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Beautiful, Scandalous Night
- 01/17/04
- 8
Two days ago I wrote about Mel Gibsons upcoming movie The Passion of the Christ. I asked the questions If my wife was brutally murdered, would I want to see a movie about it? If I love Jesus more than my wife, why would I want to see a graphic, brutal portrayal of His death? At that time I was looking at Jesus death as the most wicked, terrible crime ever committed. And it was.
But there was more to Jesus death than a hateful, brutal murder. Though it came at the darkest time in history and the time when mens sinful natures showed more cleary than ever before or after, it was also a time of unsurpassed beauty. It truly was the most beautiful, wonderful, significant event in the course of human history. For through that heart-rending, tragic time, Christ won the victory that has set us free. Just when Evil thought it had won the battle, Christ turned victory into defeat. Through His victory we were atoned and forever washed white.
I was reminded of the words to a song originally performed by The Choir (and covered several times by bands such as Smalltown Poets). The song is called Beautiful Scandalous Night and it speaks of the horror and beauty of the night Jesus was killed.
Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purifiedFollow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flows
For you and for me and for allAt the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous nightOn the hillside you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that pours
From our blessed Saviors sideAt the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore be thirsty no more
Go under and be purifiedAt the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by his blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous nightMiraculous night
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (8)
Now I’m humming this, and likely will be for the rest of the week. . .
Thank you.
Amen! Thank you so much for this beautiful reminder. God Bless!
I liked your relating the movie, “The Passion…” with the song “Beautiful, Scandalous Night”. I found your site because I was looking up the song. Especially the words…And your spirit restored by the river that pours from our blessed Savior’s side. I liked your blog…Thanks Be blessed to be a Blessing.
I really love that song. I’m just trying to translate it into German without losing the wonderful meaning of the whole text. It is so difficult. Especially the chorus. Do you know when that song was written?
Great song that reminds me of Gods sacrifice and suffering. It is a great reminder when I get down and miserable it puts things in perspective! We are saved!
I just performed this song at our churches Easter mass and decided to google the song to try and find out a little background info. This really shows the songs meaning as related to Easter that I didn’t see before. Thank you for making this song much more spiritual for me.
I do not like this song. When one looks at the lyrics some discrepencies appear. First of all, to say “Beautiful, Scandalous Night” seems a bit of an oxymoron because beautiful and scandalous mean two completely opposite things. I dont think the work “scandalous” is appropriate either. What is the first thing you think of when you hear scandalous? The Watergate scandal, the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Well I do, and everytime this song has been sung, I hear people saying the same thing. Also, I believe the Bible says Jesus was crucified in the afternoon and hung there until evening because it was against Jewish law to leave a body hanging during the Sabbath which started at sunset, or dusk and defintinely not night. So two things: scandalous is not an appropriate word and Jesus wasn’t crucified at night. The overall message of the song is good but the wording used to convey the message does not fit.
@Concerned
It’s an oxymoron on purpose. Jesus had to DIE in order for us to receive the GIFT of eternal life. That has both despair and joy in it, which is exactly what “Beautiful Scandalous” is trying to convey.
Webster’s Dictionary entry (pay close attention to the first definition):ScandalousScan”dal*ous\, a. [Cf. F. scandaleux.]1. Giving offense to the conscience or moral feelings; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation.Nothing scandalous or offensive unto any. —Hooker.2. Disgraceful to reputation; bringing shame or infamy; opprobrious; as, a scandalous crime or vice.3. Defamatory; libelous; as, a scandalous story.
We are the reason Jesus had to die, so I’m pretty sure the fact that he did should give offense to our conscience. Of course, we also know that he chose to because he loves us so much, but that is a realization that comes after the offense.
And the last point, about using “Night.” Simple answer: poetic license. The writer probably picked night to reflect the darkness of sin that was in the world. Also, there isn’t really anything literal in this song; it is all symbolic language, which would actually make using “afternoon” out of place.
I personally love everything about this song, and I hope something I said helped to clear up at least some confusion…