FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

*Pastor’s Note: Okay, hopefully you made it through Part One. Here’s the rest of the lesson. Be blessed with the history AND most definitely the reason for the day, and again, celebrate the holidays, every holiday prayerfully!

Part Two

Anti-Easter Christians

Some Christian fundamentalists reject nearly all the customs surrounding Easter, believing them to be irrevocably tainted with paganism and idolatry. Jehovah’s Witnesses (which is most assuredly a cult), do not celebrate Easter at all, believing it to be entirely a pagan invention. In addition, some Christians believe the holiday is named for the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, but there exist no etymological indications that would support such claims. In lands where this goddess was historically known, the holiday was never called by any name resembling hers.

Non-Religious Easter Traditions

As with many other Christian dates, the celebration of Easter extends beyond the church. Since its origins, it has been a time of celebration and feasting. Today it is commercially important, seeing wide sales of greeting cards and confectionery such as chocolate Easter eggs, marshmallow bunnies, Peeps, and jelly beans.

In the United States, the Easter holiday has been effectively secularized, so that many American families participate only in the attendant revelry, central to which is decorating Easter eggs on Saturday evening and hunting for them Sunday morning, by which time they have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and garden. According to the children’s stories, the eggs were hidden overnight and other treats delivered by the Easter Bunny in an Easter basket which children find waiting for them when they wake up. (The Easter Bunny’s motives for doing this are seldom clarified.)

However, these secular rituals often have origins in Christian symbolism; the eggs, for example, can be taken as signs of rebirth and resurrection. Some of Easter’s symbols can be traced back still further; some (such as the Easter bunny, originally a hare) seem to have their origins in earlier pagan rituals celebrating nature’s springtime rebirth; while others can be traced back to Jewish customs such as the lamb often eaten at Easter feasts, which echoes Passover’s paschal lamb. (Eggs can be related to both pre-Christian traditions).

In Norway, in addition to skiing in the mountains and painting eggs for decorating, it is tradition to solve murders at Easter. All the major television channels show crime and detective stories (such as Poirot), magazines print stories where the readers can try to figure out who did it, and many new books are published. Even the milk cartons change to have murder stories on their sides.

In the Czech Republic, a tradition of whipping is carried out on Easter Monday. In the morning, males whip females with a special handmade whip called pomlázka. The pomlázka consists of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods) and is usually from half a meter to two meters long and decorated with colored ribbons at the end. It must be mentioned that while whipping can be painful, the purpose is not to cause suffering. Rather, the purpose is for males to exhibit their attraction to females; unvisited females can even feel offended. The whipped girl gives a colored egg to the guy as a sign of her thanks and forgiveness. A legend says that girls should be whipped in order to keep their health and fertility during whole next year. The females can get revenge in the afternoon when they can pour a bucket of cold water on any male. The habit slightly varies across the Czech Republic. Some feminists allege it is a disgusting medieval tradition.” (All emphasis in bold are mine).^[1]

What Are Mature Christians To Do?

There is so much written history concerning not only Easter, but many of our other “religious” holidays that it is obvious some things have been compromised and so watered down that they no longer resemble anything in the spiritual at all.

This is how the enemy likes to deceive and distort. He will take something as wonderful as the events leading up to and including the Resurrection and distort them into something that was his long before the event that we as Christians observe.

Our duty as Christians is to make sure that each generation and each family member understands the importance of each of our celebrations in the scheme of the spiritual and ETERNITY.  Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ; the demonstration of the promises of our Heavenly Father that He would make a way for us to get back to Him where we once were. Easter or as many other Christians are adopting the term, the Passover of Christ, (or Resurrection Day) is to remind us of the promise of the Father fulfilled in the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, the Living Word of God! Our Loving, Heavenly Father, passed over us and chose to offer His Son in our place. It is the Son’s blood on our hearts and spirit that gives us direct access once again to our Heavenly Father!

We as Christians, renewed in our spirit, reborn of the Spirit of God, can take back what is rightfully ours by the simple act of teaching the truth to our family and friends. We can curb the tide of commercialization by refusing to spend so much of our hard earned money on the trappings of the world. I am not saying do not celebrate and I’m not saying do not treat the kids, but temper it with proper teaching. So, rather, celebrate it in the tradition of the Apostles and what Jesus instituted right before His surrender to the cross. (Again not saying to duplicate it exactly!). Remember the fellowship and the reason for it.

Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”‘” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. – Matthew 26:17-20.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. – Matthew 26:26-30.

Do you see here what the real celebration was? Those He loved, he gathered around Him. They ate, drank and fellowshipped. At times it was very serious, but don’t forget, He also enjoyed the company of those He was with. Before they left their meal and their fellowship, they sang a hymn. They sang, they rejoiced in God the Father!

Yes, maybe there are some changes that have taken place. Now, it is our families and many times our friends that gather around our Easter table. But let’s bring true fellowship back. Let’s remember the things that Jesus told His precious friends; the promises that were to be theirs because of what He was about to do. Let’s remember that is the reason to celebrate!

In closing, I want to leave one other thought with you. If you reread and notice Matthew 26:29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

What a wonderful opportunity for us to use the remaining time before Jesus comes back to get us to practice our fellowshipping with one another in preparation for the BIG banquet that is prepared for those who love Him!! That will be the greatest celebration and all these others will pale in comparison.

There is an expression that has cropped up the last several years for the Christmas Season; Jesus is the Reason for the Season! Let’s remember that during the Passover of Christ (or the Resurrection) Season as well! He’s the only reason we as Christians need to celebrate, He is the reason for everything in our lives!! Without Him there IS nothing and we HAVE nothing.

God bless you all as you celebrate the real reason for this season, the crucifixion, death AND the resurrection into everlasting life of our Redeemer – Jesus Christ, the Living Word Everlasting!!

¹These references and resources were not taken from any one single source, but combined other sources with the two main sources which are from:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. Microsoft Corporation 1993-1998. All rights reserved.

*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

*Pastor’s Note: Okay, okay, right off the bat you’re defensive and on guard. I don’t blame you! First, let me state that this is a lesson I did on one of my early ministry forums back in the early 2000’s. The exact year escapes me. I was trying to give some history with my teaching just so people would know where our celebration of Easter originated.

Second, I have long adopted Scripture in regard to people and how they celebrate Holy Days (hence the word holiday) and I stand firm on Scripture and allow the Lord through His Holy Spirit to judge heart motive. Sadly, I didn’t use the Scripture in the lesson when I gave it and so I am including it in this note.

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. – Romans 14:5-6.

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. – Colossians 2:16-17.

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – “Do  not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using–according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. – Colossians 2:20-23.

And for those of you who are sticklers, no, I did NOT take these verses out of the context with which they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. They ARE life to those who live by them. So, keep that in mind when you read some of the history I present to you.

Also, this is a vintage message, so I have made some updates to type and Scripture and added images for the website, but the main teaching is just as it was back in the early 2000’s. Because of it’s length, I have separated it into two parts. According to the resources I used, the term ‘Christian’ is pretty much used generically as you will see. I am hopeful that those of you reading understand what TRUE Christianity is and that it is not necessarily related to any one church organization, past or present. My goal is to provide you with some history and then how you choose to celebrate is between you and the Lord. Just remember the implications for your young families. Enjoy the season prayerfully.

Part One

Walking through our neighborhood Walmart soon after Valentine’s Day my wife and I noticed all the “Easter” baskets, bunnies, candies and such being put up in the isles. In fact just the other day, in later February, we noticed that upon all the clothes racks they had strategically placed large colored baskets wrapped in cellophane, covering a large assortment of candy, stuffed animals, a camera and little toy novelties, not to mention the plastic eggs that I am sure also carried candy or trinkets in them.

As I wandered through the store, my mind went to several of the television commercials that I had recently seen. The famous bunny representing the chocolate company that clucks like a chicken. Several commercials of stores not just advertising specials on “Easter” clothes, but also, believe it or not toys!! I turned to my wife and shaking my head, told her, I guess Easter is the next great shopping season for the stores and merchants.

The biggest shopping day of every year has always been known to be the day after Thanksgiving. Most merchants base their year’s worth of sales on this day. The second is the day after Christmas. Soon approaching these days I can imagine now is the time right before the Easter celebration. No I don’t have statistics concerning the Easter buying, but I’m also not blind to the trends going on in our society.

Oh, did I mention that in not one of these commercials or my walk through the stores did I see mention of Christ’s glorious Resurrection? I didn’t see specialty calendars, or Easter Bibles, anything, that had any spiritual connotation. That is outside of the few spiritually generic cards in the racks. Of course that wouldn’t be “politically correct” now would it??

