What Does the Bible Teach About _Easter_?

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

It’s that time of year when nearly everyone pauses to be religious for a few hours. Maybe they will attend worship for the first time in a long time. If not, they may devote themselves to meditating about Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Some may watch The Passion of the Christ or some other Bible-related movie, such as The Ten Commandments, which has become an annual event. And while it is good that people might think about Jesus during this season of the year, it will not do much good in the long run if those musings soon dissipate and lives remain unchanged.

So what does the Bible say about Easter? Many will probably be surprised because the answer is, “Nothing.” “What?” someone might protest. “I know it’s in there. I saw it once.” Well, you did (if you use the King James Version of the Bible), but you won’t find it in any other translation since 1611. The reason for its absence is that no such word existed in the first century when the New Testament was written. “Then why is it in the KJV?” By the 1600s people were observing Easter as a religious holiday. So instead of translating the Greek word properly as “Passover,” the translators chose to use the word Easter in Acts 12:4, since the two days occur near the same time of the year. All translations today translate it accurately as “Passover,” which is what the Greek word in this verse means.

The Greek word pasha occurs 29 times in the New Testament; the other 28 times the KJV translators used “Passover”; only this once did they choose not to translate the word correctly but to go with something they associated with this time of the year. Even the Vulgate, the popular Latin translation of the Greek (used for more than 1,000 years) accurately chose “Passover.” The KJV translators did a disservice in rendering the Greek word for “Passover” as “Easter” because it might cause people to think that current Easter traditions were being practiced in the New Testament when, in fact, they were not.

The Cause of the Crucifixion

The popular host of The O’Reilly Factor, who also wrote the best-selling book, Killing Jesus, has been telling the folks that Jesus’ death was politically motivated and not due to Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. He says that some men were always claiming to be the Son of God and that no one paid any attention to them. He has a point about self-anointed Messiahs; they were not infrequent. Some of them gained followers and tried to build an army. They all failed, of course, because they had no authority from God to do anything. They exhibited no power; they just boasted.

Jesus, however, from the outset of His ministry did miracles. His pronouncements of Deity would have been disregarded along with all the other impostors—except that He offered proof, which four inspired historians (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) record. Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy, His birth, His baptism, His temptations, and His teachings (1-7) before he presents several of His miracles (8-9). Of course, many more are described after this point. Mark covers the material of Matthew 1-7 in his first 22 verses and then calls attention to several of Jesus’ miracles. Luke’s first three chapters deal with the preliminaries, and then accounts of various miracles occur throughout the remainder of his gospel. John chose to record seven wondrous miracles and tells the reader near the conclusion of his gospel narrative:

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:30-31).

The miracles of Jesus were numerous, powerful, and well-known. John comments on their abundance:

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).

In fact, the miracles were so well-known and so widely spoken of that He and His disciples could scarcely find any time to rest. On one occasion they went to a deserted place by boat. Many followed His progress on land and, running through cities to get there, arrived before He did (Mark 6:30-33). A little later, they crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to Gennesaret and anchored there (Mark 6:53).

And when they came up out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the border of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well (Mark 6:54-56).

Imagine how many were healed on that one occasion! How many detailed reports might have been included in the New Testament from only this one event? The people were not the only ones who had heard of these miracles. The leaders of the Jewish people also heard—and considered Jesus a threat to their position of prominence over the people. After the Lord brought Lazarus back from the dead, it was reported to the Pharisees (John 11:46). At this point, the Pharisees and the chief priests gathered a council together and posed this question to each other:

“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take both our place and our nation” (John 11:47-48).

The Roman Empire never had such a reaction to Jesus. Nothing is recorded that they ever felt threatened by Him, although they had heard of His miracles, also. In fact at His trial, Pilate sent Him over to Herod, who was greatly interested in seeing Jesus.

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because He had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing (Luke 23:8-9).

Herod ended up disappointed; not only did Jesus not do a miracle; He would not even talk to him; so Herod and his men ended up mocking Him and sending Him back to Pilate (v. 11). The point is, however, that Rome did not feel threatened by Jesus—even though they had heard of His miracles. Jesus never posed even an imagined threat to the government.

The Lord’s enemies tried to get Him in trouble with the Romans by asking Him a tax question. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Matt. 22:17). Since Caesar’s image and inscription were on the coins, Jesus told them: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Rome was never threatened by Jesus.

The Jewish Leaders Wanted Jesus Dead

The reason that the people followed and listened to Jesus was that He showed the great power of God. When Jesus healed the paralyzed man who had been lowered through the roof, the people responded by saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:12). The Jewish leaders had already decided they could not leave Him alone. After Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem with everyone shouting, “Hosanna!” (“Lord, save now!”), the leaders felt even more threatened. The word had spread about the raising of Lazarus.

For this reason the people also met Him, because they had heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:18-19).

For that reason they plotted to kill Him (Matt. 26:3-5). They likely would have waited until the feast was concluded to implement their plan, but one of Jesus’ followers afforded them an opportunity they could not pass up (Matt. 26:14-16). Judas betrayed Jesus, Who was then brought before the Jewish leaders who hated Him. They found false witnesses, but their testimony did not agree. They were angered because Jesus was not answering any of their charges (Matt. 26:59-63a). At last, the frustrated high priest asked Him how He could remain silent and then added, “I adjure you by the living God that You tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matt. 25:63b). Jesus admitted it when He answered, “It is as you said” (v. 64a).

