The Encourager
“Easter”
Easter
by Jeff Curtis
There was recently an article on the Fox News website that stated; “No Easter Services during pandemic could leave churches struggling.” It said that Easter Sunday is a celebration. That church pews would normally be overflowing with parishioners seated in pastel-colored reverence of the risen Christ. It said this year Easter is entering a virtual reality that may hurt some churches financially.
To my knowledge, there is only one translation of the Bible that uses the word “Easter.” Acts 12:4; And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. I have checked that main translation that most of use and a few more, NASB, NIV, NKJV, ERV, etc. and the only translation that uses this word is the KJV.
We have been studying on Sunday’s in our sermons that “It makes a difference what we believe.” We should be aware that the “Easter” holiday and all its symbols are not taught in the Word of God. Neither is it taught that we are to celebrate such holidays.
WHAT EASTER IS TO MANY PEOPLE. To “Christendom”, Easter is the Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus and the Celebration of Easter are not the Same Thing.
- Early Christians firmly believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ: so do we,
1 Cor. 15:4, 12-20 (Matt. 28:6; Rom. 4:25).
2. But, an “Easter” celebration was unknown to the early Christians.
- Not instituted by Christ or His apostles: Easter is not in the NT (silent).
What about Acts 12:4?
“There never was a more absurd or unhappy translation than this. The original is
simply after the Passover.” (Barnes Notes on Acts 12:4)
b. Not mentioned in history until 155 A.D.
“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament
or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. The sanctity of the special times was an
idea absent from the minds of the first Christians.”
(The Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th ed., II:859)
This point comes from a sermon that I preached last year. Society and the Catholic church tell us that Easter is a religious holiday. It was not so nor was it taught in the first century as something Christ wanted His disciples to worship nor celebrate.
Most of the Easter symbols were taught or introduced into religious activity by the Roman Catholic church. They were used by the Catholic church when forcing the Druids and Celtics to become Catholic. They did this to appease them and help keep them in the Catholic faith. Things such as the “Easter bunny,” “colored eggs,” were pagan rituals that pertained to fertility and other activities in the pagan worship.
Blending of paganism and apostate observance produced modern-day Easter.
“Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes on or after the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations.” (Easter: Origins, Meanings, and Current Practices, religioustolerance.org/easter.htm)
“How this pagan festival came to be supplanted by a solemn Christian holiday attests to the ingenuity of second century Christian missionaries. “These missionaries traveled among the Teutonic tribes north of Rome. Whenever possible, they transformed local pagan customs to harmonize with Christian doctrine. On a practical basis, this prevented local converts from being persecuted by the pagan traditionalists. Since the Eastre festival to celebrate spring coincided with the time of the Christian observance of the resurrection of Christ, this crossover was achieved smoothly. Some doubt remained as to the exact day of the celebration.” (Mani Niall, The History of Easter and Its Custom)
I am not saying that we are to stop hiding Easter eggs for our children and grandchildren, but we do need to stop putting a special emphasis on Easter worship. Easter Sunday should not be held as a special holy day. Each Sunday, to the Christian, should be a holy day. We are to come together and worship, study, sing, pray, give of our means and memorialize the Lord’s death with the Lord’s Supper. Each Lord’s day should be special. Not only Easter Sunday or Christmas.
We are doing our children and ourselves a disservice when we teach that certain days are more holy than others.
Remember:
Please keep a check on each other during this pandemic. Please email or contact me or one of the elders or deacons if you are in need of something.
