Musical Meditations for the Holy Season: Sixteen Crucifixion Songs

In the spirit of my 50 favorite Christmas songs, I have decided to assemble a shorter list of 16 moving crucifixion songs to commemorate the Good Friday and Easter season.

John 19:16b-19
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Luke 23:44-47
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, the praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”

Romans 5:6-8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(All Scripture cited from the English Standard Version.)

Why 16? Two reasons: 1) Easter happens to fall on the 16th of April this year. 2) When I brainstormed a list, I came up with 16 songs.

You can find my YouTube playlist here. Because the list is assembled by the author of this blog, the actual selections are somewhat eclectic. Hopefully you find most of them tolerable, inspirational and even worthy of enjoyment:

16. Hallelujah, What a Savior!
15. It Is Finished
14. The Old Rugged Cross
13. Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?
12. And With His Stripes We Are Healed (from Messiah)
11. Alas and Did My Savior Bleed
10. Lamb of Glory
9. All We Like Sheep (from Messiah)
8. How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
7. Jesus Paid It All
6. My Jesus Fair
5. O Sacred Head Now Wounded
4. The Power of the Cross
3. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (arr. Gilbert Martin)
2. His Robes for Mine
1. Beneath the Cross of Jesus (Getty)

Note (4/8/17): This post and the accompanying YouTube list have been edited.