That confession of His Deity was just what His enemies were waiting for. The high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has spoken blasphemy!” (v. 65), and the conclusion of all was, “He is deserving of death” (v. 66). They took Him to Pilate, who would have to authorize the crucifixion. As a representative of Rome, Pilate had no inclination to crucify Jesus; it was not a political issue for him. In fact, ”he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him” (Matt. 27:18). Pilate sought several times to release Jesus. He even had Jesus scourged, hoping that would satisfy the bloodlust of the crowd. He brought Him forth wearing the crown of thorns, and said, “Behold the Man!” (John 19:5). But the chief priests cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” When Pilate insisted that he found no fault in Jesus,

The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God. Therefore, Pilate…was the more afraid” (John 19:7-8).

The Resurrection

There can be no question, despite O’Reilly’s erroneous affirmations, that Jesus was killed because He claimed to be the Son of God and had proved it by means of His miracles. Jesus was crucified and laid in a grave, in a new tomb. Guards were posted around it so that no one would steal the body. And no one did. But on the first day of the week Jesus arose from the dead because it was not possible that death could hold Him (Acts 2:24). So why does the religious world (and sometimes those who are not all that religious, ordinarily) celebrate and observe this event?

It might be because they like to see the triumph of good over evil. It might be because His resurrection is the ultimate proof of His Deity. Or it could be that His resurrection provides hope for all of us. We all know that we are going to die, and we are not exactly comforted by this fact—that our earthly existence is coming to an end. This world is all that we know and are familiar with. What do we know about what, if anything, is on the other side of death? The Bible is the only source for answers—not science, which has no way of accumulating data from that realm, nor near-death experiences which cannot be validated, either.

Jesus arose triumphantly from the dead—never to die again. This is what most people desire—not only to be raised from the dead, but to a better life free of pain, sin, and the fear of ever dying again. Jesus proved that it was possible, and He further ascended into heaven, the place all clear-thinking people want to be forever. The world has no greater event to look forward to. At last, justice will prevail, and the righteous will be rewarded. There is no question but that this will be a great day as the history of the world comes to a close. But are we to observe Jesus’ resurrection?

What Is Authorized?

Several manmade traditions have developed over the centuries—some of which involve bunnies, eggs, fine apparel, and sunrise services. But the Christian must have Bible authority for what he teaches and practices, as Colossians 3:17 states. If Jesus does not authorize a practice (either directly or indirectly), then we should not be doing it. Did He command His apostles and followers to remember His resurrection by means of an annual observance? He did not. Did the apostles begin observing Easter annually after He returned to Heaven? They did not. Many verses declare the resurrection and its significance; do any of them hint of an annual observance? No.

Then why are so many doing what is not authorized? In the Old Testament, God told His people how and when to observe the Passover. He did the same for the Day of Atonement and various other special times and seasons. But what about in Christianity? There is a special day of the week, just as there was for Israel, but it is not the same day, and it is not for the same purpose.

The Sabbath day was commanded to be observed by the Israelites as a remembrance that on the seventh day of the week God rested. They were to rest and do no work whatsoever on that day. We do not worship God on that day because under our covenant the first day of the week is the time God chose for us. It was the day on which God began His creation, but that is not our reason—instead, it is the day of our Lord’s re-creation, His resurrection from the dead. It is also the day on which the church was established in Acts 2. It is the day on which Christians meet together for worship (Acts 20:7), which includes giving an offering to God (1 Cor. 16:1-2). It is the Lord’s day on which John was in the Spirit (Rev. 1:9-10). So this is the day for the Christian to worship, and it is tied to the resurrection.

But, unlike the way many think about it, it is not an annual remembrance; it is a weekly one. We should be thinking about the Lord on the Lord’s day. Have we ever thought that maybe that is the reason why no specific date for Easter is given? The reason that the day for it shifts every year is that no one knows when the precise day is. Do we think that God is so limited in His foreknowledge that He could not tell us what we needed to know? Had he wanted us to observe an annual day, He would have told us.

Christians have a feast day which is also on the first day of the week. It is not a physical, but rather a spiritual, feast. Again, it is a weekly rather than an annual event. Did Jesus authorize it? Yes—on the very night in which He was betrayed. He told His disciples to remember His body, which was about to be broken, and His blood, which was about to be shed (Matt. 26:26-29). Christians are to eat of the unleavened bread (the only kind of bread used during the Passover, which is what Jesus was observing with His disciples on that occasion) in order to remember how His body would be broken the next day. Christians are also to drink the fruit of the vine (it is never called wine in the New Testament) to remember the blood that would be shed for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Cor. 11:23-29).

The Lord’s death on the cross for our sins is what Christians must devote their attention to each Lord’s day. The early church did. After Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, the multitude asked what they should do. Peter preached, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” (Acts 2:38). Jesus authorized those convicted of their sins to repent of them and be baptized in order to be forgiven of them. About 3,000 did so on the Day of Pentecost (v. 41).

And then? Then “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (v. 42). The breaking of bread refers here to the Lord’s Supper (partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine to remember His broken body and shed blood). This observance is still remembered by Christians every first day of the week because Jesus Himself authorized it. Should we not do what God commanded instead of practicing manmade traditions?