And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people (Acts 12:4).

 Easter is a festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The name has been attested as early as the eighth century A.D. and is believed to have derived from annual sacrifices in honor of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess. The Eastern Church, following the practice of early Jewish Christian, first observed the celebration on the fourteenth of Nisan (March through April), the first day of Passover.

Following the Gospel accounts of Christ’s resurrection (He is not here: He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay – Matthew 28:6), the Western church set the festival on a Sunday, the first to follow the new moon, which occurs on or immediately after spring. Eastern Orthodox churches employ a different calibration system and may observe the festival one, four, or five weeks later. King James Version’s English translation indicates “Easter” for the seven-day Passover festival after King Herod Agrippa I intended to sentence and execute Peter.

Easter celebration in some denominations is considered paganism, meaning heathenism, agnosticism, idolatry, and atheism. In Greek, “Easter” is the Passover (meal of the day, the festival, or the special sacrifices connected with Easter or Passover). A Festival is a celebration of when one is merry and joyous about someone or something.

When the nation of Israel was delivered from Egypt, they were instructed to take a lamb without blemish for the Passover, drain the blood into a basin, and apply the blood to both sides of the door frame. After applying the blood, they were to roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

This was the meal they were celebrating their deliverance from Egypt. They were to apply the blood to the doorpost; the death angel passed over them in every house with blood on its doorpost. The annual feast of the Passover commemorated the birth of the nation of Israel and its deliverance from Egypt. Typologically, it pointed towards the deliverance from the bondage of sin to be provided by Jesus; we as Christians are the spiritual Jew (But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God-Romans 2:29).

When John the Baptist introduced Jesus, He was introduced as the “Lamb” of God (John 1:29, 36). The Lord’s Supper is our Passover remembrance,” and the celebration of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Son of God.  If the blood of Jesus has been applied to the doorpost of our hearts, the death angel will pass over us (wages of sin). The blood that has been applied to our hearts can save our household. Our deliverance from the slavery of sin should be celebrated daily; it should be something we never take for granted.

We as Christians should recognize not only the typological fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice by Christ but also our responsibility to “keep the feast” by living a sincere and truthful life that will please the Father when He looks at us; it will please our Lord to see His death for the Christian wasn’t in vain when we live a life that is pleasing to the Father.

Easter is a day of celebration; Christians don’t worship any other god but Jesus, the Son of God. Easter is not about purchasing a new suit or Easter bunnies and baskets. As a Christian parent, we should explain to our child or children why Easter is celebrated.

Jesus died for the world’s sins, He had the power to lay down His life, and He had been given the power to raise it. They didn’t take His life; He gave His life. The only way one can be saved is through accepting Jesus’ salvation. Religion will not save you; no other god or name will save you. Each day we live, we’re one day closer to death; where will we spend eternity? 

Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior from death and the grave. He took His own blood into the Holy of Holies for the sins of the world. Jesus is sitting on the right-hand side of the Father, making intercession and petitioning for us. 

Prayers are answered because Jesus takes the prayers of saints and takes them to the Father for us (At that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you – John 16:26). If Jesus weren’t resurrected from the grave, we would still be in sin. His blood is what washes us from sin, and His blood was taken to the Father for the sins of the world.

Don’t allow religious, carnal-minded people to keep you from celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God!