I remember when news started circulating back in the late 70s how famed folk singer, Bob Dylan, who has been called the poet Laureate of the 20th century, had become a Christian.

It was all the more surprising considering he was also a Jew and a bit of a counter-revolutionary.

His conversion began showing up in his songs such as I Believe in You, Gotta Serve Somebody, and When He Returns and people were noticing. Even my secular friends who were hardcore Dylan fans were bringing it up in conversation.

Dylan seemed serious about his faith. He took a three-month course on Christianity and during one concert, Dylan, who was reluctant to speak to the crowd during performances, blurted out:

“I’m telling you now Jesus is coming back, and He is! And there is no other way of salvation…Jesus is coming back to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem for a thousand years.”

And Wikipedia writes at a concert in Omaha, Nebraska in 1980, Dylan told the audience:

‘Years ago they … said I was a prophet. I used to say, “No I’m not a prophet”, they say “Yes you are, you’re a prophet.” I said, “No it’s not me.” They used to say “You sure are a prophet.” They used to convince me I was a prophet. Now I come out and say Jesus Christ is the answer. They say, “Bob Dylan’s no prophet.” They just can’t handle it.”

Then just as quickly his faith seemed to fade away, and I remember noticing that as well.

So what caused Bob Dylan, who had attended a Bar Mitzvah when he was 13, to embrace evangelical Christianity, even if it was for only a few years?

I had never heard the backstory and it is interesting.

In his article on Patheos, Shawn Paul Wood explained this curious transformation.

It started at a concert in San Diego in 1978 which led to an encounter with Jesus two days later in a hotel room in Tuscon, Arizona.

During concerts, it is not unusual for fans to throw things onto the stage. Normally, the performers ignore them, and they are later swept up by crew members at the end of the concert and thrown out.

But at this concert, someone threw a crucifix onto the stage.

It caught Dylan’s attention, and he stooped down mid-concert, picked it up, and put it in his pocket.

Two days later, Dylan was in that Tuscon motel room when he had an encounter with Jesus.

“Jesus put his hand on me. It was a physical thing. I felt it. I felt it all over me. I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up,” he told the Independent. Dylan continued to say that he “sensed a presence in the room that couldn’t have been anybody but Jesus.” 

It seemed very real, as evidenced by the dramatic change in Dylan’s life.

But as he embraced Christianity, the critics came at him in force for his gospel-laden music. I don’t know if this impacted him or not, but by 1982 Dylan was pulling back from his Christian faith and was embracing his Jewish roots, and at times flirting with orthodox Judaism.

Could Dylan be one of those described in the parable of the sower, where the seed fell on rocky ground:

²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. (Matthew 13:20-21 NIV)

Maybe. I really don’t know.

Dylan is now 82 years old, and I have no idea where he is at spiritually. In his article, Shawn Wood suggests he is Jewish.

I am hoping there is still a spark of faith in his heart, but only God knows. As Wood points, some of those gospel songs, such as Gotta Serve Somebody, are still on his playlist.

READ: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door: Bob Dylan Details “A Literal Visit” from Jesus in New Memoir AND How Bob Dylan embraced Jesus in a born-again period lasting three years