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The Implications of Easter
(The Resurrection of Jesus Christ)
By William R. Cunningham
April 20, 2003
INTRODUCTION
Here we are at another Easter season. This is the time where many people purchase new clothes, candy, Easter baskets, and other items associated with this holiday. Many people will go to church that normally do not attend services. Many people will hear the passion story told another time. However, do we really know what Easter is and the implications of what happened on this great day almost 2000 years ago?
Easter has become commercialized just as the Christmas holiday. And similar to the Christmas holiday, Easter is a mixture of a multitude of traditions, which include pagan, Hebrew, and Christian traditions. What is worse is that many do not know the implications of Easter. What does Easter have to do with me today besides the special Easter Sunday service at church or the new clothes?
In this lesson we are going to discuss the implications of Easter? We all know the story of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, death, and resurrection. I am sure you have heard that story since you were a child. However, we know the story but do we know what it means? What are the consequences of Jesus' death and resurrection? Why indeed is Easter Sunday such a high holy day to Christians? We know the story of Easter but do we know what it means?
Background Information
Most of what we do at Easter has nothing to do with the original Christian tradition or with the teachings of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, you will find no Easter egg, Easter bunny, new clothes, or no special church services neither in the New Testament nor in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers of the Christian faith. Let's briefly look at these now.
Pagan Tradition
Venerable Bede, an English historian and scholar in the early 8th century, said that the name "Easter" is survived from old Teutonic mythology. It is derived from Ostara or Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon mother goddess of light and spring (and fertility). The ancient Anglo-Saxons worshipped their goddess Eostre by the earthly symbol of a rabbit or hare. Sacrifices were offered in her honor at the time of the vernal equinox (day and night are equal lengths in the spring).
The word Easter was used to designate the annual Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as early as the eighth century. The word appears once in the KJV of the Bible in Acts 12:4 and even here it is a mistranslation of "pascha," the Greek word for "Passover."
The Easter Egg and Easter Bunny
What does the Easter egg and Easter bunny have to do with Easter? For many cultures, the egg was a symbol of continuing (or newness of) life since pre-Christian spring festivals. Ancient Greeks, Persians, and Chinese gave eggs as gifts at their respective spring festivals. The egg appears in pagan mythology where the Sun-Bird was hatched from the World egg. In some pagan cultures the Earth and heaven were thought to have been formed from two halves of an ancient egg (not a chicken's egg necessarily).
In pagan times the egg represented the rebirth of the earth (after winter). Christianity later adopted this theme as a symbol of the newness of man's rebirth.
The Easter bunny or Hare as it was known, was a symbol of fertility, which coincided with the spring festivals. There were hopes of new life for the deadness that winter brought to the land.
Hebrew Tradition
The eighth century historian, Venerable Bede says that the month of April was the same as the mensis paschalis, "when the old festival was observed with the gladdness of the new solemnity." The root "pasch" is from the Hebrew pesach (Passover). The Passover was celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew year. Nisan was linked to spring harvest in ancient Palestine (see Exodus 12:1-3, Leviticus 23:9-14, and Numbers 28:16). Basically, the Hebrew tradition brought the Passover into the mixture of the Easter season.
Christian Tradition
Jesus Christ was crucified and arose from the dead at the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. It is important to note that there is neither mention of the Easter celebration in the New Testament nor the writings of the Apostolic Fathers (except as noted previously). There didn't exist an idea of the sanctity of special times in the minds of early Christians. The early Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals though in a new light or from a different perspective. As a matter of fact, the early Christians met on the first day of the week, Sunday, instead of the seventh or Sabbath, in order to honor the day of the Lord (the day Christ resurrected). Therefore, each Sunday is actually an observance of the Lord's resurrection as the Easter season.
A new concept of Christ as the Passover lamb and the first fruits from the dead (vernal equinox, winter-to-spring theme) continued to be observed and eventually became the Christian Easter that we know today.
The Events of Easter
Now let me briefly discuss the events of the Easter holiday from a Christian's perspective. Easter is the time of year that we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (specifically the resurrection). Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas and eventually was taken before Pontius Pilate. Pilate, after being persuaded by the multitude of people, condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. Jesus suffered on the cross for about three hours and at the ninth hour (about 3:00 PM) he died. However, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God on the third day after his death. He spent about 40 days on the earth and then ascended into heaven.
