Jesus Christ Is Risen Today is one of the oldest Easter hymns sung in English. It began as a Latin hymn, Surrexit Christus hodie, in 14th-century Bohemia; an anonymous English version appeared in Lyra Davidica in 1708, and John Arnold revised it in 1749 into the three verses sung today, with an Alleluia after every line. It celebrates the empty tomb and the cross that made it possible. Its message is the angel's at the tomb: "he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him" (Mark 16:6). The words and the tune, Easter Hymn, are in the public domain.
On Easter morning in churches across the English-speaking world, the first hymn is very often this one. Its tune, Easter Hymn, rings out its Alleluias like bells. It is easy to confuse with Charles Wesley's Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, which was written later to the same tune and also has an Alleluia after each line, but it is a different hymn with different words. Its three short verses cover the whole gospel: Christ suffered on the cross to redeem our loss, He endured the grave to save sinners, and now He reigns as King above the sky. Below are the words, the story of the hymn, and 12 KJV verses behind it, verse by verse. For the week before Easter, see the Holy Week timeline; for Wesley's hymn, see Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today: the words
Verse 1
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Verse 2
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
Verse 3
But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation hath procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky He's King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Doxology often sung as 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!
Words: verse 1 from the anonymous English translation of the Latin Surrexit Christus hodie in Lyra Davidica (London, 1708); verses 2 and 3 as rewritten for John Arnold's The Compleat Psalmodist (1749). Text checked against the 1791 printing in Hymns for the Amusement of Children (Wikisource), with modern spelling, and Wikipedia's account of the hymn; the doxology is usually credited to Charles Wesley (1740). Tune: Easter Hymn, from Lyra Davidica (1708). Public domain. Many hymnals print Our salvation have procured, and some sing Hallelujah for Alleluia.
Our triumphant holy day (verse 1)
1. Mark 16:6
"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."
Jesus Christ is risen today. The hymn's first line is the oldest Christian announcement there is. When the women came to the tomb with spices, a young man in white was sitting inside, and he said: And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. The risen Lord is the same Jesus who was crucified. Easter is not a symbol of spring or new beginnings in general. It is the news that a particular man, crucified on Friday, walked out of His grave on Sunday. See Bible verses about Easter.
2. Psalms 118:24
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Our triumphant holy day. For Christians, Sunday became the Lord's Day because it was the day Jesus rose. The early church loved to sing Psalm 118 at Easter, because it speaks of the stone the builders rejected becoming the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22), and then says: This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Jesus applied the rejected-stone verse to Himself (Matthew 21:42). Easter is the day the rejected One was raised and honored. See Bible verses about rejoicing.
3. Galatians 3:13
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
Who did once upon the cross suffer to redeem our loss. The hymn cannot sing about Easter without the cross, because the resurrection is God's answer to what happened there. Paul explains what Jesus did on the cross: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Redeemed means bought back. Our loss was the curse that sin brings, separation from God. Jesus took that curse on Himself when He hung on the cross, so that we could receive the blessing instead. Easter shows that God accepted the payment. See Bible verses about the cross.
4. 1 Corinthians 15:57
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Our triumphant holy day. Triumph is the word for a victory celebrated in public. Paul ends his long chapter on the resurrection with a shout of thanks: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the word giveth. The victory over sin and death is something Christ won and God gives; we do not earn it, we receive it. Paul has just asked, O death, where is thy sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55). The Alleluias of this hymn are the sound of people who have been given a victory they could never have won themselves. See 1 Corinthians 15 KJV.
Who endured the cross and grave (verse 2)
5. Ephesians 5:19
"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;"
Hymns of praise then let us sing. The second verse is a call to the whole church to sing. Paul tells believers to do exactly that: Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Christians sing because the gospel is too good to only say. Alleluia is Hebrew for praise ye the LORD, and in this hymn it comes after every single line, twelve times in three verses. See Bible verses about music.
6. Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Who endured the cross and grave. The hymn borrows the language of Hebrews almost word for word: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Endured means bore it to the end without turning back. Despising the shame means He treated the humiliation of crucifixion as nothing compared with the joy ahead. That joy was the resurrection, His return to the Father, and the people He would save. Looking unto Jesus is how we endure our own hard roads. See Bible verses about running the race.
