I Will Rise -- Louis Giglio, Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Jesse Reeves

 

He was thinking musically of a moment unlike any other that will fully define and culminate all of human history. Chris Tomlin says his friend Louis Giglio gave him a mission to sing something like that. So, Chris, evidently with the help of two other friends, Matt Maher and Jesse Reeves, used Louis’s charge and a one-liner that he said he couldn’t shake, to say “I Will Rise” in 2008. So many masterpiece artists have taken on this same mission with the paintbrush, which Chris and his friends alternately articulated in their music. See the Noel Coypel work of art here (painted in 1700), which only attempts to show, but cannot possibly depict with full appreciation, the stunning moment when Jesus arose from death, terrifying those nearby with how He overcame the grave. What a moment! Maybe if you and I combine looking at something like this painting and singing the song by Chris and friends, we might come just a little closer to reality. We all need hope in that most difficult moment, when we’re staring at the grave.

 

Chris shares that he was having lunch with Louis when the toughest part of life came up in the conversation. It happens to all of us, eventually, and maybe you’ve also been in Louis’s shoes, having a heart-to-heart with a friend over a meal. He was still bereaved over his father’s recent death, and while scriptures like Psalm 46 – with the line ‘Be still and know that I am God’ – provided solace, he asked Chris to write something new, a song that would echo that old hymn ‘It Is Well (With My Soul)’ (by Horatio Spafford, see 5/31/2014 blog entry). That one line that Louis said was stuck in his brain was this: The grave is overwhelmed. Chris says his goal was to gird the spirits of people like Louis who’ve lost someone, by singing about how mortal death is not the final chapter. Death cannot be overcome any other way, except by knowing it is not the end, it’s just an interlude. No doubt, Chris and his friends had read other scriptures (in addition to Psalm 46) to salve a broken spirit. Jesus also had moments when he felt bereaved, including over his friend Lazarus and the woe that others around Him felt (Luke 11: 33-35). The poignancy got to Him…He was really human. But, unlike us, He has already experienced that death-conquering moment, and He’s the ‘firstborn’ (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), preparing to lead the army of believers into eternity. That’s got to be worth a ‘hallelujah!’, and more than one. So, that’s what Louis and Chris thought about, that there needs to be more than Horatio Spafford’s song (and others that have been written) to remind us, to re-christen that hope that lies within. Jesus rose, and so will I. That brings a ‘peace’, an ‘anchor’, and a ‘victory’, all contained in this new ‘hallelujah’ song to prompt the believer that those are available even now, before this death interlude ensues.  

 

So, you’re sitting in the funeral home, just trying to get through that gloomy episode. Been there? No one likes to remember, but somehow those memories don’t fade very easily. I still remember the minister saying that death and what follows is an appointment (Acts 17:31). That passage moment won’t last forever, and then at some point I will go on to another place. It can be scary, terrifying. Even Jesus said that He felt forsaken (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), and that must have been the lowest point for Him and those who stood watching and listening. But, this same God has Spafford, and Tomlin and friends, and so many other writers and artists depict the scene three days hence, also. Someone has summed up Revelation and the end this way: God wins. Choose a side. Don’t be stupid! Don’t get trapped dwelling on the interlude, the passageway, that appointment with death, unless you also imprint Louis’s line onto your brain waves, and into your heart. The grave is overwhelmed. And add the exclamation mark (!) also. Feel free to use more than one…like this !!!!  

 

 

Read the song story here: I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin - Songfacts

 

Read some more about the song’s story here: The Meaning Behind The Song: I Will Rise by Louie Giglio - Old Time Music

 

Another source of the song story is here: Chris Tomlin talks about "I Will Rise" (youtube.com)

 

See information about the image of Christ’s Resurrection here: File:Noel-coypel-the-resurrection-of-christ-1700.jpg - Wikimedia Commons . This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.  {{PD-US}} – US work that is in the public domain in the US for an unspecified reason, but presumably because it was published in the US before 1929.

