Zach Williams (Feat. Dolly Parton) – There Was Jesus

Christian rock artist Zach Williams, formerly Zach Williams & The Reformation, Brothers of Grace, and Zach Williams & the Brothers of Grace before going solo in 2016.  He released four albums and two EP’s, including.

• Electric Revival (Independent, 2009)
• A Southern Offering (Independent, 2011)
• Chain Breaker (EP, 2016)
• Chain Breaker (2016)
• Survivor: Live from Harding Prison (EP, 2018)
• Rescue Story (2019)

He won two Grammy’s and four GMA Dove Awards, which includes Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for There Was Jesus.

Also, check out my reviews of To the Table, Chain Breaker, Fear is a Liar, and Old Church Choir.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Zach-williams-and-dolly-parton-there-was-jesus-lyrics.

Side Note: The title says Zach Williams (Feat. Dolly Parton) as opposed to Zach Williams & Dolly Parton because Essential Music Publishing, which has majority control of this song, has it registered that way.

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?

Williams reflects on his life before following Jesus.  Amid Williams’ sinful lifestyle of walking through life on his own steam, Christ was with him, perhaps imploring him to come to saving faith.  This wasn’t apparent to Williams until sometime after his conversion.  Williams is grateful that Jesus was, is, and will always be there.

Score: 10/10

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

This song is Biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: This implies that Jesus was there with Williams amid his rebellious lifestyle.  The Son of God pleaded with Paul before his conversion (Acts 9:4-5).  He is also omnipresent (1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Colossians 1:17, and Hebrews 4:13).  Therefore, it seems reasonable to think that Christ was with Williams before he became saved.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: Essentially repeats ideas in Verse 1, lines 1-4, except Williams adds that he sees in part now how Christ’s Presence altered his life (1 Corinthians 13:12).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-7: Essentially repeats ideas in Verse 1, lines 1-4.

[Verse 3]

Line 1: Alludes to John Newton’s song Amazing Grace.

Grace, meaning “undeserved favor”, is a major theme within the entire Bible. For the sake of brevity, I will only mention two characters: Abraham and Paul.

Abraham is a major historical figure whose righteousness was credited to him by grace through faith, as quoted in Genesis (Genesis 15:6) and three times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23).

As for Paul, grace is a major theme throughout his writings, particularly in the book of Romans. See Romans 3:21-24, Romans 4:3-8, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 9:14-16, Romans 11:5-6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 5:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Titus 2:11, and 1 Timothy 1:15-16 for further study.

Line 2: That’s why Christ came, because He knew that without the shedding of His blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

Lines 3 and 4: Williams recognizes his depravity (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Proverbs 21:16, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, and 1 Timothy 5:6), grateful for Jesus.  Line 4 repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3: Essentially repeats ideas in Verse 1, lines 1-4.

Line 4: That is, Jesus is eternal (John 8:58, Colossians 1:13-17, and Hebrews 13:8).

Lines 5 and 6: God is with Williams (Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5-9, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 139:7-10, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Zephaniah 3:17, Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16-17, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38-39, and Revelation 3:20).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This song paints a picture to unbelievers, that if Jesus was there for Williams, He will be there for them also.  This could be easily misunderstood because many outside of Christianity think God isn’t there because He allowed them to suffer.  However, Williams addresses this criticism in Chorus.  He is there amid hurt and brokenness.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that Williams shows gratitude that Jesus was there when he screwed up his life, and is there now after he came to faith.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Zach Williams’ There Was Jesus is great.  It states over and over again that Jesus was there when Williams walked apart from God, after He became a Christian, and will be with Him after he became saved, pointing to His omnipresence and eternal existence.  These glorify God.  Unbelievers should be able to easily comprehend this song, even if their hearts refuse to budge on the incorrect idea that God abandoned them mid-pain.

This song is inspirational, but it talks mostly about Williams and references Jesus in the third person.  Therefore, I don’t recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: There Was Jesus (listen to the song)

Artist: Zach Williams (Feat. Dolly Parton)

Album: Rescue Story

Genre: Country

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 3:44

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