O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (Why We Can't Skip Friday)

When was the last time you heard or sang “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”? Perhaps it’s been years, or maybe you are not at all familiar with this 12th-Century poem, later turned into a hymn. I urge you to listen to it right now, before even continuing with this post (I’ll wait). I recommend the Norton Hall Band version of the song, for what it’s worth.
“That song sounds like it belongs at a funeral.”

Yes, it does, and in an age that tells us all church music needs to sound either like bubble-headed K-Pop or sappy love ballads, there is not always room for a song like O Sacred Head Now Wounded. The title alone might scare away any visitors, and we cannot have that, can we?

Yes, we can and must sing songs like this. “But the title is dark. Some of the words are violent. The whole tone is one of unease.”

These attempted criticisms of the hymn are actually a good and accurate description, and that is exactly how it ought to be. Why do I say this? I say this because the atonement of Jesus on the cross was, in fact dark, violent, and without ease. There are no bouncy Good Friday songs, because Good Friday was the bleakest moment in history. I want to remind us all of the potent and sobering words of the hymn with a brief summary and comment on each verse. Take some time here. Linger on Friday before you wake to the glory of Sunday.

O sacred head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, With sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn?

Verse One (above) simply state the facts of the scene. God the Son, Jesus of Nazareth, is suspended from earth on a Roman cross at the hands of Jewish accusers. He is holy and divine, and yet, in this moment, the only crown fit for him is one of thorns, pain and anguish. This verse begs the question, “How did it come to this? What is the only moral being in the universe doing bearing such a punishment?” This is the right question to ask, and the next two verses provide the answer.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners’ gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain;
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ‘Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, assist me with Thy grace.

My Burden in Thy passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

These two verses reveal the central point of the death of Jesus. His death was not earned by his own life. In fact, Jesus lived perfectly righteously before the Father. Of his own life, words, thoughts, and works, he deserved no punishment or scorn. The purpose for his suffering was to bear the punishment deserved by others. “Mine was the transgression” - what a sobering thought! The author is correct in stating, “‘Tis I deserve Thy place.” Jesus did not just die in general. He died in the place of people who actually deserved to die. He is a substitute; a stand-in for rebels.

Do you understand this? Have you gazed upon the cross and been moved to the same place the poem’s author leads? He pleads for mercy and begs the Savior to remember him, much like the repentant thief on the cross aside Jesus, asking for his favor as he enters his Kingdom. To borrow from another excellent hymn: "I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, an should I fainting be,
Lord let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

Did Jesus really go to the cross? Yes, he did. This is the unshaking testimony of history and the Scriptures. Why did he die? He died so that sinners would not have to bear the punishment they deserve. He did not just die, but died taking sin with him. This means, as our hymn author understands, that our penalty has been paid. Justice has been satisfied. There is no more debt for the ones for whom Jesus died!

What is the only good and natural response? It is a posture and life of gratitude and service. “Let me never, ever outlive my love for Thee.”

Dear friends, the only truly sacred head on earth was wounded so that you could live eternally and without scorn or pain. The following resurrection sealed and proved the victory, but that does not mean we can rush past Friday. Go to the cross. Stay a while. Sing a song that sounds like it belongs at a funeral, because it does.