These events are what Christians celebrate. Why? Why do we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection? What do they have to do with us today?
THE RESULTS OF THE RESSURECTION
What does the death of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection have to do with us and why should we be concerned with it? There are profound implications of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The commercialization and festivals that we have and practice today in many cases mask the true meaning of the Easter season. The greatest thing that the Easter season, or rather, the resurrection of Jesus Christ brought us is eternal life (to those who believe in Jesus Christ). The implication of this life is liberty.
Alive with Christ
Galatians 2:19-:20 (NKJV) For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
We identify with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. By faith our deadness to God was exchanged for the life of Christ, which brought reconciliation to God. We live because Christ lives. If Christ had not died then we would still be dead in our sins and on a crash course with eternal separation from God (Revelations calls this the second death - Revelations 2:11, 20:6,14, 21:8).
Christ's death was payment for all of our sins because sin leads to death. Consider the following scripture.
Romans 6:22-23 (NKJV) But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have been set free from sin after being bound to God. The end of our journey is not death but eternal life. Death was necessary because death is the consequence of sin. This death is not just the deadness of our bodies when we leave this earth. This death refers to the eternal separation from God in addition to the corruption of all of creation.
If Jesus had not died then we would have to die for our own sins, which means that we could never be saved and joined together with God. Our end would be eternal condemnation in the bottomless pit along with the grave and Satan. However, since Jesus did die and was raised from the dead, then we have hope of salvation if we would only believe in Him. We can escape death by accepting Jesus' payment for our sin. This accepting is really an act that allows his redemption to overflow into our lives and cover our sins. .
Consider another scripture.
Colossians 2:11-15 (NKJV) In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
We were also buried with Christ in baptism if we indeed believe in him. His death covered our sins and his resurrection brought us true life with the Father. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God, we too are raised from the deadness imposed on us by our sins into a new and glorious life in Christ Jesus. We can now be counted as children of God and not be ashamed or separated because of our sins. Consider the following scripture.
Colossians 3:3-4 (NKJV) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Our life is therefore hidden with Christ. Therefore, when Christ appears then we will appear with him.
Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross so that we might live for righteousness after dying to sins. Our life is in Christ. Without the life of Christ then we would be dead to God. We thank God for the life of God that dwells in each of us who are true Christians by faith and not by observance of law.
Liberty
The next thing that Jesus' resurrection brought us is liberty. Christ died and rose from the dead so that we would experience true life with God. The life of Christ and our deadness to sin makes us free from the bondage of sin. We are joined with God and where God's Spirit dwells liberty is also present. We didn't realize the plight that we were in when we were dead in our sins. Things seemed OK because we were blinded by our sins and the darkness of our hearts. We were separated from God and didn't know it.
We are free from the penalty and consequences of sin because Jesus died, rose again, and we believe in Him. We are saved.
Now this salvation is complete. That is, there is nothing that is necessary besides believing in Jesus Christ in order to be saved or born again. Once the blood of Jesus has washed us clean then we are clean indeed. Do not fall for a false Gospel as the Galatians where additional requirements are added for salvation. You are not saved because you go to church every Sunday or because you tithe. You are not saved because you said so many Hail Mary's or whatever. You are saved because you have faith in Jesus Christ. You are secured by the power of the Holy Spirit and not because you were able to adhere to a church's rules and regulations.
It is very important to realize that you have liberty in Christ. You are free from the law and you are free from the bondage of sin. You are free from the law because the law cannot save you so it would be a waste of time to try to follow the law in order to be saved. You are free from the bondage of sin because through Christ you live and sin brings death, which you no longer have because of Christ. So you are liberated from all that would bind you so that you can live with Christ and for God. You are now free to live as a Child of God in the Kingdom of God.
Don't allow yourself to be weighed down by so many rules and regulations of the religious institution. Don't allow yourself to replace the grace of God unto salvation with the adherence to a set of laws. Jesus' resurrection and your faith in Him is all that you need. Jesus has finished it, which means that your salvation is complete.
