This is Luther’s famous Easter hymn. It works well as an Easter communion hymn, so we will sing it on Sunday, May 4. It feels and sounds a little bit different than a lot of Easter hymns. The tune is distinctly German, whereas a lot of Easter tunes sound more Scandinavian. And some are Scandinavian, while others might be French or English. These other Easter tunes might sound lighter and happier, which is certainly appropriate for Easter. But this one has that typical German seriousness. So we might fall into singing it like a sad dirge, but that is not right. It should be sung forcefully to communicate the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
1 Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands For our offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand He stands And brings us life from heaven.
Therefore let us joyful be And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of hallelujah! Hallelujah!
It’s not just about Jesus’ resurrection, but his death and his resurrection. It especially teaches how they work together. In the second verse, it rightly teaches that it was Jesus’ death that swallows up death. We might think that Jesus’ resurrection is how he triumphed over death. But it was truly by his crucifixion, when he took away sin. Therefore, death loses its power. And the resurrection demonstrates that Jesus’ death has swallowed up death.
2 It was a strange and dreadful strife When life and death contended;
The victory remained with life, The reign of death was ended.
Holy Scripture plainly says That death is swallowed up by death,
Its sting is lost forever. Hallelujah!
The third verse gets us thinking about Holy Communion, which dominates the rest of the hymn. It recalls the Passover and how Jesus is the true Paschal Lamb. As the Israelites painted the blood of lambs on their doorposts, we can think of the blood of Christ in the Sacrament painting our lips (the doorposts of our bodies). And because we receive the blood of Jesus, death passes over us.
3 Here the true Paschal Lamb we see, Whom God so freely gave us;
He died on the accursed tree So strong His love—to save us.
See, His blood now marks our door; Faith points to it: death passes o’er,
And Satan cannot harm us; Hallelujah!
The fourth and fifth stanzas call us to come and receive the body and blood of Jesus that was crucified and resurrected for us. We do not eat and drink Jesus’ dead body and blood, because he is not dead any longer. But it is the body and blood that was crucified and is risen. It is alive, because he is alive. So when we eat and drink, we not only receive forgiveness, but also life.
4 So let us keep the festival To which the Lord invites us;
Christ is Himself the joy of all, The sun that warms and lights us.
Now His grace to us imparts Eternal sunshine to our hearts;
The night of sin is ended. Hallelujah!5 Then let us feast this Easter Day On Christ, the bread of heaven;
The Word of grace has purged away The old and evil leaven.
Christ alone our souls will feed; He is our meat and drink indeed;
Faith lives upon no other! Hallelujah!
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Dan Antal