I recently had someone assert to me that he believes that we must hold that Jesus and the apostles were the greatest group of musicians in the history of the world and not to do so is blasphemy. Apparently, for him, because Jesus was (and is) incarnate Deity, He had to have been the greatest singer and musician ever. He also had to have taught the apostles about music so that Jesus and the apostles had to have been uniquely excellent in their sacred music that they played and sang.
Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest singer and musician of all time?
Poll Results
Was Jesus of Nazareth the Greatest Singer and Musician of All Time?
Yes, He was the greatest singer and musician of all time. Votes: 0
No, He was not the greatest singer and musician of all time. Votes: 0
Not sure Votes: 4
Other (please specify below in a comment) Votes: 1
Discussion
NewEdifying comments requested
I would greatly appreciate it that those who are not interested in edifying interaction specifically about this subject would refrain from making comments in this thread that are not edifying.
NewThis is simple for me, provide a verse?
Other than (Matt. 26:30, Mark 14:26), which merely mention that Jesus and the disciples did sing, please cite one verse that comes close to commenting on Jesus’ singing voice or musical talents.
Since the Bible makes no comment, I have no idea how well Jesus sang or whether he could play musical instrument. If I had to guess and extrapolate, I’d say maybe he didn’t sing well because there was nothing about him that caused people to look at him as particularly charismatic or skilled in his daily attributes. He was not head over heels above anyone in natural things.
NewMark_Smith wrote:
I do not have any other verses that speak explicitly about His singing or musical talents during His time on earth (but cf. Heb. 2:12 concerning the future). I disagree strongly with the insistence that His being incarnate Deity requires that we hold that He is the greatest singer and musician of all time.
Having said that, I am not sure ultimately what to think about this question from a broader theological standpoint. I have some thoughts, and I am interested to hear what others think who are willing to think carefully through the possible theological issues and implications of taking either an affirmative or a non-affirmative position on this question.
NewHe is the greatest - and He sang.
I always say I would be a very good singer if I wasn’t for pitch and rhythm. I can remember the words.
Is “great” singing morally good? Is it morally better to sing well? I answer No. we are called to sing, but there is no call to sing well.
Is “great” singing more beautiful? Yes. But there’s no biblical evidence that Jesus was outwardly beautiful.
NewElvis!
Elvis!
NewIsaiah 53
We usually think of verse 2 as applying to physical attractiveness, but we might wonder whether the ancients would have considered the voice to have “beauty and majesty”. On the flip side, He spoke as one who had authority (Mark 1:22), and not as the teachers of the law—for whatever reason, His voice conveyed seriousness and truth.
All in all, though, given that He and His disciples sang often, but any distinctive nature of His voice is not mentioned in Scripture as such, I think it’s a good bet (not guaranteed, but a good bet) that His voice could be powerful when needed (teaching the 5000, for example), but was not akin to what we’d expect if a voice like Luciano Pavarotti came to church.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
NewDan Miller wrote:
1. Ps. 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
God commands here that those who play must play skillfully.
2. 1 Chronicles 15:22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.
At least in the Solomonic temple, the one who was the chief of the Levites and was for song instructed people about the song because he was skillful. Scripture here reveals to us that skillfulness in singing was something that God did want from those who sang in the Temple.