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{"id":3799,"date":"2012-04-13T01:53:20","date_gmt":"2012-04-13T06:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=3799"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:33:14","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:33:14","slug":"examining-the-words-of-handels-messiah-parts-1-and-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2012\/04\/13\/examining-the-words-of-handels-messiah-parts-1-and-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining the Words of Handel’s Messiah – Parts 1 and 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Part 2 of series:
\n<\/a>Handel\u2019s Messiah: An Unexpected Easter Masterpiece<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Today, I want to begin to examine the libretto (the words of the composition) of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> to show its strong Easter themes. The Messiah<\/em> comes in three parts. I\u2019ll provide a short summary of each part, beginning today with Parts 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

Part I<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part I focuses on the birth and life of Jesus. It begins with prophetic promises of the birth of the Christ, many from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. These include, for example, the Alto recitative: \u201cBehold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel: God with us\u201d (based on Isaiah 7:14). The actual birth of Jesus is revealed, not through the words of Luke 2, but through the prophecy from Isaiah 9:6: \u201cFor unto us a child is born . . . .\u201d Then the Messiah<\/em> narrates the experience of the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, completing the birth story.<\/p>\n $\"\"$ <\/a>\n

The next section of Part I describes the ministry of Jesus as a fulfillment of prophecy, \u201cThen the eyes of the blind be opened. . .\u201d (based on Isaiah 35:5); \u201cHe shall feed his flock like a shepherd\u201d (based on Isaiah 40:11). Part I finishes with the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29, though this has been rephrased into the third person, \u201cCome unto him all ye that labour\u201d rather than \u201cCome unto me.\u201d The final chorus of Part I celebrates the fact that \u201cHis yoke is easy and his burden in light\u201d (based on Matthew 11:30).<\/p>\n

Part II<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part II of the Messiah<\/em> jumps immediately to the Passion of Jesus: \u201cBehold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world\u201d (based on John 1:29). We are prepared for Jesus\u2019 death by Isaiah\u2019s prophecies of the Suffering Servant: \u201cSurely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows\u201d (based on Isaiah 53:4-5). As in the case of Jesus\u2019 birth, his actual death isn\u2019t narrated using texts from the New Testament Gospels. Instead, Isaiah 53:8 delivers the news of Jesus\u2019 demise: \u201cHe was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of thy people was he stricken.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Easter section of the Messiah<\/em> begins in Part II. It delivers the good news of the resurrection in a manner similar to its telling of the birth and death of Jesus. The resurrection isn\u2019t described so much as alluded to through prophetic Scripture, in this case, Psalm 16:10: \u201cBut thou didst not leave his soul in hell, nor didst thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption.\u201d Following this sweet soprano confession, the whole chorus bursts forth with Psalm 24:7-10: \u201cLift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.\u201d Now, all of heaven is being summoned to receive the risen Christ into glory.<\/p>\n

As Part II draws to a close, the libretto connects the victory of Jesus with the sending out of preachers into the world. Thus the Messiah<\/em> blends the story of Easter into the story of the Pentecost, just as Eastertide bridges Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday. Part II ends most gloriously, with the beloved \u201cHallelujah Chorus.\u201d Yes, it comes, not in the Christmas section, but in the Passion\/Resurrection\/Pentecost section. \u201cThe kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ\u201d not in the birth of Jesus, but in his death and resurrection. This will be communicated to the world, so that God \u201cshall reign for ever and ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

One could almost accuse the Messiah<\/em> of indulging a bit too much in realized eschatology here \u2013 the belief that the presence of Christ in the church and through the church in the world is equivalent to his second coming. But Part III of the Messiah<\/em> keeps us from drawing this conclusion. I\u2019ll examine this more closely in my next post in this series.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"