QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (109)

Questions & Answers about Easter

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   The first two weeks of April have been filled with Gospel Meetings.

 

B.   We need to make certain we get in our Q&A Lesson this month.

 

C.   This lesson is entitled:  “Questions & Answers.”  However, it has a subtitle.  That subtitle is:  “Questions & Answers about Easter” because today is Easter Sunday.

 

I.             WHAT IS EASTER?

 

A.   Easter is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox which happens on March 21^st. 

1.    Thus, it falls sometime between March 22^nd and April 25^th. 

2.    This year it is today, April 20^th.

 

B.   For Catholics and many Protestant churches, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1.    It on a Sunday because Jesus rose on the first day of the week (Mark 16:2).

 

And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

 

2.    It is also a season which begins the day after Shrove Tuesday.

 

II.           WHERE DOES THE WORD EASTER COME FROM?

 

A.   The truth is that no one really knows where the term originated.

 

B.   There are two main theories.

1.    St. Bede the Venerable said that it came from Eostre, the Anglo Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.

2.    Others believe that it originated from the word eostarum found in the Old High German.  Its definition is dawn.

 

C.   Those who longed for a name of this celebration thought the word Easter incorporated such thoughts as springtime, new life, and the dawn of day.

 

III.         WHEN WAS THE FIRST CELEBRATION OF EASTER AS A HOLY DAY?

 

A.   The New Testament was completed by the end of the first century. 

1.    If Jesus were raised in 33 A.D., the church had 67 years to celebrate Easter as Holy Day.

2.    However, you will not read of an Easter celebration in the New Testament.

a.    Not one first century church celebrated it.

b.    Not one apostle celebrated it.

c.    We cannot read of one Christian celebrating it.

d.    It is nowhere to be found in any book of the New Testament of Jesus Christ.

 

B.   Some commentators will affirm that it was first celebrated in the 2^nd Century.  However, they never tell us the when, the where, or the who of the celebration.

 

C.   It was declared a Holy Day of celebration by the Catholic Church in 1583.

 

D.   It was not celebrated by any Protestants until some time between 1753 and 1845.

 

E.   NOTE: 

1.    The celebration of Easter is definitely of man-made origin.

2.    Two verses of the Bible need to be seriously contemplated at this point.

a.    Revelation 22:18

 

For I testify unto every man that heareth the word of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book.

 

b.    Matthew 15:9

 

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 

IV.         WHAT IS INVOLVED IN THE CELEBRATION OF EASTER?

 

A.   Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

1.    Ash Wednesday

a.    Ash Wednesday is 40 days before Easter, excluding Sundays.

b.    Ash Wednesday is a day wherein individuals commit to repent.

c.    In the Catholic Church and in some denominations, individuals go to the church and the priest will place the sign of the cross in ashes upon the congregant’s forehead.

2.    Lent

a.    Lent is the time when the redeemed prepares his/her heart for Easter Sunday. 

b.    Individuals who practice lent are usually involved in three things:

1)    Fasting (NOTE:  Fasting doesn’t just mean the sacrifice of food.  Individuals can give up numerous things during lent).

2)    Prayer

3)    Alms giving

c.    The purpose of all of this is to bring the individual into a much an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

B.   Holy Week happens during Lent.

1.    It starts on Palm Sunday, a day that commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.

2.    Wednesday of Holy Week is called Spy Wednesday.  On this day, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas is mourned.

3.    Thursday is called Maundy Thursday. 

a.    It is pronounced mawn dee.

b.    The word comes from the word “mandatum,” which means command.

c.    It is the day of remembrance wherein Jesus commanded His disciples to wash one another’s feet when in the upper room (John 13:14-15).