Isn’t it amazing how society has turned such a significant part of ETERNAL history into another marketing ploy to garner even more riches for their bank accounts!! All the while we sit idly by watching as our “religious” leaders have Easter-egg hunts on their church lawns and hand out Easter bags for the kiddies with the very chocolate eggs and jelly-beans that the merchants are so swift to pawn off on anyone willing to spend their hard-earned money.

I know I sound hard, don’t get me wrong, I am not against celebrations or festivities. What I am against is the subtle exploitation of something so sacred, so awesome in its wonder and majesty as the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, all for the sake of profit! It’s the proverbial LOVE of money warning staring us straight in the face!

We have sadly become a society that is willing to rearrange our priorities all for the sake of a few dollars. I know this is not my usual upbeat, loving style message that so many are used too, but doesn’t it WOUND your spirit, when you see these things taking place in our society?

Do you know that the mention of Easter is nowhere in the Bible? We have no record of the very early church celebrating this supposedly Holy celebration. Do you know when the first records of the church celebrating it came about? Well, the following is an excerpt from an internet encyclopedia. But, I also cross-referenced it with many other articles on the traditions and origins of Easter (as well as a couple of other holidays).

Easter And The Early Christian Church

“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. However, an Easter Homily does survive from the 2nd century which indicates that the practice arose quite early in the history of the Church.

The observance of any special holiday throughout the Christian year is an innovation postdating (meaning attributed to an earlier time) the early church. The ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of local custom, “just as many other customs have been established”, stating that neither Jesus nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. Many commentators, however, have interpreted the last supper as a Passover seder at which Jesus presided. In addition, Jesus and the Apostles were observing Sukkot (the “Feast of Booths”) when the Transfiguration occurred, indicating that he was not immediately opposed to the observance of annual holidays. The far more common worldwide name of the holiday, Pascha (or variations thereof) indicates that the holiday most likely arose as a continuation of Passover celebrations, with emphasis upon the Resurrection of Jesus.

Easter As A Germanic Heathen Festival

The Easter festival’s name in the English and German languages, and much of the symbolism now commonly associated with Easter in English-speaking countries but not in all traditionally Christian countries, are alleged to derive from Eostre, an alleged Germanic pagan goddess. Her primary festival, according to the 8th century English historian the Venerable Bede, fell in the spring during her month, Eostremonat. According to Bede, the word “Easter” is derived from the Old Norse Ostara or Eostre, a festival of spring at the vernal equinox, March 21, when nature is in resurrection after winter, hence, the symbolism of rabbits, notable for their fertility, and the eggs, colored like rays of the returning sun and the aurora borealis.

Children roll easter eggs in England and America but not in all traditionally Christian countries. They hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by the Easter Bunny. Hidden in the play are, it has been argued, the vestiges of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbolizing fertility. (A rabbit, furthermore, was sometimes said to be the escort of the goddess, but there are no pre-19th century sources for this.) However, such claims ignore at least as ancient use of eggs as symbolic gifts among the Persians and Jews.

The First Council of Nicaea in 325 agreed that Easter (using the name “Pascha” in the original documents) should be celebrated on the same day throughout the church. There are extant homilies such as St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Homily, written in the 5th century, in Constantinople; or the Homily of the Pascha of Bishop Melito of Sardis, in the 2nd century, which refer to Easter. It is possible that, as the Germanic peoples were Christianized, the Christian Paschal celebrations which developed in non-Germanic areas merged with and assimilated features from the Eostre celebrations which took place at about the same time of the year in the Germanic countries, a merger that would have been eased by the resurrection/rebirth themes common to both.

Most of the symbols now attached to Christmas and Halloween are similarly said to be derived from the well-attested pre-Christian northern European pagan holidays of Yule and Samhain. According to this theory, Christian missionaries arriving in northern Europe found that, rather than trying to suppress popular and established pagan feasts, it was easier to simply provide a Christian reinterpretation of the holiday, and allow the various customs and symbols associated with the holiday to continue largely unchanged.

Bede’s “Ecclesiastic History of the English People” contains a letter from Pope Gregory I to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The Pope suggests that converting heathens is easier if they are allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting those traditions spiritually towards the one true God instead of to their pagan gods (whom the Pope refers to as “devils”), “to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God.” (All emphasis in bold are mine).^[1]

¹These references and resources were not taken from any one single source, but combined other sources with the two main sources which are from:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. Microsoft Corporation 1993-1998. All rights reserved.

*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.