Handel’s Messiah: Scripture set to Music
- Ken Kalis
- Dec 19, 2025
- 4 min read
Messiah proclaims our Savior publicly and gloriously and calls its audience to worship
But we can take more from it by reading the scriptures ourselves,
I will never forget falling to my knees in my office as I read Isaiah 53.
More powerful still was bowing in adoration to Revelation 5:11-14
This is Jesus now, and you can meet Him and worship in His Glory.
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“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” — Isaiah 40:1
In the winter of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man.
Once celebrated, now deeply in debt, physically weakened, and emotionally exhausted, he faced public failure and private despair. Some believed his besgt work was behind him. Others thought he was finished.
Then a libretto arrived — not a play, not an opera, not a story of kings or lovers — but pure Scripture.
Within twenty-four days, Handel composed Messiah.
It was not written to entertain.It was written to proclaim.
Not an Opera — a Sermon
Messiah is unlike anything else Handel wrote.
There are no characters. No costumes. No staging.
Instead, there is the Word of God, arranged in musical sequence — prophecy, incarnation, suffering, resurrection, reign.
From Isaiah to Malachi.From the Gospels to Revelation.
Charles Jennens, the compiler of the text, insisted on one thing: No paraphrase. No commentary. Only Scripture.
What emerged was not religious art — it was biblical proclamation.
The Messiah, Not Handel
Handel never intended this work to glorify himself.
In fact, Messiah does not even mention his name in performance. The focus is singular:
Who is Jesus Christ?
Not:
How do you feel about Him?
What does He do for you?
How does He improve your life?
But:
Who He is
What God has done in Him
What heaven declares about Him
That is why Messiah endures when so much religious music fades.
“He Was Despised” — Theology with Tears
Few movements in all of music capture Isaiah 53 like the alto aria:
He was despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
This is not background music. It is contemplation.
Handel forces the listener to slow down, to sit with the suffering Christ — not sentimentally, but reverently.
This is the Jesus of Scripture:
mocked
rejected
wounded
silent before His accusers
And yet — obedient unto death.
Why We Stand for the Hallelujah Chorus
Tradition says King George II stood during the Hallelujah Chorus, and ever since, audiences rise to their feet.
Whether legend or fact, the instinct is right.
Because at this moment, the work reaches its summit:
“For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
Not Caesar. Not Parliament. Not culture. Not the crowd.
The Lord God Omnipotent reigns.
Every generation needs to hear that again.
Messiah Ends Where Scripture Ends
The final movement is not Christmas.
It is resurrection.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain…
And then the final Amen, stretching toward eternity — as if music itself is leaning forward, longing for fulfillment.
Messiah does not ask us to admire Jesus.
It asks us to worship Him.
Why the Church Still Needs Messiah
In an age of:
shallow lyrics
self-focused worship
emotional atmosphere without theological depth
Messiah reminds us:
Worship begins with revelation, not emotion
Music serves truth, not taste
The center is Christ, not us
It is no accident that Messiah survives centuries, cultures, and controversies.
It is built on the Word of God.
A Prayer for Advent
Lord Jesus Christ,You are the promised Messiah,the suffering Servant,the risen King,the reigning Lord.
Tune our hearts to Your truth, lift our eyes above ourselves, and teach us again to worshipin spirit and in truth.
Worthy is the Lamb.Amen.
Reflection Question
When you listen to Messiah, are you listening for beauty —or are you listening for truth?
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Hail, Thou once despised Jesus!
Hail, Thou Galilean king!
Thou didst suffer to release us;
Thou didst free salvation bring.
Hail, Thou agonizing Savior,
bearer of our sin and shame!
By Thy merit we find favor;
Life is given through Thy name.
2 Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
all our sins on Thee were laid;
by almighty Love anointed,
Thou hast full atonement made:
all Thy people are forgiven
through the virtue of Thy blood;
opened is the gate of heaven;
peace is made 'twixt man and God.
3 Jesus, hail, enthroned in glory,
there forever to abide!
All the heav'nly host adore Thee,
seated at Thy Father's side.
There for sinners Thou art pleading;
there Thou dost our place prepare;
ever for us interceding,
till in glory we appear.
4 Worship, honor, pow'r, and blessing
Thou art worthy to receive;
highest praises, without ceasing,
meet it is for us to give.
Help, ye bright angelic spirits,
bring your sweetest, noblest lays;
help to sing our Savior's merits;
help to chant Immanuel's praise!
Author: John Bakewell (1757); Alterer: Augustus Toplady (1776)
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