Songs in the Night

Do you ever sing when you’re stressed or nervous or afraid? Jesus did.

Imagine the scene. Christ has just celebrated the Passover Meal with His disciples, and Judas has already slunk into the night. Jesus is only hours from the cross.

The fear and dread and stress must have been beyond the experience of any man before or since. He knew, had always known, the horrific ordeal that awaited Him. Not just the physical torture or emotional devastation, but the spiritual torment He would endure. His Father would see Him covered in the filth of our sins, would recoil from Him and forsake Him.

This “dark night of the soul” began for Jesus when He left the Upper Room, walked down into the Kidron Valley, and then up the slope of the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. There He would pray in anguish, the stress so severe that He bled through the pores of His skin. And there His own disciple would betray Him with a kiss, leading to His arrest, humiliation, torture, and execution.

So what happened in the moments just before all this began? He sang. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matthew 26:30. We even know the song our Savior led His disciples to sing.

Most likely it was the traditional “Hallel,” Psalms 113-118, usually sung at the Passover Meal. The last song Jesus sang before the cross would have been Psalm 118.

With the terrible road ahead of Him, think how much these words must have meant to Christ.

He knew He faced the Father’s rejection, but He sang:

⁵ Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.

He knew His enemies would overwhelm Him, but He sang:

⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?

He knew He would die as a ransom for His people, but He sang:

¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.

He knew His lifeless body would lie in a stone cold tomb, but He sang:

¹⁸ The Lord has disciplined me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.

He knew His people turned against Him, but He sang:

²² The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.

Before He walked into the night, into betrayal and rejection, agony and a shameful death, He sang:

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
²⁹ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

The promises of Scripture allow our hearts to sing, even when the road ahead is full of shadows. As always, our Savior leads us.