I find it painful to walk the Easter aisle at WalMart. In that aisle, you’ll see both chocolate covered bunnies and chocolate covered Jesus fish side by side. And, what about the Easter-egg hunts for the kids? What do they have to do with Christ’s resurrection? Not much!
That’s why you may hear some TV preachers or well-intentioned Christians denouncing the celebration of Easter. They focus on the pagan origins or the trappings of the holiday. So, do we throw out Easter? I think there’s a better response.
Certainly, we need to make the distinction between Easter and the resurrection of Christ.
Easter or the Celebration of Christ’s Resurrection?
The “true meaning of Easter” … has nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ.
Easter has its roots in ancient, polytheistic pagan religions. There are plenty of scholarly books and reference materials documenting the historical development of Easter—clearly demonstrating that it is fully pagan in origin.
From the biblical perspective, Easter has no meaning. The early church did not celebrate Easter once a year.
But, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely biblical. In fact, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection every week when we meet to worship on Sunday (the day Jesus was raised) rather than on Saturday (the Sabbath).
So, should we go to WalMart and knock over all “Easter” displays that contain a bunny? Should we chastise any church that promotes an “Easter Service” rather than a “Resurrection Service”? Should we reprimand parents who allow their children to participate in church-sponsored Easter egg hunts?
Let’s try a more Gospel-centered approach. How about an approach that draws people to the Savior instead of condemning anyone who says the word “Easter” or participates in an Easter egg hunt. Instead, choose to use this weekend not as a way to start a conversation with people about the pagan trappings of Easter, but about the wonder and reality of the Resurrection of Christ. Frankly, though I’m not thrilled with all the junk associated with “Easter”, I’m thankful for the fact that many non-believers may pause and consider the Lord Jesus Christ, even if only for a moment. I’m not going to complain about the people who usually don’t come to church, but show up this Sunday for our Sunday Morning Corporate Worship! We have a wonderful opportunity to communicate publicly the wonderful truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What IS the Resurrection of Christ?
How does the Bible define the Resurrection of Christ, and why is it so important?
In this blog we’ve included a sermon Gordon preached at a community sunrise service in 2007.
Yes, you may hear some great sermons about the resurrection this weekend. We’re not going to tell you: “listen to this; it’s better than any you’ll hear”! But, the significance of this sermon is its setting. Its audience included those from many churches, some of which have no clue as to the meaning of the resurrection of Christ. So, it was a great opportunity to speak to a wide range of denominations.
Even more significantly, its purpose was to briefly and biblically clear the fog about what the resurrection is… AND, why it is so important.
We hope you’ll listen.
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The gospels and the historical evidence bear out this claim that Jesus literally, bodily rose from the dead. As Christians, we stake our entire faith on the resurrection of Christ because it is only through this event that we can have forgiveness of sin. (1 cor. 15:1-4).
The question is: what will you do with the evidence? May you know the joy of sin’s forgiveness based on your trust in Christ alone for your eternal salvation. May you know the joy of living by His resurrection power (Phil. 3:10)! May you stand “In Christ Alone” the risen, ascended Lord as your source of forgiveness, hope, joy, and yes, eternal life!
