What "On the Third Day" means
"On the Third Day" is a resurrection declaration from Hillsong Worship, built on the historical claim that everything the church believes stands or falls on. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:17: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." The song does not quietly assume the resurrection. It declares it, directly, as an act of corporate proclamation.
The male key sits at E, with G for female voices. The tempo is 84 BPM in 4/4, the same mid-tempo pace shared by several songs in this batch, though the celebratory character of this song gives it a different emotional weight than others at the same speed. This is not a song for quiet reflection. It is a song for announcement.
The scriptural backbone moves from Paul's summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:4, to the angel's declaration at the empty tomb in Matthew 28:6, to Paul's statement in Romans 6:9 that "death no longer has dominion" over the risen Christ. Each reference adds a layer. The historical fact (He rose), the witnessed announcement (He is not here; He has risen as He said), and the present reality (death has been defeated). The song does not merely remember the resurrection as a past event. It proclaims its ongoing, irreversible, and defining significance for the congregation standing in the room.
What this song does in a room
The resurrection needs to be announced, not just assumed.
"On the Third Day" gives a congregation permission to say the thing out loud at full volume. For high-attendance Sundays, Easter services, and services where the community includes people who are not regular attenders, that announcement carries particular weight. The congregation becomes, for the duration of the song, a gathered community of witnesses adding their voice to the declaration that has echoed since the first Sunday morning.
The anthemic quality of this song means the room tends to find a collective voice quickly. Visitors who do not know the song find the melody singable. Regular attenders who know the words find them available at a level below deliberate thought. The repetition of the central declaration, that on the third day He rose, becomes a kind of anchor that the room returns to again and again with increasing conviction.
There is also something the song does in specifically celebratory contexts that is distinct from what worship songs do in reflective ones. This song asks the congregation to be unambiguously glad about something. The resurrection is the only ground for that kind of joy. When the room commits to the declaration, something like genuine relief tends to move through it. The stone rolled away has never stopped being news.
What this song is saying about God
The song's primary claim is christological: Jesus of Nazareth died, was buried, and rose bodily on the third day, and that resurrection is the hinge on which all of reality turns for those who believe it.
But the resurrection is also a statement about the Father. Acts 2:24 says God raised Jesus, loosing "the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." The resurrection is the Father's vindication of the Son, the reversal of the apparent defeat of the cross, the declaration that the sacrifice was accepted and death was not the last word.
Romans 6:9 moves from the historical event to the present and permanent reality: "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." The song plants the congregation in this ongoing reality. The resurrection is not a memory. It is a condition. The risen Christ is living now, reigning now, and the congregation's faith rests on that present, uninterrupted fact.
Scriptural backbone
- 1 Corinthians 15:4: "He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."
- Matthew 28:6: "He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay."
- Romans 6:9: "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him."
How to use it in a service
Easter Sunday is the primary home, but limiting this song to Easter is a missed opportunity. Any service preaching on the resurrection, any series on 1 Corinthians 15, any service that needs the congregation to land on the central fact of Christianity rather than on a theme adjacent to it, this song earns its place in those moments.
For high-attendance Sundays when the room includes visitors and nominal believers, "On the Third Day" gives a congregation something to declare that is accessible, central, and not dependent on in-depth biblical knowledge to participate in. The declaration can be made at the start of faith. It does not require maturity to mean it.
Consider placing the song toward the end of the set after the teaching, when the content of the sermon has established the resurrection's significance and the song becomes the congregation's response. That sequencing gives the declaration a weight it cannot carry when placed without context.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
Celebration is harder to lead with integrity than reverence. The temptation in a high-energy, celebratory song is to substitute enthusiasm for conviction. Watch for the moment in the congregation when they are moving with the song but not inside it. That is the moment to re-anchor the declaration to the content: Christ actually rose. The stone is actually gone.
The driving tempo means the arrangement needs to stay controlled. 84 BPM with a full band and a celebratory feel can push toward chaos. Keep the band tight. Keep the vocals clear. The congregation needs the words to be intelligible to participate in the declaration.
For Easter specifically, be attentive to the emotional range in the room. Easter often includes people who have lost someone in the past year, for whom the resurrection is not primarily celebration but hope. Lead with both present: the joy of the resurrection and the tenderness of what it means for those who are grieving. The two are not in tension. They are both true.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
This song requires full commitment from the band from the start or a rapid, intentional build. A hesitant or thin-sounding band undersells the declaration the song is making. Resurrection is the fullest moment in Christian history. The arrangement should communicate that the team believes it.
The electric guitar drives the momentum through the choruses. Keep the rhythm parts locked and driving without losing the space that allows the vocal melody to sit on top clearly. The snare hit in the chorus should be felt in the chest of everyone in the front half of the room. Mix for the room, not the stage.
For background vocalists, the final chorus is the moment to give everything. The layers of voice in that final declaration should feel like the room is being filled rather than entertained. If the congregation hears genuine joy and conviction from the team behind the lead vocal, they will find both in themselves.