Handel’s “Zadok the priest” is a fairly well known item and has more than one use; for example in football and a wedding. If you listen to where the choir comes in it may sound familiar?
https://youtu.be/3kucFS9Gafk?si=hUUlhB2ioDcwLhdQ
Have you heard the lyrics to that 1727 piece of English coronation music by Handel? I happened this week to hear the musical item and catch the words. Those words seemed unlikely. I did some checking and that took me back a long way. It transpired that Handel used the words of an ancient antiphon. I did not trace the details.
Here are the lyrics which I heard from Handel’s piece:
Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King.And all the people rejoiced, and said:God save the King! Long live the King!May the King live for ever,Amen, Alleluia.
Live for ever? Does anyone live for ever?
In many references those lyrics are (partially correctly) ascribed to this part of the King James Bible:
So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them
(1 Kings 1:38-40 KJV).
The chapter in 1 Kings is about a coup and counter-coup for Solomon in the time of David the King of Israel, who had many sons. Solomon was anointed King by order of David.
I do not know how the line “may the king live forever” came to be included. Certain it is that Solomon lived out his days (1 Kings 11:43) and was buried in the normal course of events.
Jumping forward through the centuries we read of Jesus in Jerusalem saying: Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:49-51 NIV). Jesus said people (anyone) may receive and not die; they live forever. Not die.
Then, in the same place: Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them (John 6:54-56 NRSVUE). Those who receive eternal life from Jesus will be raised up on the “last day”. Thus, all share the destiny of physical death and need to be raised up, but there is the offer of living forever, or eternal life.
Jesus himself was to die to make this real. His hearers were unhappy: He said this to indicate how he was going to die. The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture[a] that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?” (John 12:23-34 NLT). They expected a Christ who would not die, a Christ who would not be executed on a cross. No other Christ would do!
Paul explained the future this way: With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 CEV). No doubt we are reading picture language as the mysterious is discussed. Is the main point clear? For the "all"? What is it?
Then we can look at the picture of the heavenly city given in the final book of the Bible: And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever (Revelation 22:5 ESV). To reign forever (and ever). Death is gone.
Matthew (and Mark) report a very striking statement from Jesus: even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 ESV). The cost of the deliverance was the life of the Son of Man (Jesus). Why would a ransom be necessary? Who needs to be ransomed (set free); who are the “many”? That is a much bigger issue than deliverance of the nation from Rome’s clutches (which did not happen).
If I turn a few more pages I find Jesus saying: “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28 CSB). This moment was close to the execution of Jesus. Jesus plainly still had his blood in his veins. However, he symbolically established a (new) agreement. As Luke tells it: In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (Luke 22:20 CSB). Luke does not mention many but he reports the same happening. The new agreement depended entirely on Jesus giving his life and making possible direct forgiveness of failure. Again, note how Mark reports: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them (Mark 14:24 NIV). The pouring out of Jesus' blood was key, even if those involved in the action had no idea.
On a memorable day Jesus delivered a man and spoke to him but said more: “Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost ”” (Luke 19:9-10 NRSVUE). We may not have full details of conversation with that man but Jesus is saying there are lost needing to be saved (by him). He is ready to do his saving work. Not everyone today wants to think of being lost and in need of a Saviour.
The events at the execution scene demonstrate that saving the lost was no passing matter: The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One” Luke 23:35 (NLT). So Jesus was known to proclaim himself as saving people. Sometimes in the text we do find the word translated as healing. That does not cover all of this. (Healing of bodies might also be connected to deliverance from judgement.)
John’s Gospel makes this plain in numerous places, like this: I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture (John 10:9 ESV). Jesus gives the opening for the person who wants to be saved. After passing through that door the person is secure. (The passage revolves around the image of the shepherd caring for sheep.) To put it another way, to go in via Jesus is to pass from death to life. That is the gift for all who accept it from Jesus. Paul explained it above, although it can not really be explained except in pictures.
Here is that word from Jesus in various translations:
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture (John 10:9 ESV).
“I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture” (John 10:9 CEV).
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9 NIV)
Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures (John 10:9 NLT).
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. (John 10:9 NRSVUE)
Do you see they agree? Jesus is thinking of all, of whoever enters, of those who come. There is no need to be left out! A king may enter by the gate and be saved and secure. A "commoner" may equally take the opportunity. He wants to be your Saviour and mine.
May you be blessed by God
Allen Hampton
Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations marked (CSB) are from the Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSVUE) are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021
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