7. 1 Peter 3:18
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"
Sinners to redeem and save. Peter explains in one sentence why the cross and the grave were necessary: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: The just for the unjust means the innocent One in place of the guilty. Once means one time, for all time; the work never needs to be repeated. Quickened means made alive. The goal of it all is in the middle of the verse: that he might bring us to God. Easter is not only about Jesus getting out of the grave, but about bringing us home. See Bible verses about salvation.
8. 1 Timothy 1:15
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Sinners to redeem and save. Paul, who had once arrested and imprisoned Christians, never got over the fact that Jesus saved him: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Chief means first, the worst of them. A faithful saying was probably a short creed the early churches repeated. That is why the hymn calls everyone, saint and sinner alike, to sing. See Bible verses about grace.
Now above the sky He is King (verse 3 and doxology)
9. Hebrews 5:9
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
But the pains which He endured our salvation hath procured. Procured means obtained or won. Hebrews says Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), and then: And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Made perfect does not mean He was ever sinful; it means He was made complete for His work as our Savior by going all the way through suffering and death. Author means source. The salvation His pains procured is eternal, not something that wears off. See Bible verses about redemption.
10. Ephesians 1:20-21
"Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:"
Now above the sky He's King. After the resurrection came the ascension, when Jesus returned to the Father and took His throne. Paul describes the power God used: Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: The right hand is the place of honor and authority. Far above means there is no power anywhere that outranks Him. The same power that raised Him is at work in believers (Ephesians 1:19). See Bible verses about Jesus as King.
11. Revelation 7:11-12
"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."
Where the angels ever sing. The hymn's third verse ends in heaven, and John saw that worship: And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Beasts here means living creatures, the heavenly beings around God's throne. When a congregation sings its Alleluias on Easter morning, it is singing along with the angels. See Bible verses about worship.
12. 2 Corinthians 13:14
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The doxology that many hymnals add as a fourth verse closes the hymn with praise to the Trinity. Paul ends one of his letters with a blessing that names all three: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. Communion means fellowship, sharing life together. Easter is the work of the whole Godhead: the Father raised the Son (Acts 2:32), and the Spirit gives life to all who belong to Him (Romans 8:11). See Bible verses about the Trinity.
A short prayer
Risen Lord Jesus, You are risen today, and I rejoice in this triumphant holy day. Thank You for suffering on the cross to redeem my loss and for enduring the cross and grave to save sinners like me. Your pains have won my salvation, and now You reign as King far above every power. Fill my heart with hymns of praise, and help me to live each day as a Sunday person, glad in the victory You have given. With the angels, I praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Alleluia! Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Jesus Christ Is Risen Today?
No single person. It began as a Latin hymn, Surrexit Christus hodie, found in 14th-century manuscripts from Bohemia. An unknown translator put it into English for Lyra Davidica, a hymn collection published in London in 1708 by John Baptist Walsh, together with the tune now called Easter Hymn. In 1749 John Arnold rewrote the second and third verses for The Compleat Psalmodist, and that is the text sung today. The doxology often added as a fourth verse is usually credited to Charles Wesley.
Is Jesus Christ Is Risen Today the same as Christ the Lord Is Risen Today?
No. They are two different hymns. Jesus Christ Is Risen Today comes from the Latin through Lyra Davidica (1708) and John Arnold (1749) and has three verses. Christ the Lord Is Risen Today was written by Charles Wesley in 1739 and has its own words, such as Love's redeeming work is done. They are easy to confuse because both have an Alleluia after every line and are often sung to the same tune, Easter Hymn.
Is Jesus Christ Is Risen Today in the public domain?
Yes. The English words date from 1708 and 1749, the doxology from the 1740s, and the tune Easter Hymn from 1708, so all of them are in the public domain in the United States. The words on this page follow the 18th-century text with modern spelling. Modern arrangements, descants and recordings can still be under copyright, so check before copying a particular arrangement or recording.
What Bible verses is Jesus Christ Is Risen Today based on?
The hymn rests on the Gospel accounts of the empty tomb, such as Matthew 28:6 and Mark 16:6, and on the preaching of the resurrection in Acts 2:32. Its picture of Christ enduring the cross and now reigning comes from Hebrews 12:2 and 1 Peter 3:18, and its heavenly King from Revelation 1:17-18. For Easter in 2027, Good Friday is March 26 and Easter Sunday is March 28. This page lists 12 KJV verses behind the hymn.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Easter · The resurrection of Jesus · Christ the Lord Is Risen Today · Up From the Grave He Arose · Crown Him with Many Crowns · When I Survey the Wondrous Cross · Holy Week timeline · Palm Sunday
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