Would Jesus Celebrate Easter?
Each spring the excitement of Easter fills the air. Churches prepare special Easter programs about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Parents and children color eggs and hide them with chocolate bunnies in their yards - so on Easter morning the children can search for these goodies.
Is there any historical or biblical record of Jesus or His disciples celebrating Easter or teaching parents and children to dye eggs and display bunnies on this holiday? Did Jesus or His apostles instruct any of His followers to worship His resurrection at sunrise on Easter Sunday - or at any other time, for that matter?
If Easter were not sanctioned by Jesus or instituted by His apostles, then where did Easter come from? In other words, if Jesus were living among us today, would He celebrate Easter or encourage other to do so? In my opinion, few people know why they believe or do the things they do, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs and practices.
Since the pagan symbols of effs and rabbits were adopted by the Catholic Church centuries after Christ's ascension, should Christians celebrate this holiday or encourage others to observe it? To answer that question let's go back to the title of this article, "Would Jesus Celebrate Easter"? Would He desire us to? He certainly could have told us to. So could the apostles, whose teaching and doctrine are preserved for us in the book of Acts and the epistles written by Paul, Peter, James, Jude and John. Do colored eggs and rabbits have anything to do with Jesus Christ?