Poems About Jesus – A Great Way to Focus the Hearts of Christians on Christ This Holiday Season
Many Christians view poetry as frippery that diverts time away from more meaningful religious tasks, yet some believers recognize its worth in worship services.
Jesus played an essential part in the religion of many Victorian poets. Alfred Tennyson and Matthew Arnold wrestled with the faith/doubt dichotomy, while Emily Dickinson adopted pantheism, which included Christ amongst many divine entities.
The Birth of Christ
In the first century AD, an unknown Jewish carpenter named Jesus Christ lived an obscure existence among his own family and traveled around spreading his teachings around. Some consider him prophetic, while others call him teacher- his followers often refer to him as the Messiah or Son of God and Lord; some even become martyrs for their faith.
The Bible records the birth of Jesus was an extraordinary event, predicted to one faithful man named Simeon in Jerusalem by God through His Holy Spirit and predicted by Him that he would not die until seeing Christ!
Mary followed a common Jewish practice when giving birth: she immediately wrapped him in cloth bands known as swaddling clothes to keep the newborn warm and secure during his first days.
She then placed him in a manger – an animal feeding trough used for feeding animals – before putting him back to sleep.
The Bible details Jesus’s birth in various ways, with Matthew and Luke each giving different accounts. Luke uses unique language that may indicate Joseph was descended from royalty by using Bethlehem – David’s hometown – as his place of birth.
Luke attempts to add some theological context to the Christmas story by mentioning Caesar Augustus and Quirinius – two Roman governors responsible for overseeing various regions within their empire, during which Matthew says a census is taking place.
The poem also seeks to demonstrate how Jesus’ birth fulfills prophecies and sets in motion an unfolding plan of redemption; this can be seen by how his name is mentioned throughout; some examples include Son of God, Savior, Lord, Light of the World, and Immanuel are among others.
The Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an excruciating and humiliating death penalty in which those sentenced are tied or nailed to a wooden cross and left hanging until they die of exhaustion or asphyxiation, often while being beaten and crowned with thorns. Sometimes, the legs or feet were broken off the condemned to speed their deaths faster – however, Jesus’ soldiers found this unnecessary, so they pierced his side instead.
Once arrested, soldiers took Jesus before both the Sanhedrin and Caiphus for trial for sedition; afterward, to Herod, where he was accused of trying to become King himself and mocked and spat upon as Peter denied believing in Him.
Jesus experienced physical trauma through two sources. One was when one of the palace guards struck out when he refused to tell them where he received money, while a servant of the high priest struck him in the face after saying he didn’t know Jesus and then later denied it.
Even while being nailed to a cross, he attempts to remain upright on his power but eventually collapses due to being stretched beyond human endurance. As his body crumples beneath him, its rough wood gouges his lacerated skin and tears into his pulped flesh. Anxious to finish this horrendous act and rid themselves of their victim, Simon of Cyrene offers his assistance as an extra body.
After Jesus is crucified, a title reading “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is placed above his head, and his cross is placed at Golgotha, where thieves also lie crucified alongside him. They were offered wine mixed with myrrh for pain relief but refused it instead and began suffocating soon after that; soon after that, Jesus too began suffering asphyxiation before breaking back in several places, with people below in the valley hearing his agonized screams as his back was breaking apart and turning blood red in places as people below heard his agonized agony while sky turns bloody red as people below and atmosphere turned blood red with bloodied sky as sky turned blood red.
The Resurrection
One of the most profound feats Jesus ever performed was rising from the dead. This act proved His power over death and Satan, as well as that His blood on the cross had paid for humanity’s sins – meaning those who accepted Him as Savior would also experience resurrection to an immortal body like His.
Jesus Christ’s resurrection marked the first in an ongoing chain of renewals that will occur over time. Just like blooming tulips signal springtime’s arrival with new hope and life on its way, his resurrection served as a signal that more will follow soon enough.
At one point during his life, Jesus made claims to be God in human form – something which the religious leaders of his day found deeply offensive. John wrote about Jesus being “with God and being God” (John 1:1), while other writers such as Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus and Lucian, and Pliny all referenced Him and confirmed He died on a cross and rose again from death.
The resurrection was an outward sign of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and Satan attained on the Cross. It represented His Father’s validation of what Jesus accomplished for all humanity on that fateful day in history; therefore, it allowed all races and religions to accept his offer of salvation. Additionally, His resurrection is also an indicator of His Second Coming, when He will come again from heaven to gather his saints before ruling this earth for one thousand more years.
The Sanhedrin was unable to produce Jesus’ body from its tomb, which was guarded by soldiers and sealed with stones, further attesting to its reality. Christianity rests upon this truth of resurrection; nothing can ever disprove or change this fact that gives hope in this life while promising eternal life in the next one.
The Second Coming
Poems about Jesus can help Christians focus their hearts on Him during this holiday season. Educators can read them aloud during classes or use them to prompt discussion and reflection in small groups. Additionally, poems about Him can also help students learn and memorize scripture related to his birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and second, coming – choosing among a range of lyrics available that best meet students’ needs and age levels is also possible.
In this sonnet, the poet longs to welcome Jesus into their hearts despite feeling unworthy of doing so. Jesus can cleanse all sin from us if given an open space to reside. So this Christmas, let us make sure there’s somewhere clean for Christ to live within ourselves!
After his resurrection, Jesus instructed his followers to spread his teachings around the globe and make disciples. After ascending into heaven, he left two messengers behind to explain that he would return in much the same manner he left – this would mark Jesus’ “second coming” or replace with his glorified body that would mark the end of human history and initiate his millennial kingdom on earth.
This poem draws upon various biblical allusions, such as those found in Matthew 20:1-16 and 25:14-30 regarding workers in a vineyard and talents (Matt 20:1-16 and 25:14-30 respectively), to depict God as an active master who assigns tasks and punishes any who fail in doing them, as well as emphasizing contrasts between active angels who fly about freely throughout creation compared to contemplative ones who remain within His heavenly court.
This sonnet’s concluding verse is particularly poignant because it explores human and divine responses to Christ’s death and concludes that the only appropriate response should be joy at his resurrection glory.
Some Christians may believe that Christ will return invisibly or with only an invisible rapture, yet Scripture teaches otherwise. Christ will come back visibly accompanied by a trumpet call and gather his faithful people together before His second coming.
