The form of BWV 67 ("Hold in remembrance Jesus Christ"), composed for the first Sunday after Easter 1724, bears a close relationship to BWV 104, and BWV 166, two other cantatas composed by Bach for the post-Easter period that year. In essence this consists of an opening chorus based on a biblical text (in this instance the opening words of the cantata (taken from 2 Timothy 2:8) followed by an aria and a recitative. Then comes a chorale placed at the center of the work. This is succeeded by a recitative and aria, the work concluding with a simple four-part chorale harmonization, in the case of BWV 67 a strophe from the hymn by Jakob Ebert, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (1601). The present work was first performed in Leipzig on April 16, 1724, thus falling within the context of Bach's first annual cycle of cantatas composed in the city following his appointment as cantor in 1723. The anonymous text is based on the Gospel for the day (John 20:19-31), the story of doubting Thomas. The scoring is for corno di tirasi (a now obsolete brass instrument of the trumpet type), flute, two oboes d'amore, strings, and continuo, plus the customary four-part vocal forces. The opening chorus reflects the joy of Easter, the emphatic cries of "Halt" illustrative of its highly declamatory character. The celebratory nature of the cantata is maintained in the following tenor aria, which is cast in dance-like triple time and features an obbligato part for oboe d'amore. The text refers to the ambiguity felt by Christ's followers in the aftermath of the Crucifixion—joy mixed with perplexity and doubt. The recitatives placed either side of the central chorale continue to reflect this ambivalence, although the chorale itself, a strophe from Nikolaus Hermann's hymn "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" (1560), is more positive. Now follows one of Bach's most original conceptions, a powerfully dramatic scena for bass with interjections from the sopranos, altos, and tenors of the chorus. The soloists' words are those of the risen Christ, "Peace be unto you," while the chorus tumultuously call upon Satan and hell to concede to His victory. Bach later adapted this number as the Gloria of the Lutheran Mass in A, BWV 234.

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