Passion (Feat. Kristian Stanfill) – Behold the Lamb

Happy resurrection day!

Easter is a special time for Christians where we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, even if we’re bundled up at home during Easter Sunday.  He died to pay the penalty for our sins, buried in a rich man’s tomb. The churches may be empty, but so is Christ’s tomb!  He rose again to defeat death, the final enemy that separated us from God.

Every year, I choose a song that reflects these events and review it.  For 2020, I chose a more recent release, Passion’s Behold the Lamb.

While we’re celebrating resurrection day, consider reading Passion’s Glorious Day, which is about God’s rising us from our spiritual death.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The song starts by recounting some of the sufferings Christ endured. He wore a crown woven with thorns. Through our lawbreaking, we join the Jews in putting Jesus on the cross. Yet, as transformed people, we are grateful for His suffering because it leads to our redemption, knowing that we don’t deserve it. This great sacrifice of Christ demonstrates how deep, how wide, and how long our Father’s love is for us.

As Christ-followers, we see the crucified Lamb for who He is: our Savior, our eternal King, and our hope.  He resurrected, defeating death. We praise Him forever.

This song follows a basic structure, with the Chorus repeating after every Verse and twice at the end.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of these lyrics are Biblical.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

See Him there, the Great I Am

That is, Jesus.  When Jesus says “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58), He references Exodus 3:14.  It is the name that the Father gave to Himself when speaking to Moses through the burning bush.  This is one example where Jesus claims to be God.

A crown of thorns upon His head

The crown of thorns is one of many ways that the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, and John 19:2-5).

The Father’s heart displayed for us

The Father loved the world that He gave Jesus to pay for our sins (John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, 1 John 4:9-10, and 1 John 4:19).

Oh God, we thank You for the cross
Lifted up on Calvary’s hill

We as Christians respond with an attitude of gratitude (1 Corinthians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Colossians 3:15-17, and Hebrews 12:28).

We cursed Your name and even still
You bore our shame and paid the cost

Christ died for ungodly, wicked sinners, including you and I (Romans 5:6-8).

Oh God, we thank You for the cross

Repeats line 4.

[Chorus]

Behold the Lamb, the story of redemption
Written on His hands

The first part is originally stated by John the Baptist in John 1:29, prophecying Jesus as the One who would bear the sins of the world.

The second part represents the piercing Jesus experienced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4-6 and Matthew 27:35).

Jesus, You will reign forevermore

Jesus’ rulership will last for eternity (Revelation 11:15).

The victory is Yours

Based on Verse 2, this references Jesus’ victory over death (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, Luke 20:35-36, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, and Hebrews 2:14).

We sing Your praise
Endless hallelujahs to Your holy name

The first part represents our eternal praise, responding to Christ’s great sacrifice (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13).  The second describes the name of Jesus as holy (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:27-30, 1 John 2:20, Hebrews 7:26, and Revelation 4:8).

Jesus, You will reign forevermore
The victory is Yours

Repeats lines 3 and 4.

[Verse 2]

Offer up this sacrifice
For every sin, our Savior died

Jesus paid the penalty for our lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

The Lord of Life can’t be contained
Our God has risen from the grave
Oh, our God has risen from the grave, whoa

Christ has risen.  He has risen indeed (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29 Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)!

[Verse 3]

When the age of death is done
We’ll see Your face, bright as the sun
We’ll bow before the King of Kings
Oh God, forever we will sing
Sing to Him

In reverent worship, we will eternally worship God.  See commentary in Chorus, lines 5 and 6.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Considering that Easter shows up every year, an unbeliever must live under a rock to miss the basic elements throughout this song: the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, the resurrection, that He came to take away our sins, and that Christians worship God in response to it all. They may not comprehend its significance; However, there’s nothing here that will lead to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Passion is clear.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Passion’s Behold the Lamb is a worthy song for next year’s Easter worship set.  It contains the basic elements of the Gospel message: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  His followers, who don’t deserve God’s incredible love, worship for eternity in response.  Unbelievers familiar with the basic elements of an Easter celebration will have no trouble interpreting this song.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Behold the Lamb (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Passion (Feat. Kristian Stanfill)

Album: Follow You Anywhere (Live)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 5:09

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2019 Kristian Stanfill Publishing Designee (ASCAP) worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) Worship Together Music (BMI) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) sixsteps Songs (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com), Simply Global Songs (BMI) Sing My Songs (BMI) Phil Wickham Music (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.