 

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

 

4.    Friday is called Good Friday.  This is the day Jesus shed His blood and gave His life on the cross.

5.    The Holy Week and Lent conclude on Easter Sunday, the day Jesus was raised from the dead.

 

C.   The Stations of the Cross

1.    On Good Friday, many participate in a miniature pilgrimage called “The Stations of the Cross.”

2.    Fourteen different events that happened during the day of the Lord’s crucifixion are recognized.

3.    Individuals used to go to Jerusalem as a pilgrimage to complete these stations.  However, that became difficult for most.  Therefore, small replicas of these stations are made at many locations and individuals move from station to station with scriptures, meditations, and prayer.

4.    The Stations:

a.    Jesus is condemned to death.

b.    Jesus carries His cross.

c.    Jesus falls for the first time.

d.    Jesus meets His mother on the way to the cross.

e.    Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross.

f.     Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

g.    Jesus falls the second time.

h.    Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.

i.     Jesus falls the third time.

j.     Jesus’ clothes are taken from Him.

k.    Jesus is nailed to the cross.

l.     Jesus dies on the cross.

m.  Jesus’ body is removed from the cross.

n.    Jesus is laid in a tomb.

 

V.           WHY DON’T THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST CELEBRATE EASTER?

 

A.   The New Testament is the standard of authority in religious matters.

1.    Hebrews 8:6

 

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

 

2.    We are to teach only what Jesus has authorized in the New Testament (Matt. 28:20).

 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

 

a.    NOTE:  The apostles were authorized to teach only what Jesus commanded.

b.    In like manner, that is all we are supposed to teach as well.

1)    If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed (John 8:31).

2)    Hold fast the form of sound words (2 Tim. 1:13).

3)    The Scripture is profitable for doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16).

4)    Holding fast the faithful word (Tit. 1:9).

5)    Speak the things which become sound doctrine (Tit. 2:1)

6)    Speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11).

7)    Abide in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9).

3.    As we noted in a previous point, the celebration of Easter as a special “holy day” to be celebrated once each year is not found in the New Testament.  Therefore, we leave it off.

 

B.   Arguments for Easter:

1.    It focuses people’s minds on the Resurrection of Jesus.

a.    It does.  There is no argument about that.

b.    However, that one day of worship is elevated above all of the other Sundays on the calendar. People will attend that Sunday and Christmas Sunday and miss every other Sunday of the year.

c.    The reality is that the Lord wants us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week every week of the year.  Every Sunday is “Resurrection Sunday.”

d.    Hebrews 10:25

 

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another:  and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

 

2.    It doesn’t hurt anything to celebrate Easter.

a.    This appears to be true if you simply view Easter through the eyes of man.

b.    Shouldn’t we try to view things through the eyes of God?

c.    If God did not command it, then God sees it as something man has added to His Word. 

1)    Additions to the Word of God are condemned (Prov. 30:6).

 

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

 

2)    Others who have done things that God did not authorize have been condemned in the past.

a)    Cain

b)    Nadab and Abihu

c)    Jeroboam

d)    The Jews with their traditions

C.   Additional thoughts:

1.    Did God in His infinite wisdom know that man would elevate this day above other days of worship that are just as important?

2.    Did God know that man would inject things into the celebration that are not found connected to the resurrection?

a.    Ash Wednesday

b.    Lent

c.    Some of the stations of the cross are not in the Bible.

1)    Meeting Mary as He walked to the cross.

2)    Falling down three times.

3)    Having his face wiped by Veronica

3.    Did God know that man would turn it into something other than a celebration of the resurrection?  Rabbits?  Eggs?  Egg hunts?  Candy? 

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   Easter is an exciting and busy time for many in the Catholic church and in the denominations.

 

 

 

B.   For the faithful Christian, every Lord’s Day is supposed to be an exciting time. 

1.    Our Lord was raised from the dead on that day.

2.    We have the privilege of worshiping the Creator, the Almighty, the Redeemer, and our loving Father.

3.    We get to assemble and have fellowship with the family of God.

4.    We get to assemble at the Lord’s table and reflect upon the greatest sacrifice ever made in the history of man, Jesus Christ the Son of God for the sins of the world.

5.    We get to enjoy a foretaste of what our eternal abode will be like.  There, however, we will get to look upon the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.