Easter - Psalm 118
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“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever…
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid…
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done…
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
(1,5,17,22,23,24,29) (1)
“The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death
has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start.”
C.S. Lewis
He heard people mocking Jesus as the King of the Jews. He heard the insults and taunts. He felt the anger coming at Jesus. Yet, there was something different in the way Jesus handled himself. Jesus had a quiet dignity. There was a sense of strength and clarity in him. He even heard Jesus pray for forgiveness for those who were killing him.
The criminal next to Jesus noticed all these things. When you are close to death, life becomes more real, and for some, change comes more easily. Maybe Jesus could forgive him, too. The criminal told the man on the other side of Jesus, one of the angry ones, “We deserve this, but not him - he did nothing to deserve this. (Lk 23:41, MSG)
He said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk 23: 42-43) That is paradise - to be with Jesus. This is what the cross makes possible.
The Psalmist was also hard pressed. He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord answered and brought him to a spacious place, a place where he was both free and secure because the Lord was with him. (v5-6)
This is what Easter is about. Jesus is the light of the world. With him, there is joy, hope, peace, and love - life. If the resurrection is true - if Jesus died and was actually raised from the dead, then everything is going to be ok. (2) Change is possible. Hope is real.
It is hard to define hope, but it is something you can know. It is something you can live with and stand on. Hope is a power that sustains you. Hope is a vision of what can be, grounded in goodness. Hope anticipates a way forward that will be good.
God has a way forward for us that is good. We learn that “For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2b) Paul tells is that “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus] and through him reconcile to himself all things (Col 1:19). Jesus’s hope is you and me. He wants to be with us. He loves us. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me.”
“God has a clear priority: to love you.” Eugene Peterson
“This is how God showed his love among us:
He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
This is love: not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
(1Jn 4:9-10)
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (v1,29)
Reflect…
Read Psalm 118. What do you notice?
Where are you hard pressed? Have you shared it with God?
How has God been good to you?
How are things different when you live with God’s unfailing love?
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Mt 26:30 tells us that when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. What did they sing? Psalm 118, along with Psalms 115-117.
everything is going to be ok - Tim Keller said this.
