On Easter Sunday we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In many places it is simply called, “Resurrection Sunday.” As most know Sunday became the worship day for the Christian church, not the Sabbath of the Jewish tradition, as a reminder and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We call both the season and this Sunday, Easter. Where did that term originate? Actually no one knows for sure. A reasonable, and quite probably correct, explanation lies in German celebrations of the Resurrection in the fifth century and use of the term in their language for sunrise which is “ostern.” A derivative seemed to have become common in what we now refer to as Easter. It was and often is a “sunrise celebration” as a reminder that the women went and found an empty tomb very early in the morning on the third day following the crucifixion of Jesus.
Obviously, the more important question has to do with what it means to us today. All too often the deeper meaning is lost in the commercialism, chocolate, bunnies and eggs. Most of us can’t totally remove ourselves from some of these things. I remember the fun of Easter eggs when I was a child, enjoying them with my children when they were young and now with my grandchildren. However, we also make sure they know the real reason for the season.
Let us remember that Jesus really died for our sins and just as surely rose from the grave. The Bible says He became the firstfruits of our resurrection. You see, only the body of Jesus died. His Spirit was with the Father. On that third day, resurrection day, His spirit was joined with a glorified body as an example and forerunner of what will happen to us. One day this body will die. We are living souls like Jesus, with both a body and spirit. This body will die. For believers who die, their spirit will be with the Lord. Paul said, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” At the second coming of Christ those bodies will be joined together for eternity when we experience the resurrection and receive a new body even as did our Lord.
The resurrection of Jesus is the most crucial element of the Christian faith. Without it the rest becomes nothing more than an example of a marvelous man who became a martyr. As Paul said, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain…and you are still in your sins.”
Thank God for the forgiveness of our sins purchased on the cross, for the salvation which is ours by grace through faith and the guarantee of life beyond death by the resurrection of Jesus.
Whether you call it Easter or Resurrection Sunday, make sure you have taken time to consider what it means to have a personal relationship with the living Christ and that you will worship Him this Sunday with God’s people.
Another idea involves the history of the Frankish church (Germans who settled in Rome during the fifth century). Their the celebration of Christ’s resurrection included the word alba, which means white (the color of the robes worn during the resurrection festival). Alba also meant sunrise. So when the name of the festival was translated into German, the sunrise meaning, ostern, was selected, likely in error. One theory is that Ostern is the origin of the word Easter.
Throughout Scripture, God speaks of the Sacrificial Lamb. Beginning in Genesis 22; we read of God’s command to Abraham that he sacrifice his son Isaac, the son of God’s promise. When Abraham obediently raises his hand to sacrifice Isaac, God stops him. He is satisfied that Abraham is a man of great faith. When Isaac asks his father “where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”, Abraham replies, “God will provide Himself the sacrifice.” Many believe this was the first foreshadowing of the time when God Himself would become the sacrifice for all the sin of man, through the person of Jesus Christ.
Christians believe the deeper meaning of the Passover involves this sacrifice, as Jesus himself was crucified on the Friday of Passover week and resurrected on Passover Sunday. Because He is seen as the ultimate Sacrificial Lamb, anyone who accepts the gift of His sacrifice is said to have His blood on the doorposts of their hearts. Therefore, when the final judgment comes, God will pass them over. In Christ, those who believe are set free from the power and penalty of sin.
Origin of the Word Easter: What does it mean today?
More important than the question of how the word Easter originated is what it means to us today. When you think of the word Easter, what do you see? If you see bunnies and baskets of chocolate eggs, you are missing out on the richness of this day, considered by many Christians to be even more significant than Christmas. Easter, to Christians, is actually Resurrection Day – the anniversary of the day Jesus rose in triumph from the grave, claiming victory over death. Because He lives, so can you and I, through simple faith in Him. God provided Himself the sacrifice. Thanks to Him, you and I have the hope of eternal life with Him. Won’t you trust in Him today?
Read more about the origin of the word Easter at www.allabouthistory.org