History lesson time! Have you heard of a guy named George Frideric Handel? Handel was an English Baroque composer from Germany in the late 17th and early 18th century who is famous for the music pieces he wrote.
The Messiah is a 2+ hour orchestoral and choral presentation of Jesus' life. Every word of the oritorio comes from scripture. The beginning part uses words from well known prophetic passages of the Old Testament. It continues through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and ending with a slam-bang finish about the triumphant return of Jesus in the end of days.
Such an intense and intricate piece of music was bound to have taken Handel many years to write. Not so! He wrote it at a break-neck speed of 24 days! Barely leaving his study or even eating for three weeks, Handel bent over his manuscripts to craft the story of Jesus through music. All in all, Handel completed 240 pages of manuscript during that time. Friends who came to see him while he composed usually found him overcome with emotion and sobbing as he traced the journey of Jesus all the way to the cross.
Handel journeyed to the cross. Historians said that he wrote while he was consummed with depression. Out of the depth of his heart, he connected with Jesus.
Psalm 147:3 says, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." What a beautiful irony it is that Jesus had to first allow himself to be wounded so that he might bind up the wounds of Handel...and that he might bind up your wounds, too.