THE IMPLICATION OF THE RESURRECTION: OUR LIBERTY
We said previously that Jesus' resurrection resulted in life and liberty for us. We are alive to God through Christ and we are free from the bondage of sin. Let's take a closer look at the liberty that we have. The liberty that we have is a result of the Spirit of God that is in us. Consider the following scripture.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Salvation and the Spirit go together. We have the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit) once we are born again. With that Spirit comes liberty. So anyone that is saved is free. We are free from the bondage of sin and the bondage of the law, which brought on death (there could be no sin without the law and with sin comes death). Consider the following Scripture.
2 Corinthians 3:6 (NKJV) who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Paul states that he is sufficient as ministers of the Gospel because of the Holy Spirit and not the letter of the law. He says that the letter of the law kills whereas the Spirit gives life. Here Paul contrasts legalism with the liberty that we have in the Holy Spirit. Consider also the following scripture.
John 6:63 (NKJV) It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Again we see that the Spirit brings life. Jesus is that Spirit and therefore life comes from Him. The very words that he speaks are life because they are spirit. Let's look at a Scripture from the Old Testament and the corresponding New Testament passage.
Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
I want us to focus on the fact that Jesus proclaims liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. He also frees those who are oppressed. These are very profound statements because they actually apply to more than just the bondage of sin and death. They also apply to the spiritual condition of many Christians today. Bondage can come from many places and one of those places is the religious institution.
The Resurrection Freed You From Legalism Too!
One thing that we fail to remember is that Jesus many times went toe-to-toe with the religious leaders of his day and he challenged the religious system of his day, namely the synagogue. The traditions of men superseded the actual Word of God. The religious leaders were many times more concerned about their traditions that they forgot what was really important.
Matthew 23:23-24 (NKJV) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Read the entire twenty-third chapter of Matthew.
The same legalistic mentality plagues Christianity today. This system of Christian legalism is sometimes called Churchianity because it is through the church institution (not to be confused with the true church, the Body of Christ) that legalism is perpetuated. Consider the number of denominations there are in the church system and yet there is only one Spirit (not that the true Spirit of God dwells in all of these churches). Now keep in mind that I am not talking about any particular church or that church is in any way a bad thing. I am talking about the system that is perpetuated in many churches to oppress God's people.
Jesus did not die so that you would be taken again into bondage. Jesus died and rose again so that you would have eternal life with the Father, that is, so that you would live. However, many Christians have allowed themselves to be enslaved again by another yoke of bondage. They pledge allegiance to the religious institution instead of to Jesus Christ. They pledge their commitment to the institution of man instead of the church of Christ. People die every day not only by a bullet, disease, or accidents. People also die as a result of the church, i.e., the religious institution.
The Chains of the Institution
I was pondering the ministry that God seems to have given me and I have finally come to the conclusion that I am against the church institution, what it stands for, and how it enslaves and destroys God's people in addition to how it keeps the unsaved from approaching God through the church environment. People are so busy following the rules that they can't follow Christ. They are so bound by the system that obedience to God is not an option. How could you possibly do what God says when you have pledged your allegiance to someone else. No one wants to be enslaved so the unsaved tend to resist what the church does because they equate church with a list of do's and don'ts.
Did Christ die in vain? No! Praise God, Christ has brought liberty to many. There are many people that have come to realize that their faith and commitment should be in Christ and not the institution. What love we should have for one another in that we are bound together by a common bond, namely the Spirit of God. Paul called himself a bondservant on several occasions and that simply meant that he submitted his total allegiance and service to the Lord. However, many Christians have pledged their total allegiance and service to the local church, their pastor, or the institution for which it stands, which ultimately brings death because only Christ brings life.
