Hymn Review of "Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands" by Martin Luther

Hello, internet. Today I would like to do a review of the Easter hymn "Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands" (in German Christ lag in Todesbanden) written by the one and only Marty Luther. This idea is not mine. I got it from Issues Etc. (www.issuesetc.org) and Pr. Todd Wilken. What I will do is show a stanza of the hymn, then give my reflections on each stanza. Here we go.

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 alleluia!
Alleluia!

I could spend hours on this stanza, but I won't.  The first two lines pretty much give a concise summary of the account of the Crucifixion and the reason why Christ was on the cross in the first place. Lines three and four summarize Christ's Ascension (Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11). What should the response of the people be? Alleluia!

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.
Alleluia!

This stanza presents Christ's agony on the cross as a battle between Him and the devil. It alludes back to Genesis 3:15, when God tells to the serpent that the Child born to the woman will crush him on the head, but he will strike Him on the heel. Although Christ does indeed die, it was not the end. As verse three says, Jesus was the ultimate victor in this fight. The promise given here is that death is swallowed up by death. Such a wonderful promise!

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 over,
And Satan cannot harm us.
Alleluia!

 Paschal Lamb. That may be a new term for you. We all know what a lamb is. But what on earth does Paschal mean? Paschal comes from the Greek word Pascha (πάσχα), which is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for "Passover". The thing that sticks out to me is that God gave Him to us freely. And Christ showed the strength of His love by dying on the cross for us. Verse five ties back to the account of the institution of the Passover (Exodus 12:1-28) and gives the allusion of Christ as the Passover Lamb. Such beautiful imagery!

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.
Alleluia!

 Since this is an Easter hymn, the festival here refers to the feast of Easter. The center of this stanza is that "Christ is Himself the joy of all". That's pretty straightforward. The next verse expounds on it, by referring to Christ as the sun that gives us warmth and light. This stanza, as said previously, is pretty straightforward.

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!
Alleluia!

This final stanza is a very beautiful stanza filled with great imagery. It draws on Christ being the Bread of Life (John 6) and how He is what can only satisfy our souls. It truly is beautiful.

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God bless,
Manny