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Christ, the Atoning Sacrifice
Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. — 1 Corinthians 5:7b | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Mark 14:12; Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:19
10 Exciting Facts About Easter Sunday
By: Shash Wighton
Updated: 3 December 2022
For those who grew up without much religion in their lives, Easter Sunday was more about chocolate Easter eggs and little more than that.
This day means much more to Christians, though, with some preferring to call it “Resurrection Sunday.”
This is because the New Testament describes Easter Sunday as the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, three days after he had been crucified by the Romans all the way back in 30 AD.
Easter has got to be one of the most confusing celebrations held throughout the year due to this fact, but we’re here to clear this up for you.
First, let’s go into why this happens in the first place.
As we now all know, Easter Sunday is connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This gets a little complicated, as this event was only recorded in the Jewish calendar that happened just after the Jewish festival of Passover.
The Jewish calendar doesn’t sync up with the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world relies upon, as it’s based on lunar cycles rather than the movements of the sun.
While a solar year contains 365.24 days, a lunar year only contains about 354.
The date of Passover also changes, as it takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the 20th of March, which also ultimately affects the date Easter Sunday lands on.
Obviously, it is still possible to calculate what date Easter Sunday will fall on, but it involves a bit of maths and the consultation of charts, so we won’t bore you with that and instead suggest you simply Google it!
Not just in English, either, as the Dutch and German for Easter are Ooster and Ostern, respectively.
In Old English, the celebration was usually recorded as Ēastrun, Ēastre, Ēastru, or Ēostre.
The origin of Easter’s name doesn’t stop there, though.
In 725, Saint Bede, a Benedictine monk in the old English kingdom of Northumbria, wrote that the name is connected to the pagan goddess Ēostre.
Feasts were celebrated in honor of Ēostre in Ēosturmōnaþ (Month of Ēostre), which is the equivalent to April today.
At some point, the Pagan goddess’ name was appropriated by Christians for the name of Easter Sunday.
Like Easter Sunday, Good Friday also has a couple of other names, including Great Friday, Holy Friday, and even Great and Holy Friday.
Just like Easter Sunday, Good Friday changes date every year due to its connection to Jesus Christ.
Good Friday commemorates the day when Christ was crucified and killed by the Romans.
As Christ’s crucifixion happened a set amount of time before he was resurrected, the date is fixed according to Easter Sunday.
Fun Fact: Good Friday is not named such because the day was a happy day, but because “good” used to be a synonym of “pious” and “holy.”
Many Christians around the world observe the tradition of Lent.
During this period, diligent Christians must give up a Lenten sacrifice (some form of pleasure or luxury) for forty days.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and runs until Easter Sunday.
Traditionally, people in the English-speaking world would use up their eggs, dairy, and other richer foods the day before they began a fast for Lent on Ash Wednesday.
Because of this, Shrove Tuesday began to be known as Pancake Day in the UK.
The tradition crossed the channel into France, where it became known as Mardi Gras (which translates to “Fat Tuesday”).
Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or however you want to call it is the day that slowly evolved into a day where celebrants feast on finer foods, especially on pancakes.
The eating of lamb on this day goes back further than Christ himself, as it is actually connected to the Jewish festival of Passover.
Passover celebrates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and at the end of it, a “Passover lamb” is slaughtered and eaten.
The tradition of eating lamb at the end of Passover was likely continued by those who eventually converted to Christianity, and the tradition of eating lamb on Easter Sunday began.
It’s been justified by Christians as the lamb is said to represent Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but these days many non-religious British families also enjoy a lamb roast on Easter Sunday.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, which includes the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches, celebrates many similar holidays to other Christians, including Easter Sunday.
For them, it lies on a different date, as events in the Orthodox Church are calculated according to the Julian Calendar, which much of the world used before changing to the current Gregorian calendar in the 16th Century.
So the date is different because of the use of two different calendar systems, but that’s not all.
When the Eastern Orthodox Church was formed, they decided to use a different formula for calculating what day Easter Sunday fell on.
Because of this, there’s actually no set number of days between Easter and Orthodox Easter, with the two occasionally falling on the same day!
