Good morning, everyone.
This spring, so far, has been the best I’ve seen since moving to the Netherlands. I can’t remember the last day the sky wasn’t blue or cloudless. And even though all the budding trees have been wreaking havoc on my sinuses, I couldn’t care less. This is easily the most beautiful time of the year in this part of the world.
Mirroring this season of new life comes the celebration of Easter. In preparation for it, our community has begun its 2025 Easter series. I had the privilege of opening it yesterday with a teaching on the origin and history of the holiday itself.
Many of us already know that Easter is intended to be the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, the pinnacle moment of human history. But what less of us know is how that holiday developed, gained mass recognition, and where many of its modern-day symbols (bunnies, eggs, etc.) came from.
My goal was to address such things so that we, as the Church, can have a fuller and more comprehensive understanding of what is arguably the most important day in the Church calendar.
I hope you enjoy it and maybe even learn something new!
What is Easter?
It’s that time of the year again. Spring has taken root, people are sneezing, and, in two weeks, billions around the world will celebrate Easter.
To prepare, we’ll be starting our Easter series and I’d like to do so with a simple question…
“What is Easter?”
Growing up in the United States, Easter made me think of a few things:
The Easter Bunny
Baskets filled with chocolate eggs and plastic grass (probably still decomposing in a landfill somewhere)
And sugar covered marshmallows called Peeps. They are as unhealthy as they sound but they are so delicious (if any American tells you otherwise they are unequivocally wrong).
As many of us know, these are later additions to Easter. And while I, and many more, have fond memories of them, the first Easter Sunday contained a noticeable lack of fake grass, bunnies, and diabetes-inducing candy.
Let’s take a look…
Matthew 28v1-10
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.
It’s vital that we remember this because this Resurrection means everything for us.
Here’s what the Apostle Paul had to say:
1 Corinthians 15v12-19 (emphasis added)
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Paul’s not writing about a symbolic Resurrection here (though the Resurrection is packed with plenty of symbolism). He’s saying that Jesus literally died and literally came back from the dead.
We don’t have time today for a deep dive into the theology of the Resurrection (you can check this teaching I gave last year for that) But here it is in a nutshell: On the Cross, Jesus acted as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humankind. It killed Him. But by Resurrecting Himself, Jesus demonstrated His divinity and power over sin, paving the way for humanity to be reunited with God.
The celebration of Easter should remind us that the Resurrection is a historical fact. Something that actually happened and is relevant to every human life.
Jesus first revealed Himself to the women who visited His tomb. They told the disciples. Then the disciples told others. And those others told others. Generation after generation, leading all the way to us here today.
But is the Resurrection still what people associate with Easter?
A quick heads up, today’s teaching is going to be quite informative. Many of us already know that Easter is a celebration of the Resurrection but what many of us don’t know is how the holiday developed and changed over the years.
So that’s what I want to talk about today.
Why?
Because understanding Easter’s history helps us avoid common misconceptions and cultivates a stronger appreciation for the day itself. But, simply, it’s good for us to be informed, especially when it comes to celebrations important to our faith.
So, who’s ready for some history?
(If you’re not, the coffee’s in the back for when you start falling asleep.)
Here we go.
Two thousand years ago you had these women in awe of the risen God Man Jesus. In the years following, our earliest forefathers and foremothers shared that same awe as they celebrated Easter themselves.
What happened next?
Well, let’s begin with the origins of the “official” holiday.
Exactly 1700 years ago, the Council of Nicaea was called by Rome’s first Christian Emperor, Constantine. He did this to settle the many theological disputes of the day. Among those disputes was the proper date for Easter.
Easter was celebrated from the earliest days of the Church but there wasn’t agreement on when to celebrate it.
For example, many wanted to celebrate Easter on the same day as the Jewish Passover.
The Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He did this by striking dead every firstborn male, only sparing those who slaughtered an innocent lamb and spread its blood on their doorposts. Jesus connected this story to His own mission. In fact, it was during Passover that the Last Supper occurred, leading to Jesus’ arrest, death, and, of course, Resurrection.
So, Passover and Easter are intimately linked. We see this in the word for “Easter” itself. While not the case in English, many languages derive their word for Easter from the Hebrew word for Passover (Pesach)...
