Easter and Resurrection - Dr John Conrad

I posted on FB a couple of weeks ago some observations about Passover and Easter. I notice that the misinformation doesn't seem to slow down. A quick review--neither the word Easter nor Passover appears in the original texts of the Bible. In the Hebrew Bible the word is Pesach and in the Greek New Testament the word is Pascha. Passover is the English word used to translate both Pesach and Pascha in most Bibles. In the original KJV in Acts 12:4 Pascha is translated "Easter." Remember that the word "Easter" is nearly 1000 years older than the word "Passover." I do think Tyndale came up with a great English word to translate the Hebrew Pesach but the English, Dutch and Germanic peoples were all using some variant of Easter as their term for the Resurrection long before he coined the word Passover.
Some think that Easter is a term that came from the Germanic goddess Eostre. This is difficult to prove or disprove and not worth your time in my opinion. Colored eggs at the celebration for the Resurrection have a long history and probably are connected to the egg on the Passover plate. At least they are found all through Christian history. The Easter Bunny is a fairly recent addition to the Resurrection celebration and is generally only found in Germanic cultures and thus also seen in England and America. It is not a feature even today in the traditional Christian churches of Italy and Greece. Its origins stem from the 13th century several hundred years after the Germans, Dutch and English began using the term Easter to describe the Resurrection. It is a practice that wormed its way into the Resurrection celebration and does not originate from Christian observance of the Resurrection. In spite of the often spurious and silly claims you might find in Encyclopedias and other reference sources there does not appear to be any relationship to calling Passover Easter and using bunnies. It is true that the countries that use the term Easter are the places the use of bunnies seem to have originated but this practice way postdates the name.
You will also see a lot of memes saying that the Crucifixion could not occur on Friday and Yeshua (Jesus) arise on Sunday. The big objection to this is Yeshua's statement that the only sign he would show the people would be the sign of Jonah who was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the fish. This was a picture of Yeshua being in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights. (Matthew 12:40) Certainly a Friday Crucifixion does not work in this scenario.
However, when we look at all scripture concerning the Crucifixion and the Resurrection the picture is not so clear. You can easily find 12 passages in the New Testament that say he will rise on the 3rd day. Only one or two mention 3 days and 3 nights. Perhaps in Hebrew idiom these two are synonymous but they are not in English. In 1 Corinthians 15: 3 "For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that the Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." Paul goes on to say that He appeared to Peter, James and many others. Note, he says the items of first importance are 1- that he died for our sins according to the scriptures of which Isaiah 53 is an example. 2- that he was buried and 3- he raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The best scripture I can find to demonstrate this fact is Hosea 6: 2 "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him."
Thus I believe it is reasonable to posit a Friday Crucifixion as well as a Wednesday Crucifixion. (Some believe Thursday is correct.) I personally believe that the "third day" in our understanding has more evidence than "three days and three nights" in our understanding. My suggestion is that we all be humble enough to recognize we could be mistaken on this issue. Of greatest importance, is recognizing He died for our sins, He was buried and He was raised on the third day.
Finally we should realize when we compare "Easter" to "Passover" that the focus of the Christian Easter is the Resurrection which Paul tells us is of first importance. To the practicing Jew the focus of Passover is the exodus from Egypt. We shouldn't be surprised that there is some variance in practice. Celebrating the Resurrection is not pagan--it is Christian/Messianic. Yeshua is identified as the Passover (Pesach) in 1 Corinthians 5 so for Christians He is the focus of the celebration. For Jews it is the deliverance from Egypt and they celebrate by following the Biblical injunctions to refrain from leaven and eat matza (unleavened bread.)
If we really wanted to help people see this topic correctly, our first prerogative would be to understand their practice and figure out why they do what they do. While there is a wide chasm between Christian and Jewish observance, those in the Messianic community would be well-served to do a little more research and really try to understand those who differ in their practice from them. I see great value in doing a Passover Seder as it shows us so much of the ministry of our Messiah. It is also a way that we Biblically observe Passover. However, celebrating the Resurrection is also of first importance for us and should not be neglected.