Marty Goetz is a Messianic Jewish musician who has been recording songs since 1985. Some of his most famous songs are “O Lord, Our Lord” and “He Is My Defense.” In addition to writing and recording music, Marty has led worship at churches and ministries across the country. He now lives in Tennessee with his wife Jennifer. Their daughter Misha is also a worship leader and recording artist. We interviewed Marty in June 2023 as part of a series on Messianic Jewish music.[1]

1. How do you define Messianic music?

MARTY GOETZ: I would define Messianic music as music reflecting the Hebraic nature of the gospel of the kingdom of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). I would say it often incorporates Hebrew and is biblically based, not just emotional or personal. It is music attempting to inform the body of Messiah that the kingdom in which they sing or play their music is a kingdom inaugurated through the gospel, the good news, which is to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles, to Israel first and also to the nations. To sum up, Messianic music teaches, instructs, and inspires people to understand the Hebraic roots of their faith in modern times. Messianic music reflects the totality of the kingdom message brought to us by our loving and amazing Savior, Yeshua.

2. How did you begin writing Messianic music?

MARTY: I was inspired by music I heard from the Liberated Wailing Wall. I met this wonderful man named Mitch Glaser [now president of Chosen People Ministries]; he and his comrades had written music for the Liberated Wailing Wall. I never heard anything like it. It incorporated Eastern European Jewish music with Messianic content. For a baby boomer such as I, it was perfect because it pulled from our synagogue training. I was in the Cantor’s Club,[2] I sang Hebrew, I sang Jewish music, Jewish folk songs, things like that. Along with these characteristics, this music infused content about Yeshua, whom we had come to know was our Messiah. It was a perfect combination. I was so inspired by it that I wrote a song called “Jew Born Anew.” Then I would write music that sometimes did not sound Messianic, like the song called “This Poor Man Cries,” which sounds just like a ballad but with Hebrew in the midst of it. This kind of put that Messianic stamp or Messianic mark on the music.

I once went to a songwriting workshop led by Stuart Dauermann, and he spoke at length about the roots and the basis for Messianic expression. Out of that workshop came songs like “Oh Lord, Our Lord,” and “He is My Defense.” As my daughter says, it’s my greatest hit album.

Just to conclude, certainly most of my music—if not all of it—is biblically based. I’ve always leaned into the Scriptures because, as people of the book, we Jewish people love to draw from our ancient texts and put music to them.

3. What do you see as the future of Messianic music?

MARTY: I believe it morphed from what I term “shtetl music.”[3] In the early days of Messianic music, you could almost picture a little ensemble sitting in the square of a little town, witnessing Yeshua in the midst of our Jewish people. That’s the feeling we have—kind of like Fiddler on the Roof meets the apostle Paul. But today, the epicenter of God’s dealings with our people has moved to Israel, I think. That’s where I think Messianic music is and is going. Their music is very different, because it’s Middle Eastern influenced, which is really the original Messianic music. The first song I ever wrote was “Psalm 23”; it didn’t sound Messianic at all but almost like what would you call an art piece, an art song, that someone might sing in a recital. Nothing about it sounded Jewish. I’m sure when David composed Psalm 23, it didn’t sound at all like my version.

Messianic music is returning, I think, to its original source, which is the Middle East. The future of Messianic music, I believe, is going to be more centered in Israel, drawing from the Hebrew but also still drawing from what we call world music influences. Even now, the music that I play sounds very old. It sounds like something you hear in a synagogue fellowship hall for a bar mitzvah or a wedding. Whereas the music we make now in Israel is much more reflected by people like Miqedem.

Also, I believe that this is the hour for Yeshua to be known in the earth as King of the Jews and the Lord of the Nations. I believe that Messianic music is going to reflect these truths more and hopefully spread all over the world in Yeshua’s name. Amen?

4. What is your favorite song you have ever written?

MARTY: I would say my favorite song I’ve written is called, “More Than the Watchman,” which does not sound Messianic at all. As a matter of fact, there’s a funny story here. When I was trying to get a record deal, I played that song for a man named Billy Ray Hearn, who was the head of Sparrow Records. I made it very clear I’m a Jewish believer, and I played that song. While he really, really liked it, he turned to me after I sang it and said, “Okay, that’s very good, but could you write a song more like this group that no longer is with us—they’re called Lamb?” Truth was, I didn’t really have that kind of skill with writing that sort of Messianic music. But “More Than the Watchman” is my favorite because it came at a time when I was a new believer really, and I was struggling with my faith. Not that I didn’t believe my faith, but as a new believer, I was trying to find my way. I opened up Psalm 130 and saw the phrase, “More than the watchman waits for the morning” (v. 6). It just touched me, so I sat down, wrote this song, and incorporated it into a personal expression.

If I were to pinpoint what characterizes a lot of my music, it’s the incorporation of Scripture into personal expression. But the Scripture is the foundation of the song, not the personal expression. I still love singing “More Than the Watchman,” and many people still ask me to sing it to this day. And while it’s not a Messianic song, it was written in the Spirit of Messiah by a man who believes in the Messiah and sings it for the Messiah. So, I suppose in a broad sense, it’s Messianic.

[1] We lightly edited this interview for clarity and smoothness.

[2] A cantor is someone who leads liturgical singing and chanting in a synagogue.

[3] A shtetl is an eastern European Jewish village, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.