Jesus Messiah -- Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves

 

Chris Tomlin had been searching for a while, without success. And then around the year 2008, he found it – a way to say “Jesus Messiah”, through a combination of very old and contemporary voices to whom he listened. (See this Messiah depicted in Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement, here.) This special name for the Son was one that only He could wear, and so that distinction stuck with Chris, as a soul-stirring idea that he evidently shared with three others in his circle – Daniel Carson, Ed Cash, and Jesse Reeves – so that their collective thoughts could compose something special, something reflecting this name’s exceptional meaning. Find something so unique, and what do you do with it? You might hide it away to protect it from thieves, those who might have ulterior motives toward you and what you’ve found. But that’s human philosophy speaking, and not from the God who gave His Beloved this unique title, a name not to be hidden away, but shared even at the risk of His own human life.

 

It is a perilous name, one that Jesus surely knew would make him a target of anger and even murder. And yet, He boldly embraced that destiny, and perhaps that was part of what drew Chris Tomlin and his friends to seek a song speaking of this name. Some might even say it was a heartrending name, because of its import of danger for Jesus, and yet Chris says in one interview that it’s a beautiful name too. Messiah can be thought of as anointed or chosen in Isaiah’s prophecy (Is. 42:1; 61:1), and Chris evidently had read some of Isaiah’s book as a stepping stone for his search for a Messiah song. His hunt for the right combination of lyrics and music wandered a bit, he admits, until one day when he heard Daniel playing a melody that struck a chord, providing the beautiful tune that Chris felt corresponded with the nature of this matchless name. It was the platform that Chris says allowed various other descriptions of Jesus -- in the lyrics telling of His various names and the import of His life’s purpose – to ‘amplify’ the Messiah idea he wanted to describe, but had been inadequate to express previously. He’s the ‘Blessed Redeemer’, ‘Emmanuel’, the ‘Lord of all’, but also the one to become ‘sin’, even though ‘he knew no sin’. The ‘name above all names’ did what others could not, becoming ‘the rescue’, and ‘the ransom’. So, in their lyrics, what Chris and the others did was to convey a juxtaposition of a divine beauty mingled with tragedy, from a human standpoint. He’s a person impossible to ignore. You get that same sense of fascination among those watching and listening to Jesus recapture and apply to Himself (in Luke 4: 14-30) what Isaiah had said centuries earlier (Is. 61:1-2). Initially, His neighbors ‘spoke well of Him’ (v. 22), perhaps many glowing with hope regarding the ‘good news’ and healing from physical afflictions and Roman oppression that Isaiah’s words seemed to indicate. And yet, in very short order, they became ‘furious’ and tried to ‘throw Him off the cliff’ (v.28-29). Blessedly for all of us, Jesus understood all things, and was willing to be ‘humbled’, to let ‘His body (be) the ‘bread’, ‘His blood the wine’, the ultimate sacrifice that was ‘broken and poured out’, as Chris and company remind us.

 

Jesus as Messiah, especially in His death, might be compared to an accident scene – something horrible that we dread observing, yet He draws our attention; that’s why we call ourselves ‘rubber-neckers’ when we pass a car crash site. Jesus might also be like the loved one we see dying in a hospital bed; we’re torn with grief to see someone we cherish leave us, and yet we cannot make ourselves absent and miss those last few moments with them. Jesus understands all of that, how my mortality can create such an angst about precious life versus its ultimate demise. ‘Love so amazing’ is what Chris and his friends write about Jesus in His Messiah role; this love is really defiant in description, this great thing He passes on to us, rather than keeping it just for Himself. It needed to be amazing to overcome the dread of death that even Jesus experienced in the garden (Luke 22:42-44), a separation he fervently wanted to avoid. That really says so much about the character of this love, which He passes along to you and me, if we accept it. Even the Messiah – the ultimate Chosen One, the All-Powerful – did his duty because of love. He’s the possessor of both a unique character and role – love and Messiah.              