Let me give you an example of the deadly poison that is injected into unsuspecting Christians (unsuspecting because they don't study the Bible. If they would spend time in the word of God then they would know the truth and escape the snare of the institution). Consider the typical "successful" of today. Right away you can see a problem here. A successful church is normally measured by the number of members that attend or the amount of money that it has or even in some instances, the type of car the pastor drives and house that he lives in. Church success is not measured in the lives that are edified or the progression of the word of God to the people. Anyway, consider the pastor who has several expensive cars, lives in a plush mansion, and has expensive clothes and jewelry. These are not wrong but a problem arises when all of these are obtained at the expense of giving people. After all, the pastor could very well have his or her own source of income even if it is from the church. If from the church then that pastor does not have to live excessively. What if those same people instead gave to support and help each other and the ministry? What if your money, your tithe, went to help your neighbor (whom you should love as yourself) and support the true ministry of Christ, such as supporting a missionary or a pastor that is trying his or her best to preach the word of God. What if your money went to do the work of God instead of providing luxury to the top echelon? However, we don't see this because we are too busy trying to be abundantly wealthy by giving tithes and offerings to the local church. We are blind because we are too busy in our own greed trying to obtain riches and glory through the seven steps to prosperity or the ten steps to abundance.
What if as much time and energy was spent on really ministering to people (See Matthew 25:31-46) instead of trying to satisfy our own greed, pride, and selfishness and the greed of the ministers and pastors who pawn these lies to you. There are churches that have little resources for ministry because the offerings have to go to maintain a building and pay the staff. What's the use of a church if the church can't do what it is supposed to do? Now what if those same resources went to help each other and support the true ministry of Christ? How different things would be. However, we are bound by the system and its legalistic ways. We are blind to the true way of Christ.
Christ has freed us from the bondage of legalism. His resurrection has provided a way (John 14:6) for us to truly live apart from the false way of the religious institution. Why do I specifically say that Christ delivered us from the bondage of legalism? I say that because Jesus stood against the traditions of the religious system during his ministry as recorded in the Gospels. He stood against the hypocrisy that prevailed in the religious systems of works righteousness. That same system of works righteousness exists in the church institution today. As a matter of fact, the church institution is governed by works righteousness else you would not be compelled to sell out to the church instead of to God. You would not be compelled to give a tithe to the local church so that the pastor can drive another new car or buy another big house or get more luxurious amenities in the building. Instead you would be looking out for your neighbor as well as supporting your local church.
The Attack of Bondage is on Christians Too
Do you think for one second that Satan would stop his attack on you just because you say that you are saved? Let me give an illustration. Christianity had to deal with attacks on two major fronts. The first was the attacks from unbelievers. These people accused the early Christians of being cannibals (the Eucharist), Atheists (they didn't believe in the pagan gods), and homosexuals (they greeted each other with a holy kiss) among other things. Out of this grew the class of ministers called apologists who defended the Christian faith from false accusations coming from outside of the Christian church (not to be confused with the local church). The second was attacks from within the Christian church. These were typically leaders that developed a strange theology, which later became heresy. One of the greatest examples of this is Arianism. Out of these attacks came the Polemicists who defended the church against doctrinal error from within.
These doctrinal errors exist today in the local churches. People are bound from head to foot and they don't even realize it because most Christians do not study the Bible. Jesus Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead so that we might live. However, we still choose death. God sacrificed His only begotten son so that we would be reconciled to Him and instead we choose to be reconciled to an institution governed by greedy misguided men and women. Jesus died so that he could be the Lord of our lives and instead we submit to various ministers to govern our lives and tell us what to do. We don't relate to God. We relate to man and his oppressive rules and regulations.
Consider the example that Jesus gives us about the tree and its fruit (See Matthew 7:15-20). What fruit do these false teachings bear and to whom? How are you edified by diligently tithing your hard earned money to the local church? How do you benefit from all of the resources that are collected by the local church? Of course the building has to be maintained and people should be compensated for their work, especially the pastor. Jesus said that a workman is worthy of his hire (Matthew 10:10, 1 Corinthians 9:3-12, 1 Timothy 5:17-18). However, when pastors bind the congregation through the teaching of tithes and offerings and other such teachings, then the fruit that is produced is primarily for them. It isn't about ministry at that point but the preaching occupation. This is especially true for career pastors. So we really need to examine the fruit that is produced by a "ministry." We also should be careful to not bind ourselves to the institution but to God.
Your Liberty
So you see that you are free. You are free from the bondage of sin and death. You are free from the bondage of the law and legalism. You are free from observing the rules and regulations of the religious institutions that bind you and keep you away from God. You are free! Be free because Christ died so that you would be free. He rose again so that you would live. Amen.