|
The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
Sat., Dec. 2. 2023 3:31pm EST
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our 24th single of 2023:
LITTLE JESUS (SIMEON'S SONG)
This parody is sung from the perspective of Simeon as he prophesies over the baby Jesus at His presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:25-35), 40 days after His birth (Leviticus 12:1-8). I got the idea for "Little Jesus" on March 16, 2023. I wanted to use it as part of a Christmas single, so I knew we'd have to wait a while, but not nearly as long as Simeon waited.
The Bible doesn't say his age, but the following statements indicate he was probably an old man: "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah" (Luke 2:26) and "'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace'" (Luke 2:29).
Actually, when I got the title "Little Jesus," I didn't know what part of the Christmas story it would tell, but when I started fleshing out the lyrics in October 2023, I soon realized it should be Simeon's song. Although we'd never mentioned him by name in a parody before, we'd alluded to him (and the prophetess Anna, who was also present that day) in the second verse of "Christ in the Stable" in 2013.
Simeon refers to the baby as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles," a reference to two Messianic passages Isaiah wrote 700 years earlier. Here's one of them: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).
MAGI
I got the idea for "Magi" on January 4, 2023 — a little too late for Christmas. Then again, the wise men themselves were running a bit behind. Matthew 2:1 says, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem."
Matthew 2:11 says they came to visit Jesus at "the house," not the stable. Moreover, based on Matthew 2:16, it could have been up to two years after Jesus was born: "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."
The song we spoofed here, "Magic" by The Cars, was my favorite tune for a while during the summer of 1984. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 the weeks of July 7, 14, and 21, and I saw The Cars in concert (with Wang Chung as an opening act) on July 27 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh PA. "Magic" had already gone to #1 on the mainstream rock chart by then, too.
I recorded the vocals for "Magi" on November 7, 2023, and my scheduled Bible reading that day was Isaiah 58-60. Check out what Isaiah 60:6 (NLT) says: "Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the LORD." To quote Mr. Nezzer in the first Veggie Tales Christmas episode, "Cool, huh?"
|
