Ten Thousand Angels

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thro’ the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, “Crucify Him; He’s to blame.”

Refrain
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.

Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns;
They laughed and said, “Behold the King!”
They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name
All alone He suffered everything.

When they nailed Him to the cross, His mother stood nearby,
He said, “Woman, behold thy son!”
He cried, “I thirst for water,” but they gave Him none to drink.
Then the sinful work of man was done.

To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry.
The cross of shame He took alone.
And when He cried, “It’s finished,” He gave Himself to die;
Salvation’s wondrous plan was done.

Written by Ray Overholt, I found the story behind this hymn interesting and sad at the same time. Mr. Overholt wrote this song in the 1950’s. He was in show-business and decided he needed to write a song about Jesus. He knew very little about the Bible, but opened the Bible to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The words of Jesus struck him when he read Jesus’ words “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Mr. Overholt admitted he didn’t know how many a legion was, but this Scripture gave him the idea for writing this song – Ten Thousand Angels. The sad part of this story for me is that Mr. Overholt was not a Christian when he first penned the words to this song. He admired the story of Jesus from what he read in the Bible, but hadn’t accepted Christ as his personal savior. Subsequent to writing this song, he found himself in a small church. The words of a preacher gripped his heart that day and he knew he needed Christ’s love and forgiveness. He bowed his head and accepted God’s offer of forgiveness, and continued in ministering through Gospel music.

What I find tragic about this story is that Mr. Overholt seemed to have a understanding of the Gospel message, but had not had a true heart change. The question for me is “Are there people like him in our world and in our churches today that understand the Gospel message, but have never made a true commitment to Christ?” As a parent, this is one of the things that concern me most about my children. That they are around Church and the Bible and that they have a working knowledge of Christianity, but they don’t have a personal relationship with the person, Jesus Christ. I hope the words to this song do two things for you today – 1) remind you of what Christ did for you on Calvary, and 2) challenge you to make sure that those you have influence on have made a decision for Christ.

One of the words that you see repeated several times in this song is the word “alone.” You see that word in the following phrases:

But He died alone, for you and me – Although the Bible records people around the cross at the time of Jesus’ death, I think the author is trying to communicate that there was only one person that could have died for you and me. It was Christ alone. No other prophet. Not a disciple. Not Mary. The only one who died for our sins was Jesus, and in this way, He truly died alone.

All alone He suffered everything – Jesus endured so much that day that words cannot sufficiently describe it. The guilt and pain of the sin of the world is impossible for our human minds to fathom. But He did this alone. Unlike Moses, He didn’t have someone holding His arms up. He was deserted and abandoned by the men closest to Him, and He suffered all alone.

The cross of shame He took alone – Yes. I realize that there were others that bore the shame of the cross that day. But the other men that died that day were guilty. They weren’t spotless. Their lives had been marked with thievery, and according to the laws of that day, the punishment fit the crime. There was no shame they had to endure. They were getting their just reward. But Christ, the sinless, spotless, blameless Lamb of God took the shame of the Cross alone. Philippians 2 tells us “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus prayed in the Garden – alone. Jesus died on the Cross – alone. Jesus suffered the wrath of sin and death – alone. The Bible tells us that there many times that Jesus was alone during His earthly ministry. But what is great about God is that He promises to never leave us alone. Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Although Jesus experienced loneliness in His life, we don’t have to go through our trials alone. We don’t have to experience the pain of being alone like He did. John 14:16-18 are the words and promises of Jesus that I hope encourage you today. Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

I am thankful that the Comforter has come. That He has come to dwell in His people. That we are never alone. That we have something better than 10,000 angels. We have the Holy Spirit of God living in us and working through us, and coming along side of us.