Easter
- Where it Began
1
Cor. 5:6-8
After
Jesus had spoken to His apostles
on the Mount of Olives (on Tuesday),
His
disciples would prepare & observe
the Passover on the following
Thursday.
Mt.
26:1-5 Jesus tells His apostles when He will
be "delivered up"
- on
the Passover.
The
Passover commemorated Israel's freedom from Egyptian bondage on
the night of the death of the first-born in Egypt.
Ex.
12 It marked the beginning of their year.
Passover
observed on 14th. day of the first month at twilight.
Feast
of unleavened bread was the following 7 days
(15-21)
Lev.
23 God specifies the feasts Israel was to observe.
Ex.
12:14 "So
this day shall be to you a memorial;
and you shall keep it as a feast
to the
Lord throughout your generations. You
shall keep it as a feast
by an everlasting
ordinance."
Ex.
12:26-27 "And
it shall be, when your children
say to you, 'What do you mean
by this
service?' (27) that you shall say, 'It is
the
Passover sacrifice of the Lord,
who passed over the houses
of the
children of Israel in Egypt when He
struck the
Egyptians and delivered our
households.'..."
This
was the Passover that Jesus & His apostles were about to observe Its
purpose was to "Remember"
Mt.
26:17-30 Jesus, after the Passover, instituted the Lord's Supper.
Later,
after Jesus' death, burial & resurrection, He instructed His
apostles regarding
His authority & what they were to teach others:
Mt.
28:16-ff "teaching them to observe all things
I have commanded
you."
Later,
we find the church at Troas observing this memorial on Sunday
Acts
20:7 "Now
on the first day of the week, when
the disciples came together
to break
bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day,
spoke
to them and continued his
message until midnight."
Before
going to Troas, Paul had gone to Corinth. Later, he wrote to them rebuking
them for their abuses in observing the Lord's Supper:
1
Cor. 11:23-26 "For
I received from the Lord that
which I also delivered to you: that
the Lord Jesus on the same night in
which He was betrayed
took bread;
(24) and when He had given
thanks, He broke it
and said, 'Take,
eat; this is My body which is broken
for you; do
this in remembrance
of
Me.'
(25) In the same manner He
also took the cup after
supper,
saying, 'This
cup is the new
covenant in My blood. This do,
as
often as you drink it,
in
remembrance of Me.'
(26) For as
often as
you eat this bread and
drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death till
He comes."
We
are to remember Christ's death, burial & resurrection weekly
Almost
300 years later, we find the beginnings of an annual
observance of
Christ's resurrection. There was much confusion regarding the time
of its
observance.
The
reason for such confusion was because there was no scriptural
teaching or authorization
to be found for it- either by command, example, or necessary
inference
At
the council of Nicea (325
AD)
it
was decreed that "Easter" be celebrated
on Sunday, but did not fix the particular
Sunday.
This
was the
first
such world council - It as called by Roman emperor Constantine. The
only mention of "Easter" is in the older King James
version:
Acts
12:1-4 "Now
about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some
from the church. (2) Then he killed James the brother of John
with
the sword. (3) And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded
further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of
Unleavened
Bread. (4) So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison,
and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending
to bring him before the people after (Easter)
Passover."
"Passover"
[pascha
] appears
29 times in the NT - Why not here?
By
1611 this observance was deeply entrenched - It is said that translators
used the then-familiar name "Easter" so English speaking people
could more easily identify when
Peter's imprisonment took place.
"Easter"
= The name is derived from the pagan goddess of the spring or dawn
& was associated with the accompanying pagan festival that was
celebrated
in the spring.
Not
until the 7th. century was that determined
(due to no scriptural authority) 1st.
Sunday after 1st. full moon following 1st. day of spring (March
21st.)
(So
it can fall between March 22 - April 25)
The
church has no legislative authority - but is subject
to Christ
Eph.
5:22-24 "Wives,
submit to your own husbands,
as to the Lord. (23) For the husband
is head of the wife, as
also Christ is
head of the church;
and He
is the
Savior of the body. (24) Therefore,
just as the church is subject
to Christ,
so let the wives be to their own
husbands in everything."
Paul
warned about a "falling away"
(2 Thess. 2:3) also
(Acts
20)
1
Tim. 4:1-3 "Now
the Spirit expressly says that in
latter times some will depart from
the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits
and doctrines of demons,
(2) speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared
with a hot iron, (3)
forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain
from foods which God
created to be received with
thanksgiving
by those who believe and
know the truth."
Gal.
1:6-9 The Galatian Christians were already
turning away.
Gal.
4:9-11 They were going back to observing
OT holy days - Passover?
Jeroboam's
presumptuous sin of changing the worship of God to something
similar
is a lesson that we must not repeat:
1
Kings. 12:25-ff (32)
"Jeroboam
ordained a feast
...like
the feast... in Judah."
Jeroboam
set in motion the
eventual downfall of Israel
as a nation.
Nadab
& Abihu offered "unauthorized
"
fire in worship to God - and died.
Lev.
10:1-4 "Then
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, each took his censer and
offered
profane fire before the Lord,
which
He had not commanded them.
(2) So fire went out from the Lord and
devoured them, and they died
before
the Lord. (3) And Moses said to Aaron,
'This is what the Lord
spoke, saying: 'By
those who come near Me I must be
regarded
as holy; And before all the
people I must be glorified.'
So Aaron
held his peace."
Lev.
16:12 specified the fire to come from the alter of God.
People
become upset about such matters - even as Cain killed Abel because
his worship was rejected by God and Abel's was accepted. (Gen.
4)
But
we must be subject to Christ
Col.
3:17 "And
whatever you do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving
thanks to God the Father through Him."
We
must give an accounting of our submission to His will
Mt.
7:20-21 "Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord,
Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. (22) Many
will say to
Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in
Your name, cast out
demons in Your name, and done many
wonders
in Your name?' (23) And then I
will declare to them, 'I never knew
you;
depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!' "
Christ
is indeed our Passover & we must glorify Him in obedience.
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