Hallel Day 2 Lifting Hallelujah: Digging Deeper
March 31, 2020
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Matthew 26:26-35
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”
33 Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
35 “Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.
The Original Intent
1) What meal were they eating?
If we look back to Matthew 26:17 we see these events took place during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and they were having the Passover supper. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated annually on the Jewish calendar and was a time to celebrate and remember when God saved His people from slavery in Egypt.
One part of the festival was the Passover meal where the Israelites would feast and remember the night the Angel of Death passed over all the homes that were covered in the blood of an innocent lamb. The Angel of Death moved throughout all of Egypt. Those families whose doorposts were not covered by the blood of a lamb suffered the loss of their firstborn son.
This was the final plague which prompted Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. We find the account in Exodus 11:1-10.
Jesus and His disciples were doing what all Israelites would have been doing that night, enjoying the Passover meal together. God instructed this time of remembrance Himself in Exodus 12.
The Everyday Application
1) What meal were they eating?
As Christians, we do not typically celebrate Passover or the Festival of Unleavened Bread. However, on the night we are reading about, Jesus instituted a new celebration of remembrance we, as believers, should be familiar with.
Jesus is instituting what we call the Lord’s Supper or Communion. It is a time for us to join together and remember what Jesus did for each of us through His ultimate sacrifice.
Just as Israel looked back to remember how God had freed them from slavery, Christ’s death ushered in freedom from our slavery to sin and death and we are called to remember!
The Original Intent
2) What were they singing in verse 30?
Matthew does not tell us exactly what they were singing as they closed their meal. However, we do know the Israelites traditionally closed Passover by singing the Hallel hymn found in Psalm 113– Psalm 118.
If we look at these psalms they all sing joy and give praise to God while remembering that He is the God who does great things! The Hallel concludes with the reminder that God is good and His love endures forever. The disciples, along with all other Jews during Passover, were singing the truths of freedom as they prepared to leave for the Mount of Olives where Jesus knew His journey on earth would begin to come to a close.
Soon, He would complete His purpose for coming… to save us all!
The Everyday Application
2) What were they singing in verse 30?
As Jesus closes the Passover meal with His disciples and institutes Communion, He sings. Likely the lyrics of the Hallel psalms were the last song of praise Jesus would sing on earth as He concluded His final Passover meal with His disciples.
The Hallel declares praises to God for all He had done. In those moments Jesus knew what was awaiting Him at the Mount of Olives, where He was headed next. He knew His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and eventual resurrection was now happening. Yet, in those moments, He still chose to sing praise to the Father.
We can learn from His example. While we should always sing praise to our Father for the good things He has done in and through us, we learn from Jesus that even in the midst of hard times, we can choose to worship and praise just as He did!
The Original Intent
3) What does it mean to fall away in verse 31?
Jesus looks around at the men with whom He had spent the most time with on earth. These are the men He has invested in, and the men who know Him best and Jesus tells them point blank they will all fall away.
To truly understand this, we must first know Jesus is quoting Zechariah 13:7. Zechariah had long ago foretold the Shepherd (Jesus) would be alone. Jesus is telling His disciples they will scatter and He will face the last hours alone.
Matthew Henry says we could read this as, “because of what happens to me this night.” Jesus is not caught off guard by what happens, but it is not what His disciples are expecting, and they fall away leaving Jesus alone to accomplish what He came to finish.
Fittingly, it work only He could do.
The Everyday Application
3) What does it mean to fall away in verse 31?
The disciples all fall away or scatter in the last hours of Jesus’ life. They walked with Jesus and Jesus told them what was coming, yet they were still caught off guard.
This same temptation exists in our lives when life doesn’t look like we expect or when life catches us off guard. We can choose to lean into Jesus, trusting Him because He is always at work, or we can flee.
The disciples didn’t stay scattered. They came back, and God used them in mighty ways as the Church began. However, just as with the disciples in those moments where life is hard, it is our choice to draw near and lean in or pull away and trust ourselves or wallow in fear.
I pray we all choose to find refuge in the God of the Universe in those moments. We have one thing the disciples didn’t have as they headed to the Mount of Olives… we know He rose again, defeated death and the grave, and is now reigning on the throne!
Can We Pray With You?
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
This Week's Lock Screen
Authentically living out a life of worship to the God who rescued us from darkness requires accountability and intentionality. Join a GT POD and take the next step in your faith journey!
