One of the most famous and glorious musical compositions ever written outside of the Psalms is Handel’s Messiah. It was composed in 1741 by George Fredric Handel as an English-language oratorio, which is defined as “a large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action”. The lyrics were put forth by Handel’s friend, Charles Jennens, and are simply scripture texts arranged to present the entire gospel message in one piece. Jennens believed that putting the gospel to music would help communicate its truth not just intellectually but at a deep level of the heart.
Because of its emphasis on Jesus’ atoning work on the cross and the glorious outcome of His finished work, it was originally associated with the Easter season but has since evolved over the years as a Christmas tradition.
The oration has three parts comprised of scenes using various scriptures to tell the story of Jesus, beginning with the Old Testament prophecies of His birth, progressing to His suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, and then to His enthronement and glorification as redeemer king. All except the birth narrative in Luke 2:8-14 are Old Testament prophecies pointing to this greatest of all kings and His work of redemption.
Part 1 is titled “The prophecy and realization of God’s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah”. Part 2 is titled “The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, mankind’s rejection of God’s offer, and mankind’s utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty”. This scene is concluded by what is titled “God’s Triumph” that includes the famous Hallelujah Chorus. Part 3 is titled “A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death”, which presents scriptural promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from the consequences of Adam’s fall. It begins with the glorious passage from Job 19:25-26, which is my favorite song in the oratorio.
Here Job, in the midst of unimaginable physical suffering and related mental torment, in which his wife and three closest friends have only added fuel to his fiery trail, comforts himself with the hope of ultimate rescue from the miseries of this life and beyond and restoration to the glorious life with God for which we were created, which is what the Biblical concept of redemption promises. His faith is in a personal redeemer who will bring this to pass, expressing hope and confidence in the grace and mercy of the one who alone is able to do so, namely God, who unbeknownst to Job at that time, would accomplish this redemption in and through the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7).
The term redeem or redemption in general has a number of applications. It applies to the buying back or restoration of something of value, usually something used as collateral or lost due to unpaid taxes or the paying off of another’s debt. It is also used in relationship to someone overcoming or compensating for a failure or misdeed. In Biblical times it was used as a term to represent paying a ransom to purchase the freedom of a political prisoner, a slave, prisoner of war, or indentured servant.
We presently use the term ransom as the payment demanded for the release of someone who has been kidnapped. In our technological world it is the payment demanded by a computer hacker who has stolen or taken control of information from someone’s computer.
Redemption is at the core of God’s eternal plan to display and magnify His glory in and through God the Son, Jesus Christ, by providing in Him a just and righteous means – the only means – by which helpless, sinful, unrighteous, rebellious men, women and children can be justly and freely forgiven of their sins; rescued from the eternal consequences of that sin (Hell); restored to spiritual life, to the righteous nature and character of God in which we were created; reconciled to right relationship with God as His beloved children; and resurrected in our bodies to image the beauty and magnificence of Jesus’ glorified body, ruling with Him under His sovereign Lordship over a renewed creation, wherein we will know the eternal joys and pleasures of God that He intended for us from the beginning (Psalm 16:11) (Romans 3:23-26) (Romans 8:14-17) (Philippians 3:20-21).
This plan is accomplished by Jesus, the eternal Son, the King of Glory, leaving His throne in Heaven, taking upon Himself a human nature and body, and coming into this sin-cursed world through the womb of a poor virgin girl, exposing Himself as a man to all of the miseries, limitations and temptations inherent in a world that is in rebellion against the God who created it. Jesus himself tells us in Mark 10:45, that His specific purpose in coming is to give His life a ransom for many. He does so first by becoming a bondservant, submitting Himself in perfect obedience to the will of God, summarized in the law of God, perfectly obeying it and delighting in doing so, living the life of perfect righteousness – sinless perfection necessary for man to enter and live in God’s presence – Heaven (Philippians 2:5-8) (Psalm 40:7-8) (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Psalm 24:3-6).
As a man Jesus paid our ransom, the price required for us to be released from our bondage to sin and the eternal penalty due our sin, sin in which we have blasphemed God’s holiness, denigrated God’s majesty, disdained God’s goodness, slandered God’s glory and corrupted God’s good creation (Romans 3:23).
And thus that ransom price would be nothing less than Jesus’s death, both physical and spiritual, wherein He experiences on a Roman cross, a violent, bloody, shameful, unjust physical death, while at the same time bearing in His soul the full wrath of God necessary for our sins to be justly forgiven, for us to have peace with God and receive the gift of eternal life – the life with God for which we were created, which is granted to those who by faith join their lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord, the object of their deepest love and source of their greatest joy ((Romans 6:23) (1 Peter 2:24) (Matthew 27:46) (Romans 5:1) (Luke 10:25-28).
As we move toward the annual celebration of Jesus’ accomplishment of this plan of redemption, what we call Easter, I would like to look at the details of how Jesus, our servant/redeemer King, motivated by divine love (Romans 5:8-9), actually fulfilled this plan; details described first to us 700 years before they occurred in Isaiah 50:5-6, Isaiah 52:13-15, Isaiah 53:1-13, Psalm 22:1-21 and Psalm 69:21.
I do so with the prayer that it will help to energize us in our striving to love God as He deserves to be loved, to trust in His love as He deserves to be trusted, leading us to obey Him as He deserves to be obeyed, and thus to our worshiping Him as He deserves to be worshiped – passionately pursuing Him as the object of our deepest love and source of our eternal joy.
Grace and Peace ×
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