Scientists say that the only really earth-shattering event was when the earth collided with Mars to form the moon. This is a load of garbage. The only really earth-shattering event was when Jesus had the guts to die for the world, and by doing this, turn God’s anger away from us.
As a songwriter, my question is: Can we get this across to people using pop music? When I say ‘pop music’ I mean any music that is popular with people. Music that is popular usually has:
- an easily grasped melody line
- a clear rhythm
- musical and lyrical ‘hooks’ to get you in
- images that stir your emotions.
Can we use these elements to get the meaning and significance of Jesus’ death across to people?
The reason I ask is that nobody seems to be doing it. Hardly anybody tries to explain Jesus’ death through pop songs, yet Jesus’ death is the heart of the gospel! It seems to me that your average Christian band is more into self-expression than into unpacking the meaning of Jesus’ death. Let me explain what I mean by ‘unpacking the meaning of Jesus’ death’.
Here’s an attempt at a summary: Jesus’ death achieved one thing (reconciliation) four ways (justification, propitiation, redemption and conquest). If you don’t understand this summary, don’t worry—you’re not the only one. Most people (the Great Unwashed) wouldn’t have a clue about reconciliation, justification, propitiation, redemption and conquest. Nonetheless, these five terms are a good summary of the concepts we need to explain if we’re going to unpack the meaning of Jesus’ death—but we need to teach the concepts without the jargon.
For the sake of clarity and depth in our communicating, it’s probably best to limit each of our songs to one concept of one of the five terms. You can’t say everything about Jesus’ death in a three-minute pop song. Better to say a little well than a lot badly. If you approach it this way, suddenly you’ve got tons of things to say and lots of potential songs, rather than same tired thing (“Jesus died for me”). Being specific guards against repetition.
Take a song about justification as a case study. Justification is a legal term borrowed from the courtroom. By dying, Jesus took the punishment we deserved so that God (our Judge) could acquit us. One aspect of justification (and there are many) is that we deserved to be punished not Jesus. They should’ve nailed me / God should’ve nailed me will do as a chorus. To unpack this further we’ll need to explain that:
- we were guilty, whereas …
- Jesus was innocent, yet …
- he subbed in for us.
How about this for a verse: Like the Tale of Two Cities they nailed the wrong guy / I committed the crime / You committed the innocence / But just in the nick of time / You let them hang my offence on you / They nailed the wrong guy.
Can you do better? All you need to do is choose one the five terms and one aspect thereof, and then sit around and wait for inspiration. This is Art we’re talking about. It’ll take time, hard thinking and the kiss of the Muse to come up with a song that really communicates.
As the most earth-shattering event in history, Jesus’ death demands we use every musical and literary device available to get the point into people’s heads. This will include using words with emotional value. But be careful: don’t be sentimental. The last thing we want is a Jesus who tucks his singlet into his underpants. We don’t need any more ‘Jesus is my girlfriend’-type lyrics. Remember, Jesus’ death rocks the world in more ways than one.
