Is Easter biblical?

Hallelujah! Jesus is risen! Every year, millions of Christians gather to remember Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday even though the word, Easter, is not mentioned in the Bible. Where does this tradition come from? Why does the date of Easter change every year, when Christmas Day always falls on the 25th of December? What do rabbits and eggs have to do with this tradition? Let us look deeper to find the answers. 

(简体中文 > 复活节符合圣经吗？ | 繁體中文 > 復活節符合聖經嗎？)

When Jesus broke the bread and raised His cup at the Last Supper just before the crucifixion, He chose to do it during one of the Feasts of the Lord called Passover. 

Matthew 26:19,26-29  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Good Friday is Passover in essence

Jesus taught us to take the traditional unleavened Passover bread and wine in remembrance of Him. We may have simplified the entire feast to just these two elements and changed its name to “communion” but the essence remains the same. 

Passover is not an outdated tradition, it is highly symbolic of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Here are just a few examples.

Passover commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, and specifically the night when God “passed over” the people’s homes during the tenth plague, sparing all their firstborn. 

In a similar way, Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and the kingdom of darkness (Galatians 5:1) and He is the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29). Passover involves a meal with lamb. The Word of God calls Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and it is the blood of the Lamb that saves us from death. 

(For more on how the seven Feasts of the Lord are holy convocations that point prophetically to Jesus, please scroll to the bottom of this post.)

Does Easter point to Jesus?

If Jesus were still here, He would still be celebrating Passover each year, the annual dates for which have been calculated the same way since Moses, based on the Old Testament.

Easter is supposed to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection three days after Passover but when we examine the dates for Easter for the past 10 years, we see a discrepancy. They have been held between 1 day to 23 days apart. Why is that? It is because Easter is not related to Jesus at all!

It was a concept introduced later. The earliest record of an Easter celebration was found around 160AD to 170AD. 

Easter is rooted in idol worship and witchcraft 

The dates for Easter are calculated according to the Spring Equinox (not biblical dates). This is the same for Eostre, though they don’t fall on exactly the same day. 

Eostre is a pagan festival honouring the Germanic goddess of dawn called Eostre, who is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. Eostre symbolises fertility and the return of light after winter, often associated with symbols like the hare and eggs. 

Eostre is still widely celebrated today in modern Paganism and Wicca witchcraft – where colourful eggs are used for witchcraft rituals and spells. In fact, Eostre is one of the eight sabbats in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. 

The reason Easter and Eostre sound so similar is because they are the one and same thing, albeit with some slight modifications on timing. It appears that early Germanic Christian converts did not wish to give the worship of their goddess to follow the God of the Bible alone, and brought their pagan practices into the church instead. For believers, we know that Jesus is the true Light of the World and He is a jealous God who will not share His worship with other gods, just as a husband would not share his wife with any other man.

Mark 7:9  He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

John 8:12  Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Exodus 34:14  (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

Why not celebrate the Feast of First Fruits instead?

This leaves us in a dilemma. As believers, we wish to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection but how should we do so?

God has already given us an answer. 

The Feast of First Fruits is celebrated annually on the Sunday that follows the start of Passover! The ancient Israelites presented the first and best portion of their barley harvest to God to guarantee a full harvest. As the first fruit, Jesus is the first resurrected person, guaranteeing the eventual resurrection of all believers – that is certainly a feast worth celebrating.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

Bonus – the prophetic nature of the Feasts of the Lord

Passover is just one of seven Feasts that God instituted in the Old Covenant for His people to reflect on His redemptive plan and character — and to prophetically point to Jesus Christ, even though they were not aware of it at the time. These feasts are still celebrated around the world by Jews and Christians alike today.

Leviticus 23:1-2  And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.  

Spring Feasts
(Prophetically fulfilled by Jesus’ first coming)

1. Passover (Leviticus 23:4-8) | Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God 
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:4-8) | Jesus led a sinless life (leaven represents sin)
3. The Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14) | Jesus rose from the dead on the day of this feast, rising as the “firstfruits from the dead”
4. The Feast of Weeks ie. Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-22) | The Holy Spirit was poured out on believers and His church was born, on the day that commemorates God revealing the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai

Fall Feasts
(Yet to be prophetically fulfilled by Jesus’ second coming) 

1. The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25) | Points to the last trump announcing Jesus’ return
2. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32) | Points to the final judgment, the purging of sin, and the national repentance of Israel
3. The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43) | Points to the 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom, where Jesus will reign on earth from Jerusalem.

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart and obey God’s commandments rather than man’s traditions.