would die on the Cross?

 

Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! 2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!

 

Purpose: When we see others mock where is God we must continue to trust in God for two reasons:

1. We need to know the goal of the Messiah is for the nations to praise God (v.1)
2. We need to know the goal of the Messiah is to display God’s loving kindness (v.2)

 

Reminder:

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

Background

• This is the shortest Psalm and also the shortest chapter in the Bible.[4]
• Yet we should understand its brevity as the Psalm has something important to say, not that it has nothing to say.

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Psalm 116: Christ and the Cup of Salvation

Christ and the Cup of Salvation

Psalm 116 

Establish the need: Have you ever hear people mock with “Where, now, is their God?”

Purpose: When we see others mock where is God we must continue to trust in God for two reasons:

• Response to God (v.1-2)
  • The Messiah’s lowly experience (v.3-8)
  • The Messiah’s future hope (v.9-15)
• Response to God (v.16-19)

 

Reminder:

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

The Hallel Psalms broken down:[4]

 

Corporate Psalms                                            Personal

Praise                     113                                         116

Call to Nations     114                                           117

Praise                     115                                         118

 

Psalms 113-115 never uses “I, me, my.”[5]

But Psalms 116-118 uses “I, me, my” 72 times.[6]

Thus we are going to begin to see salvation described in very personal terms

Also the Psalm applies to all Christians but is especially relevant for Christ as He read and sang it.[7]

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Psalm 115: Christ, Mockers and Eternal Life

Christ, Mockers and Eternal Life

Psalm 115

Establish the need: Have you ever hear people mock with “Where, now, is their God?”

 

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth. 2 Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” 3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; 6 They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; 7 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel; [c]They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. 8 Those who make them [d]will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 11 You who [e]fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who [f]fear the Lord, The small together with the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, You and your children. 15 May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. 16 The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of men. 17 The dead do not praise [g]the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; 18 But as for us, we will bless [h]the Lord From this time forth and forever. Praise [j]the Lord!

 

Purpose: When we see others mock where is God we must continue to trust in God for two reasons:

• Trust God because He is gloriously at work (v.1-8)
• Trust God because He remembers us (v.9-18)

Reminder:

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

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Psalm 114: Christ and the Anticipation of Deliverance

Christ and the Anticipation of Deliverance

Psalm 114

Purpose: In this study we shall see two points to be at awe with God with His deliverance.

1. Be at awe with God’s deliverance in the Old Testament (v.1-3)
2. Be at awe with God’s deliverance anticipating Christ (v.4-8)

 

Situating Psalm 114

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

 

Note: This is not an easy Psalm to divide.  Charles Spurgeon said “I did not interrupt the reading of the Psalm by any exposition. It is a perfect whole, and could not well be divided without spoiling it.” [4]

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Psalm 113: Christ and the Anticipation of a Great Reversal

Christ and the Anticipation of A Great Reversal

Psalm 113

Establishing the Need: Have you ever wonder Scripture Jesus would have read the night before He would die on the Cross for our sins?  If you are just tuning in to our series this week you might to begin here: Why Study Psalms 113-118 Concerning the Last Week of Jesus’ Life?

 

Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forever. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high, 6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 To make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people. 9 He makes the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!

 

Purpose: In this study we shall see three lessons from this Psalm for our times of trouble.

• Be encouraged since God’s name will be praised from now to eternity (v.1-3)
• Be encouraged since no one is like our God (v.4-6)
• Be encouraged since God reserves things (v.7-9)

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Why Study Psalms 113-118 Concerning the Last Week of Jesus’ Life?

Why Study Psalms 113-118 Concerning the Last Week of Jesus’ Life?

 

Purpose: I am going to begin a daily blog series for this week as we head towards celebrating Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday to go over Psalm 113-118 in relations to the Last Week of Jesus’ Life and here are my three reasons.

Are You Aware of the 4 Gospels’ Focus on the Last Week of Jesus’ Life?  This is the most important week in world history.  Yes even more important than Creation Week in Genesis 1 and in fact that week is a Type anticipating the final week of Jesus’ last.  Jesus last week was God bringing about a New Creation in believers’ hearts, mind and Soul for salvation!

Yet why is studying Psalm 113-118 important for us in thinking about the last week of Jesus?  Here are the three reasons:

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This Palm Sunday Determine to Study Messianic Psalms

It’s Palm Sunday today.  This is observed by some Christians to recall Jesus’ final week before His crucifixion and resurrection.  The final week of Jesus’ life is indeed amazing.  It changed history.

For this Palm Sunday why won’t you consider immersing yourself in knowing the Messianic prophecies in the Bible?  Check out our “Messianic Psalms: 4 Messages” and listen to them with your Bibles handy.  It’s a worthwhile endeavor for this week.

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Bart Ehrman Questioning the Historicity of Jesus’ Triumphant Entry Part 2

Note: Long overdue!  This is part two of our critique of atheist and skeptic Bart Ehrman’s attack on Jesus’ so called “Triumphant entry” into Jerusalem as found in Ehrman’s book Did Jesus Exist?  I’m four years late but I suppose it is better late than never.  I begin first with a presentation of Ehrman’s views which is followed by part two of my response.

 I. BART EHRMAN’S VIEW 

Ehrman’s rejects the historicity of Jesus’ so called Triumphant entry into Jerusalem that happened on “Palm Sunday”  during the final week of His life.

Bart Ehrman succinctly stated the argument for his conclusion on page 293:

Conversely, the likelihood of Jesus entering into Jerusalem straddling two donkeys and with the crowd shouting out that he was the messiah is decreased by the circumstance that had such an event really happened (unlikely as it is on its own terms), Jesus would no doubt have been arrested by the authorities on the spot instead of a week later.” (293)

And with a bit more extended comment Ehrman stated earlier on page 202:

If it is true that the crowds were shouting that Jesus was the messiah now arriving in the holy city, why didn’t the authorities immediately take notice and have him arrested both for causing a disturbance and for claiming to be the Jewish king (when only Rome could appoint the king)?  Instead, according to Matthew and the other Gospels, Jesus spent an unmoltested week in Jerusalem and only then was arrested and put on trial.  But it defies belief that the Roman authorities who were in town precisely in order to prevent any mob actions or uprisings would have failed to intervene if the crowds shouted in acclamation for a new ruler arriving in town” (202).

Ehrman’s argument is essentially that he can’t believe it took a full week after Jesus entered into Jerusalem in a Messianic fashion (with it’s political implication) before He was finally arrested and put on trial.  Ehrman’s reasoning is not without it’s problem.  One can group the problems into two basic categories: (1) Ehrman has not properly handled the Biblical data in his argument against the historicity of Jesus’ “Triumphant entry” and also (2) his argument that  in light of historical parallels.  We have already looked at the first set of problems in part one.  If you have not already done so, you might want to read part one first, which demonstrated that Ehrman has not properly handle the Biblical data.  Here in this post we will consider historical parallels of other Messianic figures as a rebuttal to his argument.

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Bible Contradiction? On what did Jesus ride into Jerusalem?

This is part of a series of posts this week in which we will look at some of the attacks by critics concerning the final week of Jesus.

Today’s post will tackle another question that the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: “On what did Jesus ride into Jerusalem?”

Here are three answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

On an ass and a colt.

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. (Matthew 21:5-7)

On a colt.

They *brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. (Mark 11:7)

They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. (Luke 19:35)

On a young ass.

Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written. (John 12:14)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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