Hymn Guide: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
This hymn is nearly synonymous with Easter. It is sung in every church (worth its salt) on the morning of Easter Sunday. The title of its tune, so rousing with its many Alleluias, is simply EASTER HYMN. If you haven’t sung it, have you really celebrated Easter?
But which version of this most famous hymn will you sing? “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today,” or “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”? Half of the churches sing one, and half sing the other. The former, by an anonymous author, was popularized by Tate & Brady, early authors of metrical psalmody. The latter was written by Charles Wesley. Both descend from a 14th century medieval Latin text, Surrexit Christus hodie, and both are wonderful. In this hymn guide, we will briefly survey both!
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Verse by Verse
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Verse 1
Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!
Notice that the hymn holds together both the cross and the grave. The joy of the resurrection is not merely about the return of a loved one, as, for example, the raising of Lazarus. Rather, this is the return of the atoning Lord.
Verse 2
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heav’nly King, Alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
The second verse emphasizes our response of praise to the death and resurrection of Christ. And it also carries out such praise through the repetition of the Alleluia! In fact, the repeating Alleluia is the most memorable part of the entire hymn.
Musically, the alleluias stand apart because they are sung across multiple notes, a musical form called a melisma. This stands in contrast to the rest of the words, where each syllable is sung to a single note. The musical contrast sets off the Alleluias, which become an unforgettable experience.
Verse 3
But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
where the angels ever sing: Alleluia!
My favorite part of the third verse is its third line, where we sing in ascending notes about Christ’s ascension above the sky. “King” is the high note here, and it is also theologically the major claim of the hymn: Christ is risen, and Christ is King!
Verse 4
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love, Alleluia!
Praise him all ye heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!
This last verse was written by Charles Wesley, but most hymnals include it here. Why? I think this verse endures because of the power of the final couplet, which invokes the whole heavenly host to the worship of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The rhyme is familiar from the doxology, and it feels like a fitting conclusion.
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Wesley originally wrote this hymn in eleven stanzas, and it did not include the alleluias. In other words, Wesley did not intend this as an alternative to Jesus Christ is Risen Today. Later editors, however, combined the text with the alleluias and set the words to the tune of EASTER HYMN. Here I survey a standard four-verse version of Wesley’s hymn.
Verse 1
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!
The first verse emphasizes the resurrection and all of creation’s response of praise. Compared with “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today,” the first verse places less emphasis on Jesus’ atoning work, but the emphasis shifts to it in verses two and three.
Verse 2
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!
Keen to offer assurance of salvation, here Wesley emphasizes the completion of Jesus’ work. You have to admire Wesley’s rhymes: done and won, rise and paradise. These capture not only the meaning, but also the feeling of finality.
Verse 3
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
This verse specifically draws on Paul’s teaching on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. With the resurrection of our King, we can join Paul in taunting death and the grave.
Verse 4
Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
The hymn concludes with hope and rejoicing as we participate with Christ. Just as he has risen, so will we. I like that Wesley, in the final line, includes the full passage from cross to grave to skies. The idea again follows from Saint Paul. Just as we share in Christ’s death through baptism, so also we shall share in his resurrection. Alleluia, indeed!
On Video
The first video is a classic rendition by the boys’ choir of King’s College, Cambridge, performed together with the organ. The second is a contemporary rendition by NCC Worship with a worship band. A third video features an excellent a cappella rendition of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” by GLAD.
Image: Rosary Basilica mosaic, Lourdes, 19th century. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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