Articles
Easter
What people in America call Easter Sunday will be this Sunday. It's no secret that Easter and Christmas are the two most attended Sunday church service days of the year, followed by Mother's Day. How sad that fact is, not in that people flock to church buildings on these days, but that so many will not grace the doors at any other time! What Jesus has done for us is our story, what we center our lives around every single day.
Utilizing the correct cycles of the moon, the Jewish calendar and understanding how months were organized 2000 years ago, we determine the days that would correspond with Passover, the festival during which time Jesus went to the cross and died for all mankind, and was resurrected by God after 3 days. In America, the annual celebration of this has come to be known as "Easter". ((If you look in the King James translation of the Bible, you can find one reference to 'Easter'. Of the other well known and available translations, you will not find 'Easter'. Bible scholars who study deeply into such situations relate that the translation in the King James was a poor one, not accurately reflecting Passover as it should.))
If by chance you don't know what Passover is, or the events in times of old that brought it about, I'd highly encourage you to do a study. There isn't enough room here to even begin to explain it, but it is necessary to know that it was no coincidence that Jesus died during the Passover festival.
Arranging a time of remembrance and celebration corresponding with the events of Jesus' life during Passover in which He died is the theme by religious people during "Easter", with particular emphasis on the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead, which has been called "Easter Sunday". There are no specific Biblical commands or prescribed "Holy" days in the New Testament for such a celebration during this week or on this specific Sunday. This day or period of celebration, and the terms we hear used to describe them have been established by man. Like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter is a time set aside by people with good intentions, to put the spotlight on God, whereby people pause, focusing their attention on Him and Christ.
The recanting of history of the death of Jesus Christ, Messiah, the Savior sent into the world to save mankind from sin IS the GOOD NEWS of salvation. It has immeasurable value because of His selfless sacrifice for our sins by dying in accordance with the plan of God. When He was resurrected, He triumphed over death, which offers us the ability to do the same through Him. I fully believe God desires us to recall the necessity of Jesus' death and resurrection frequently, as it is the rudder that steers our lives. Without it, we would have no hope at all! The facts surrounding Jesus' pain, suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection (the theme of 'Easter') are our everyday story, what we base our faith in, and they give us cause to be thankful continually and able to rejoice in our salvation.
The New Testament church left us an example when they collectively remembered these things on the first day of every week, while partaking of a bread in remembrance of His body, and a cup in remembrance of His blood, what we call 'the Lord's supper" while assembled as a church together. (Acts 20:7). Churches of Christ follow that example in our worship assemblies each week, because we are told that doing so "proclaims the death of Jesus", until we no longer need to because He comes back to take us home. (1 Cor 11:26)
We get out of bed every morning to a new day. We, I pray, get up to serve the Lord. If we are in Christ, we get up saved by the grace of God to face another day while we toil here on earth awaiting that time when God will call us home. I believe it would be a faith booster to reflect every single day on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ and I suspect many of you do. Meditating on these things helps us express our thankfulness for His sacrifice that cleanses us continually, and keeps us alive in Him. (1 John 1:7-9)