 

See a brief explanation of the story behind the song here (see it under FAQs 1): The Meaning Behind The Song: Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin - Old Time Music

 

Hear one of the songwriters talk about the song’s background (at 1:20 – 1:30, and 4:20 – 4:30) Chris Tomlin // Jesus Messiah // New Song Cafe (youtube.com)

 

Read a brief background for the song here:  Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin - Songfacts

 

See here for information on the image of The Last Judgement: Michelangelo Buonarroti - Jugement dernier - Last Judgment - Wikipedia. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Arnaud 25. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Arnaud 25 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.

Lord, I Need You -- Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves

Perhaps they were in or near Atlanta, since they were gathered to write some music for a conference scheduled to take place there. A clock (perhaps not unlike the one shown here) was probably nearby, even if it did not necessarily inspire what Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, and Jesse Reeves were discussing. But, part way through their joint effort, one of them suggested that “Lord, I Need You” was rather similar to an old hymn (I Need Thee Every Hour, by Annie Hawks – see Nov. 12, 2017 Song Scoop entry). And so, they drew upon its lyrics for some extra stimulation. How many times during a clock’s 24-hour rotation does someone need God? It’s really a rhetorical question, but if you asked one of the contemporary artists this question, he might just point you to something C.S. Lewis wrote. It was something that was pivotal in this song’s genesis, so much so that they put one word in the song title and within the lyrics that underscored this. And, then one of the authors put a different spin on that concept in one of the interviews, giving a nod to the older hymn. See if you can guess what that was before reading on…if not, enjoy the rest of this entry!

 

Matt Maher talked in two separate interviews about ‘Lord, I Need You’, and how it emerged as he and his collaborators prepared for the Passion Conference in 2011, and he and Kristian shared about the song in a third interview. It was written for college students at the conference, as Jesse Reeves pitched the idea of using the old hymn by Annie Hawks as a springboard for the new song. They all tried to imagine students sitting in their dorm rooms and struggling with the various temptations and other issues that come their way. Matt says the song has an even broader audience, and that C.S. Lewis said something that he thought was key for everyone in life: ‘…there’s a love a believer never outgrows, and that love is need love.’ Many people, not just young college students, find it uncomfortable to admit this, including when they walk into a church and hear a message that says they are not ‘self-sufficient, self-reliant, nor self-determining’. But everyone has to admit this at some point, he says, and it’s a confession that can provide reassurance and hope in knowing that God is there to help. He’s not leaving. The most moving line for Matt was ‘where You are, Lord I am free, Holiness is Christ in me’, and that every time he and-or others lead the song, it is like a reaffirmation of what they experienced when they first wrote it. Matt further says that he hopes people will go to God not just with their needs, but also with their joys, too. Lots of people want God in their brokenness, and there are lots of division and strife issues at work in people’s walks (in 2011), but they should realize that He’s someone they need in their joys too. We witness to others when we lean on Him in our joyful moments, and not just when we feel broken. We can celebrate that, and this is as much a powerful witness to others as when we say we need him when we’re desperate.

 

It is interesting that this part about needing God in our joy is not written into this 21^st Century song, but is in the 19^th Century hymn. Hawks’ refrain for one verse is ‘I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain‘, an echo of what Matt was saying about needing Him in our times of pleasure and fulfillment, too. Needing Him in all of life really just raises one to another plane, so that ups and downs of mortality don’t make one feel the roller-coaster so much – something that Matt and his cohorts seemed intent upon emphasizing in their own lyrics. A person finds ‘rest’ with Him ‘guid(ing) the heart ‘(v.1); and has ‘grace’ that overwhelms sin’s condemnation (v.2), and even more than that, it makes someone ‘free’ and full of His ‘holiness’ (v.2). Rest, grace, freedom, and holiness…that’s quite a package God gives you and me, when we are willing to say we need Him.   

 

Hear the comments about the song by one of its authors here (Interview # 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjJ9WaYCmVk

 

See here also (Inteview #2): Matt Maher - Story Behind "Lord I Need You" - NRT Insider - YouTube

 

See a 3^rd interview of two of the authors here: https://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/lord-i-need-you-matt-maher/

 

See a review of the song here: https://www.thebereantest.com/matt-maher-lord-i-need-you

 

Public Domain status of the clockface picture: The copyright holder of this work released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.