These days, it’s not a good Easter Sunday without more chocolate eggs than you should probably eat. However, that hasn’t always been the case and still isn’t in some Christian countries.
Before Easter Sunday was celebrated with chocolate Easter Eggs, people used actual eggs dyed with natural plant dyes and decorated with intricate designs.
This tradition is said to go back to some of the earliest days of Christianity, with the eggs originally dyed red to represent the blood that Christ shed when he was crucified.
Followers of the Greek Orthodox Church still paint their Easter eggs red.
The painting of Easter Eggs is still carried out in most countries with ties to the various Orthodox Christian churches, with chocolate Easter eggs considered a more “Western” notion.
In 1772, Easter Sunday fell on April 5.
It also happened to be the day when Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen first set foot on the island, which came to be known in the English-speaking world as Easter Island.
It was already called Rapa Nui by the island’s local inhabitants, but Roggeveen decided to name it after Easter Sunday anyway.
Well, sort of.
He actually named it Paasch-Eyland, which, in 18th-century Dutch, translated to “Easter Island" in English.
As we now know, the date of Easter Sunday is calculated according to a formula that, among other things, takes both the lunar and solar calendars into account.
Because of this, Easter Sunday can be anywhere between March 22 and April 25.
One would easily be forgiven for thinking that any given dates that Easter Sunday land on do not actually repeat themselves in a cycle, as it seems to be different every year.
That’s not exactly true, though.
The specific cycle that it goes through (e.g., April 1 in 2018, April 21 in 2019, April 12 in 2020, and so on) has so many factors affecting it that it takes a mind-bending 5.7 million years to repeat itself.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
The Foolishness of the Cross
1 Corinthians 2.7-8
But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery… the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
That's a sobering thought. If the worldly rulers had understood the glory of God, the wisdom of God, the majesty of God, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Yet that was God's plan. He dwelt among us, clothed in flesh, not only to set an example, to show us how to live, to fulfill the Law, but to present Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Yeshua Jesus is the Lamb of God, our Passover Lamb.
The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' —John 1.29
Was He really God in the flesh? It sounds a bit like Greek mythology or science fiction, doesn't it? If you examine it closely, it sounds absurd—right up to the time when you meet Jesus personally and realize that His claims are true.
When Moses was charged with leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he asked God for His name.
Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you." Now they may say to me, "What is His name?" What shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' —Exodus 3.13-14
When Jesus was teaching, this exchange occurred:
'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.'' Therefore, they picked up stones to throw at Him… John 8.56-59
Why did they want to stone Him? When Jesus spoke those words, there was no mistaking what He meant. He was plainly telling them that He was the great I AM, the God of their fathers, but rather than believe Him, they were prepared to stone Him for committing blasphemy.
However, the Bible is clear about who He is.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. —John 1.1-5
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. —John 1.10-14
Jesus also spoke of His mission here on earth: to offer Himself as our Passover Lamb.
'For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.' —John 10.17-18 (italics mine)
He was quite clear about what must happen: death and resurrection.
'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.' —Luke 9.22
These events were foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. —Isaiah 53.3-6 (italics mine)
Yes, the teaching of the cross, that the I AM offered Himself as the final sacrifice, the final Passover Lamb, in expiation for our sins, that we might be forgiven and become children of God, sounds foolish—right up until the time you meet Jesus personally and experience His power and mercy. Then you discover that all His claims are true.
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. —1 Timothy 1.15
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All Scriptures are taken from the NASB unless otherwise noted.
Sermon: Luke 22
Today is Good Friday.
Now, as this is posted, is the Hour of Mercy.
The seven last words:
1) “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:33-34)
2) “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)
3) “Woman, behold, your son.” “Behold, your mother.” (John 19:25-27)
4) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34)
5) “I thirst.” (John 19:28-29)
6) “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
7) “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:44-46)
Still from Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings (1927), seen in Photoplay, March 1927.
From the Passover lamb in the book of Exodus to the lamb led to the slaughter in Isaiah 53, the Old Testament repeatedly foreshadowed the One who would bear the wrath of God on behalf of His people. Today, R.C. Sproul explains the significance of Jesus’ title “the Lamb of God.”