Italian - Pasqua
Indonesian - Paskah
And, of course, Dutch - Pasen
So while some wanted to celebrate Easter on Passover, others wanted to celebrate it the Sunday after. Their reason being that it was on a Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead.
At Nicaea, the Sunday option was chosen and that’s why we in the West celebrate Easter when we do.
So, 1700 years ago, Easter became a “federal” holiday. Because of this, it was ingrained in the lives of billions of men and women.
But being so widespread and common brought some changes to Easter…
Two of the most popular being Bunnies and Eggs.
There’s a popular theory that Easter Bunnies, Easter Eggs, and even the name “Easter” itself are of pagan origin. And, because of that, followers of Jesus should reject them.
But is it true? Are these elements of modern Easter really pagan?
Probably not.
While it’s true that Catholic missionaries would often incorporate elements of pre-Christian religion into their ministry (so long as it contextualized the Gospel, not contradict it) there’s just not enough evidence to suggest that bunnies and eggs were part of that.
Now, the medieval English monk Bede does make mention of a Germanic spring goddess called “Eostre” but the reliability of his account is rocky and continues to be debated to this day.
It’s true that the English word for “Easter” isn’t tied to Passover but what’s most likely is that it (and Eostre) comes from an old Germanic word for springtime, not so much pagan worship.
As for the Easter Bunny, he didn’t really show up until the 17th century.
The first mention we get of him comes from a German physician in 1682. He notes that, around Easter time, villages in the Rhineland would hide eggs for children to collect. The adults then told the kids that these eggs were brought by the Osterhase (Easter Hare).
And it’s as simple as that. A fun story for a little game played in the countryside.
Years later, multiple Germans immigrated to the young United States and took their traditions with them. The story of the Osterhase and his eggs proved quite popular and many Americans added this Easter “Bunny” to their own celebrations.
Jump ahead a few centuries and the US has become a capitalist wonderland. Popular holidays have become an excellent way to boost the economy and sell chocolates, cards, gifts, you name it.
Turns out, like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs were very marketable. And marketed they were! Both within and beyond the borders of the US.
Combine this with a rapidly secularizing West and you get an Easter that’s more about buying eggs and chocolate than celebrating the most important event in human history.
And that’s really what we need to push back against, the consumerist spirit that shifts our attention from the Resurrection to the money in our wallets.
We must protect ourselves against becoming desensitized to Easter, lest we lose touch with the awe of the women at the tomb.
Please don’t misunderstand me, you can still enjoy candies and egg hunts (I love me some paaseieren). Just be careful that they don’t distract from, as my mother would say, “the reason for the season.” Because Easter is much deeper than what a bunny or egg can offer.
The above painting is one of the earliest depictions of Jesus (seen here as the Good Shepherd). It has no name, and we don’t even know who painted it.
It’s from the late 2nd to 3rd century and can be seen in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome.
It was painted there to give hope. After all, a catacomb is a place to store the dead. With that in mind, the significance of Jesus’ image here can’t be understated.
It was painted to make the same point the novelist and minister Frederick Buechner did when he said:
“But the proclamation of Easter Day is that all is well… In the end, his will, not ours, is done. Love is the victor. Death is not the end. The end is life. His life and our lives through him, in him. Existence has greater depths of beauty, mystery, and benediction than the wildest visionary has ever dared to dream. Christ our lord is risen.”
(Y’all really thought I was going to go without a quote this afternoon?)
Easter has been celebrated for almost two thousand years in a multitude of countries and cultures - all of which have felt the power of Christ’s Resurrection.
Easter reminds us that Jesus is victorious. And that this victory doesn’t just apply to us but also to Pentecostals in Kenya, Coptics in Egypt, Catholics in the Philippines, Evangelicals in the United States, and anyone willing to embrace Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Whether you’re from India having service at 6am and eating marzipan eggs after…
…or from Ukraine celebrating “The Great Day” and greeting others with “Christ is risen!” just as those persecuted under Stalin did…
…or in Ghana celebrating at a midnight picnic after weeks of prayer, fasting, and reflection…
…or here in the Netherlands singing “Opgestane Heer” as the organ plays in the background.
Different branches, different cultures, different expressions…
…but one Church, one God, and one Resurrection.
“Death is not the end.”
That’s Easter.
I’ll leave you with these reflections from Paul:
1 Corinthians 15v55-57
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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