He had read about a vision, and he wanted to share this sight, because it was too awesome to keep to himself. That’s what one might conclude when investigating what brought “Agnus Dei” from inside Michael W. Smith in 1990. There’s this mass of people, too numerous to count – ‘a great multitude’- and they are worshipping. Was Michael seeing in his mind something like this, reflecting on what John saw, when he wrote about the Lamb in Revelation (19:6)? (See 15th Century artwork of Jan van Eyck, called “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”, which is giving its lifeblood into a cup.) It’s not a song of very many words, but then, how many do you believe you’ll be able to vocalize when you participate in this episode-yet-to-come? Perhaps Michael reminds us of all the words you and I will need.
Lamb of God. That’s one phrase that all probably all Christians have heard used to describe Jesus Christ. And yet, it’s not really used that often by anyone in biblical times. Just one very unusual fellow named John recognized Him this way (John 1:29, 36), until another John saw Him described in a vision as a Lamb (Revelation, chapters 5, 7, 14, 15, 19, 21, and 22). So, when Michael Smith borrowed this name for a song, he must have thought it carried something intrinsically special. Roman Catholic, Anglican/Episcopal, and Lutheran liturgies use this special name to call out in worship to God the Savior. Perhaps Michael – who has been associated with Protestant churches, and was friends with Billy Graham, perhaps the most well-know evangelical preacher in America in the mid-to-late 20th Century – was especially moved by the Revelation accounts of the Lamb. Additionally, perhaps it was one or more communion services in a church that underscored for Michael that Jesus was a perfect lamb that was sacrificed on a Jewish Passover, a time when Jews also partake of a slain lamb. Singing about a lamb in Latin is a way to cover lots of bases among people of faith. This song was part of Michael’s 1990 album Go West Young Man, which was a notable success in the American secular music market. So, Agnus Dei might conceivably have reached some people’s ears who may have not taken notice of this deified lamb otherwise. Agnus Dei is like an invitation, therefore, to all people to stop for a moment and acknowledge what John saw in Revelation. Call out to a Holy One, John says that multitude cried, and it was thunderous and like rushing water to hear that many voices shouting in exaltation. Even if you don’t count yourself a believer, get that picture and that sound in your head, if you can. When’s the last time you had goosebumps at something you saw and heard? That vision that John had has now endured for two millennia. You might want to reconsider its value, if you haven’t yet done so.
Agnus Dei takes this lamb and us to another plane, doesn’t it? Michael’s song is an offer for you to lose yourself in imagination, but not just that. We get a foretaste of a coming feast, for John says there will be a wedding supper (Rev. 19:9) after the singing. Keep singing with your friends in the faith what Smith’s song words provide. That’s what you might notice when you watch renditions of Michael’s song in concert, that audiences don’t want to let that time end; they don’t seem to grow weary of shouting ‘Alleluia’ to Him. Singing to the Agnus Dei is a way to keep anchored, keeping that amazing vision of Revelation undimmed. It’s a God-guaranteed epoch, and it’ll be worth the wait of a lifetime.
See here for information on the term “Agnus Dei”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnus_Dei
See here for song story reference: https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/michael-w-smith
See here for author-songwriter biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_W._Smith
See here for information on of Lamb of God: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_God
Watch a rendition of the song performed by the author in concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBmFwBSGb0
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