Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

Christ is risen! Happy Easter, friends! On this glorious day, I thought I'd share with you a recent study I did on the biblical connections in an Easter hymn from Charles Wesley.

Charles Wesley’s hymn, “Christ the Lord is risen today” (1739), was originally titled, “Hymn for Easter Day.” This powerful hymn on the theological and doxological significance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus appeared in the Wesleys’ hymnal, Hymns and Sacred Poems (March 1739), about ten months after Charles Wesley’s evangelical conversion in May 1738.

Wesley’s hymn appears to have been inspired by the anonymously translated Latin hymn, “Surrexit Christus hodie” (Jesus Christ is risen today) from the Lyra Davidica in 1708. But upon comparing the two hymns, Wesley's work exceeds what can be found in the Lyra Davidica.

“Christ the Lord is risen today” is not a narratival hymn that reminds Christians of the historical events leading up to Christ’s cross and resurrection. Wesley’s hymn is a theological hymn, o…