Which Jesus Does Easter Celebrate?

Is Easter really about the Jesus described in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ.? And what do sunrise services, eggs and bunnies have to do with the Jesus the apostles served?

Ten-year old Jack, curious about the trappings of Easter, asks: "Mom, why do we have Easter sunrise services?"

His mother answers, "Easter sunrise services honor the risen Jesus Christ."

"Why do we color eggs?" he asks. "Because eggs represent life," his mother replies.

"Then why Easter bunnies?" continues Jack. "Because rabbits are very fertile" his mother responds.

Jack probes deeper

Ten years later Jack is still searching for answers. He now wants to know: Is Easter really about the Jesus described in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ.? And what do sunrise services, eggs and bunnies have to do with the Jesus the apostles served?

He is shocked when he discovers that pagan deities were worshipped with Easter-like celebrations 2,000 years before Jesus' birth. But even more so by admissions from highly esteemed church leaders that Jesus never observed Easter or any of the holidays of today's Christianity.

Festivals the early Christian observed

In the New Catholic Encyclopedia Jack finds this candid admission: "The earliest Christians did not immediately disassociate themselves from the observance of the Jewish feasts. Many references in the NT [New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation.] indicate that Jesus and His disciples , as well as the early Palestinian Christian communities, observed the Sabbath and the major annual festivals" ( New Catholic Encyclopedia , Early Christian Feasts, 1967, Vol. 5, p. 867; emphasis added throughout).

Jack then finds in Deuteronomy 16:1-16 [1] Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
[2] Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.
[3] Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
[4] And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
[5] Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
[6] But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
[7] And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
[8] Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
[9] Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
[10] And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
[11] And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
[12] And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
[13] Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
[14] And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
[15] Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
[16] Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

See All... a list of the actual biblical days that Jesus and the early Christians kept.

He also finds from historical sources that the "Easter" egg tradition can be traced to ancient Egypt. And hot cross buns are traceable to the founding of Athens (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons , 1959, Easter, p. 108).

 

Even the names Easter , Ishtar (Assyrian) and Astarte (Chaldean) were connected to the mystical mother-goddess of the cultic deity Tammuz, an ancient counterfeit MessiahA Hebrew word meaning literally "anointed one," synonymous with the Greek word christos, translated Christ. "In ancient Israel both persons and things consecrated to sacred purposes were anointed by having oil poured over them ... The Israelites did not think of crowning a king but of anointing him when he was enthroned ... [The future Messiah] is to destroy the world powers in an act of judgment, deliver Israel from her enemies, and restore her as a nation. The Messiah is the King of this future kingdom to whose political and religious domination the other nations will yield. His mission is the redemption of Israel and His dominion is universal. This is the clear picture of the Messiah in practically all of the OT passages which refer to Him" (The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, "Messiah"). (ibid, p. 105; Ezekiel 8:14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
See All...).

Why Jack decides to copy Jesus

Upon further study, Jack confirmed from the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation.  that Jesus faithfully kept the biblical Passover and the associated Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
See All...).

He also found that Easter is never mentioned in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. (except as wrongly rendered in one translation where the word Pasha , meaning Passover, is improperly translated "Easter" in Acts 12:4And 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.
See All...).

So Jack now chooses to do as Jesus did, to follow His example by observing the biblical festivals.

Holy Day links to Jesus

With further study Jack has learned from BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. that God established His Holy Days as explicit reminders of His spiritual truths. They foreshadow things to come in His plan for mankind. Each festival highlights a specific role which Jesus, as of now, has already fulfilled or eventually will fulfill in God's salvation plan (Colossians 2:16-17 [16] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
[17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

See All...).

But Easter customs can all be traced back to pagan practices such as the Tammuz worship condemned in Ezekiel 8:14-16 [14] Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
[15] Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
[16] And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

See All.... These cultic customs on which Easter and the other holidays of traditional Christianity are based gradually replaced the biblically established ways of worship that Jesus and His apostles practiced.

They also corrupted how Jesus and His gospel message are perceived by most people. The early replacement of biblical Holy Days with celebrations rooted in paganism led not only to a different gospel but also to a distorted perception of the historic Jesus.

According to the apostle Paul, there is only one true gospel. And to adopt or support any other message claiming to be Jesus' gospel is a serious offense with potentially devastating consequences (Galatians 1:6-7 [6] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
[7] Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

See All..., 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 [1] Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
[2] For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
[4] For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

See All...).

The real Jesus

The Jesus of the Bible did not die on Friday evening or rise on Sunday morning . He died on a Wednesday and was buried in a tomb just before sunset. He lay three nights and days in the grave (Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
See All...).

He was resurrected near the end of the weekly Sabbath (late on Saturday afternoon), 12 hours earlier than the Easter sunrise services of today. Easter sunrise services deny this historical truth—the only sign that Jesus gave to prove His identity as the MessiahA Hebrew word meaning literally "anointed one," synonymous with the Greek word christos, translated Christ. "In ancient Israel both persons and things consecrated to sacred purposes were anointed by having oil poured over them ... The Israelites did not think of crowning a king but of anointing him when he was enthroned ... [The future Messiah] is to destroy the world powers in an act of judgment, deliver Israel from her enemies, and restore her as a nation. The Messiah is the King of this future kingdom to whose political and religious domination the other nations will yield. His mission is the redemption of Israel and His dominion is universal. This is the clear picture of the Messiah in practically all of the OT passages which refer to Him" (The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, "Messiah"). (Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
See All...).  

Jesus kept and taught early Christians to observe the biblical Passover, not Easter.

Check it out like Jack did!

Follow Jack's example

As a boy, Jack asked questions. He accepted truth and rejected false beliefs carried over from the past—some from as far back as ancient Babylon. He responded to the command: "Come out of her [Babylon the Great, which represents our confused world], my people, lest you share in her sins …" (RevelationThe disclosure of God's Word and plan to mankind. In the Bible this refers to making obscure things clear; bringing hidden matters to light; causing especially called individuals to see, hear, perceive, know and understand the things of God; the unveiling of biblical mysteries (Romans 16:25). 18:4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
See All...). How about you? Will you search out the truth as Jack did?

You can embark on your fact finding search for the true Jesus and His teachings by requesting, downloading or reading online our free and helpful booklet: Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?