‘Come Jesus Come’ by Cece Winans & Cody Johnson - Lyrics & Meaning

At the start of April 2025, multiple Grammy-winning gospel singer, Cece Winans, confirmed she'd be releasing four revamped versions of her 2024 hit, ‘Come Jesus Come’.

After dropping a ‘Radio Edit’ and a collaborative rendition of the soul-stirring ode with Shirley Caesar on April 18th, Winans announced that she'd be reimagining ‘Come Jesus Come’ into another duet on April 25th, this time with Cody Johnson.

Cece Winans shared a heartwarming video of her and Cody Johnson meeting for the first time ahead of their performances on American Idol last year, with Johnson endearingly underlining how big an impact Winans has had on his life and career so far.

Before Cece Winans leant her vocals to the track in 2024, ‘Come Jesus Come’ was released by one of its writers, Stephen McWhirter, as part of his 2020 EP of the same name.

Sonically, ‘Come Jesus Come’ sticks closely to the original rendition, with Cece Winans’ ethereal, rousing vocals floating across a moving, piano-driven instrumental. Cody Johnson's charismatic baritone complements Winans’ delivery seamlessly, with the harmonisation throughout the hook making it feel all the more emphatic.

The track builds and builds in intensity until it reaches the vibrant, angelic crescendo, with Cece Winans and Cody Johnson pleading for help from above as drums and a choir enter the fray. It captures that familiar transition in gospel-leaning music, with ‘Come Jesus Come’ beginning with pain and angst, before transitioning to euphoria and relief, mirroring the powerful progression of the narrative.

“Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray
Come Jesus come
Let today be the day
Sometimes I feel like I’m gonna break
But I’m holding on
To a hope that won’t fade”

Although the titular plea, “Come Jesus come”, could be interpreted as a reference to the Second Coming, it seems it's intended more as an appeal for God's love and comfort in the present moment. The protagonist admits they feel close to breaking and losing faith, before underlining that they're “holding on” to the hope that things will improve. They ask Jesus to offer them a reprieve from their strife.

“Come Jesus come
We’ve been waiting so long
For the day You return
To heal every hurt
And right every wrong
We need You right now
Come and turn this around
Deep down I know
This world isn’t home
Come Jesus come”

It feels like the chorus contains some clearer references to the Second Coming, with the protagonist revealing they've been waiting for a long period of time for Jesus to return. In addition to this, the ‘Come Jesus Come’ hook finds Winans and Johnson again requesting that Jesus shows them the way through their current predicament.

As a result, the chorus seemingly pivots around two different pleas - on the one hand, the protagonist expresses their hope for Jesus to come back to Earth in the Second Coming, and on the other, they outline their wish for God to help them here and now. There is both a universally-minded concern and a personal appeal.

Towards the end of the hook, they confess that they have a deep-seated feeling that this world is not their home, implying that Heaven with Jesus is where their soul belongs.

“There’ll be no war
And there’ll be no chains
When Jesus comes
Let today be the day
He’ll come for the weak
And the strong just the same
And all will believe
In the power of His name”

For Cody Johnson's verse, the Texas native looks forward to a world where Jesus has come back, and has extinguished the agony of war and offers freedom to everyone.

Johnson goes on to emphasises that Jesus won't pick and choose who He saves based on how ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ they might see themselves as, stressing that all are welcome.

“One day He’ll come
And we’ll stand face to face
Come and lay it all down
Cause it might be today
The time is right now
There’s no need to wait
Your past will be wash by rivers of grace”

Here, we get another possible interpretation of the protagonist's yearning to meet Jesus, with Cece Winans and Cody Johnson seemingly singing about the moment when it's time to leave this earth, and come “face to face” with Jesus in the afterlife.

Winans and Johnson invite the listener to “lay it all down” and bring all their troubles to God through prayer, because we never know when the time will come for Jesus to return. They convey how any mistakes in our past will be cleansed by God's grace, with the duo viscerally depicting this through the metaphor of purifying “rivers”, which could be a reference to the experience of being baptised.

In the week leading up to releasing this updated take on ‘Come Jesus Come’, Cece Winans gushed, “I’m so excited to finally share that the newest version of ‘Come Jesus Come’ will be joined by Cody Johnson! We pray this song meets you right where you are”.

Earlier in April, Winans reflected on the meaning behind this inspiring ode, “Come Jesus Come is powerful, it’s captivating, it’s relevant, and it’s true. Jesus is knocking at the doors of our hearts and invites us to lay down our hurt and pain. It is a heartfelt cry to the one true living God, echoing the voices of believers around the world”.

Winans expanded, “If you don’t yet know Jesus as your personal Savior, today is the day and I pray this song will draw you closer to Him. Excited to announce that by the end of the month, there will be 4 versions of "Come Jesus Come" available. Be sure to check out the two already released, and swipe to see what’s coming next!”

Elsewhere, Cece Winans shed more light on her intention for this track, “'Come Jesus Come' is a song about the powerful love of God - a love that’s always ready to meet you where you are. My hope is for people to experience that love of Christ and know He’s coming back for them. If your heart is open, Christ will reveal Himself to you”.

“Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray
Come Jesus come
Let today be the day
Sometimes I feel like I’m gonna break
But I’m holding on
To a hope that won’t fade

-

Come Jesus come
We’ve been waiting so long
For the day You return
To heal every hurt
And right every wrong
We need You right now
Come and turn this around
Deep down I know
This world isn’t home
Come Jesus come

-

There’ll be no war
And there’ll be no chains
When Jesus comes
Let today be the day
He’ll come for the weak
And the strong just the same
And all will believe
In the power of His name

-

Come Jesus come
We’ve been waiting so long
For the day You return
To heal every hurt
And right every wrong
We need You right now
Come and turn this around (turn this around)
Deep down I know
This world isn’t home
Come Jesus come
Come Jesus come

-

One day He’ll come
And we’ll stand face to face
Come and lay it all down
Cause it might be today
The time is right now
There’s no need to wait
Your past will be wash by rivers of grace

-

Come Jesus come
We’ve been waiting so long
For the day You return
To heal every hurt
And right every wrong
We need You right now
Come and turn this around (turn this around)
Deep down I know
This world isn’t home
Come Jesus come
Come Jesus come
Come Jesus come”

For more on Cody Johnson, see below: