For a while now I’ve thought about doing a special discipleship group or evening presentation about some of the songs we sing and what they teach us about God, the church, and the gospel. I’ve written once or twice about what songs communicate, and I’d like to look at another one that many of us have either heard on the radio or sung in church: Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin.
Video | Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin
Verse 1
This verse is made up of just a few short statements, each of which tells a fundamental truth of the gospel. The words themselves are drawn from 2 Corinthians 5:21,
| Jesus Messiah | 2 Corinthians 5:21 |
| For our sake | |
| He became sin | he made him to be sin |
| Who knew no sin | who knew no sin, |
| That we might become His righteousness | so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. |
| He humbled himself and carried the cross |
From the very first lines, this song begins with near repetition of Scripture, drawing our hearts and minds back to the Word of God, the very foundation of our understanding of God and salvation.
The last line of this verse is meant as a clarifier for those singing. The passage, 2 Corinthians 5:21, was not written in a vacuum, so what Paul says can easily be understood from the context. But this song adds a line about Christ humbling himself and carrying the cross (cf. Phil. 2:5-11). That is how Christ became sin. That is what He did “that we might become His righteousness.
Chorus
The chorus itself is straightforward praise and worship of Jesus, extolling many of the names and phrases used in Scripture to describe Him a His mission:
Jesus Messiah (i.e. Jesus Christ)
Name above all names (Phil. 2:9)
Blessed Redeemer (Gal. 3:13)
Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23)
The rescue for sinners/The ransom from Heaven (Mark 10:45)
Lord of all (Rom. 10:12)
The chorus here is not disconnected to the rest of the song. Instead, it is a natural outflow of praise based on the truth communicated in the verses. Although songs do not have to do this to be useful to the church, I appreciate that this one specifically links praise to God with God’s action in history. There is a reason for it. And as we meditate on the reason, we are moved even more so to praise.
Verse 2
The second verse looks at the symbolic picture of the truth stated in verse one as displayed in the Lord’s Supper. Echoes of the night when Jesus was betrayed are manifest: The bread represents His body, broken for us. The wine represents his blood, poured out for us. This Christ did for love. It was not an afterthought of God or a “bad situation turned for good,” but rather a desperately wicked and hopeless moment planned by God for love. The earth shook because of what happened and the veil that represented the separation between God and man was rent in two, declaring peace and reconciliation.
Bridge
Towards the end of the song comes a confession of our dependence on God. All our hope is in Him, in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. It repeats the cry of believers past, present, and future, from the words of the Apostles to the elegant hymn we grew up singing, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
As an overflow of our knowledge of this truth, and our praise to God, we express our desire to glorify Him and profess that He is the light of the world. What better way to glorify Him and reflect the truth that He is the light of the world than by proclaiming the truth that “He became sin who knew no sin that we might become His righteousness.”
Thanks Andrew.
My wife really likes the music of Chris Tomlin.
Personally, I think this song is very good.
So often when looking in the mirror it is hard to believe that Jesus would make such a sinner the very righteousness of Holy God. Yet His Word declares it so. That has an humbling effect on us when we really think about it or listen to a gospel song like this one, don’t you think?
This is one song that carries me to some other place to worship. I get so lost in it, and so filled with joy, that it lasts all day.
There are only a few songs that do that to me. This is at the top of the list (along with Revelation Song).
We sing this song in our Spanish church fairly frequently:
Pecado se volvió aunque no lo conoció
Fuimos hechos en Él justicia de Dios
Él se humilló, llevando la cruz…
Great song.
Andrew Wencl,
Do you provide leadership to the Spanish worship service in some way?
I used to be in charge of music, but now I usually just teach a small group study and preach occasionally.
Andrew Wencl,
May God continue to bless you and use your talent to minister to Spanish speaking people.
who sings this version en espanol? I found a version by Javier Alexander on his album Me Sostiene on youtube, but sin letras (without lyrics for you non Spanish speakers).
Is there a link where the song and the lyrics exist that you use?
I’ve collected links to 11 praise songs + lyrics en espanol for use on a mission trip this summer. I’d like to add Jesus Messiah to the list.
Thanks!
Javier Alexander: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqx2EZpmLgc
We picked it up from En Espíritu y en Verdad. Just search “Jesús el Mesías” and the group and it should pop up. You can purchase it on Amazon or iTunes. They also have some other good songs: Cuan Grande es Dios (How Great is our God) Vamos a Cantar (Sing, Sing, Sing) Sólo Dios Puede Salvar (Mighty to Save) and my personal favorite, Desde mi Interior (From the Inside Out) If you need lyrics for any of these songs I should be able to provide them. If you’re instrumentally challenged like myself, using the performance tracks from the English… Read more »
Yep, I’ve seen those on youtube as well.
My current favorite is Todo Poderoso. I love how it can be used as a really slow meditation or really loud and fast like Groupo Rojo does here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n40LavQLEw
I’m looking forward to leading worship in another language and knowing the God of the universe will glorified in more than one language at a time.