The Outlaw

This week's song is "The Outlaw" written by Larry Norman. The song originally appeared on his Only Visiting This Planet released in 1972.

The performance below is by Dana Key, of Degarmo & Key fame, from his The Journey release in 1990. After a long successful career in music, Dana became a pastor in Cordova, Tennessee at The Love of Christ Church. He was also a descendant of Francis Scott Key, the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner". He died a the young age of 56 in 2010.

This song has also been covered by Kevin Max (DC Talk) and Kerosene Halo (Michael Roe, Derri Daugherty).

Who was Jesus? It's the age-old question. People have been asking that for over 2000 years now--perhaps longer. Whether man or saviour, his life has changed the world forever.

Many see Jesus as a hippy pacifist seeking peace and harmony, but I submit that he was much more scandalous than that. He called people out when they needed it, with righteous love. He turned over tables, he hung out with losers and those with questionable character. He broke social norms. He did it all for love.

His most scandalous claim was that he was God himself, and that got him in a lot of trouble. That was against the law. There was only one God and only one ruler. That got him death.

He was there all along, right from the beginning. He created, everything. And yet, he saw fit to let go of his high status to become part of his creation as a helpless baby. We could not move into his neighborhood so he moved into ours. That is insanity. No other "god" would do such a thing. There is no way this story makes any sense--unless it is true.

There is a tendency in society to believe that Jesus was probably real, but he could not have done all that extra stuff. He was just a man. He was just some activist. Some think the gospel books were just written as early fan fiction by some dedicated fanboys. Tell me, though, who would write such a narrative? Why would they include what they did? If this story was made up, you would think it would have a much happier ending. Besides, what good is a God-Saviour who is not supernatural? Is it more difficult to say "I forgive you" or to heal you? If I am going to worship a god, he must be more than just a man.

So, maybe he was an outlaw. Perhaps a poet who recited his poetry, that few could understand, at the local farmer's market. Maybe a politician gunning for kingship. Maybe a magician or a sorcerer--making wine and multiplying fish. Could it be that he was the Son of God as he claimed?

Perhaps this all just sounds like foolishness, like Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians:

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.

1 Corinthians 2:13-15

Finally, who is Jesus to me? It is a long list. He was an outlaw, at least according to man's law. We celebrate his birth at Christmas time, but that was not his beginning. He's both a lion and a lamb. He's the ram that Abraham saw in the thicket. He's the blood on the door frame of the Israelites in captivity. He's the stripes by which we are healed. He's the human sacrifice. He is grace and mercy rendered on the cross and resurrected a few days later. He is Lord. Savior. Friend.

May you have the eyes, ears, and heart to see Jesus, the Christ, for who he is this Christmas season.