Easter – The Resurrection Sunday

1. EASTER – The Resurrection Sunday – 26thMarch2016
“The angel saidto the women,“Do not be afraid,for I know that you are lookingforJesus, who was
crucified.6
He isnot here; he has risen,just as he said.Come andsee the place where he lay”(
Matthew 28: 5-6).
There is a lot of confusion in the world today regarding what Easter Sunday is all about. For
some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated Easter eggs, Easter egg
hunts and family lunches with Turkey etc. Some Christians and other non Christians around the
world retain an idea that Easter Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but
are confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.
Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and the common modern traditions related to Easter Sunday. The origins of Easter are rooted
in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre)
who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called
Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her. The goddess Eastre’s
earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility. Originally, there
were some very pagan (and sometimes utterly evil) practices that went along with the
celebration. Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on
Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship.
In the Christian faith, Easter has come to mean the celebration of the resurrection of Christ
three days after His crucifixion. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of
the church year because of the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
the events upon which Christianity is based. Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent
specially among the Catholics, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy
Week and followed by a 50-day Easter season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.
Essentially, what occurred is that in order to make Christianity more attractive to non-
Christians, the ancient Roman Catholic Church mixed the celebration of Jesus' resurrection with
celebrations that involved spring fertility rituals. These spring fertility rituals are the source of
the egg and bunny traditions.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday as we
can learn from Luke 24:1; “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women
took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb’. We can also learn this through Mark
16:2,9; John 20:1. Jesus' resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated. While it is appropriate
for Jesus' resurrection to be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which Jesus' resurrection is
celebrated should not be referred to as Easter. Easter has nothing to do with Jesus' resurrection
on a Sunday. As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we celebrate
Jesus' resurrection should not be referred to as "Easter Sunday." Rather, something like
"Resurrection Sunday" would be far more appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is
unthinkable that we would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny to be the
focus of the day instead of Jesus' resurrection.

2. By all means, celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday which is 3 days after Jesus was
crucified. Christ's resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just once a
year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not allow the fun
and games to distract our attention from what the day should truly be all about—the fact that
Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection demonstrates that we can
indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven by receiving Jesus as our Savior.
Because of the commercialization and pagan origins of Easter, many churches prefer to refer to
it as “Resurrection Sunday.” The rationale is the more we focus on Christ and the less we focus
on the pagan holiday, the better. As previously mentioned, the resurrection of Christ is the
central theme of Christianity. Paul says that without this, our faith is futile: “And if Christ has
not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). What more
wonderful reason could we have to celebrate! What is important is the true reason behind our
celebration, which is that Christ was resurrected from the dead, making it possible for you and
me to have eternal life: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life”(Romans 6:4)!
Should we celebrate Easter or allow our children to go on Easter eggs hunts? This is a question
both parents and church leaders struggle with. There is nothing essentially evil about painting
and hiding eggs and having children search for them. What is important is our focus. If our
focus is on Christ and ‘not the eggs’, our children will understand that the eggs are just a game.
Children can participate in an Easter egg hunt as long as the true meaning of the day is
explained and emphasized, but ultimately this must be left up to the discretion of parents.

3. “After the Sabbath,at dawnon the firstday of the week, Mary Magdaleneand
the other Mary went to look at the tomb”( Matthew 28:1).