Do you celebrate Easter?
Easter is a non-Biblical holiday which is not listed among the appointed times God gave to His people in Leviticus 23. Because Easter is not listed as a holiday which has been ordained by the Lord, we do not celebrate it. The majority in the Messianic movement do not celebrate Easter because it is something He has not commanded His people to do.
Many sincere Christians today observe Easter, because in their minds they believe they are commemorating the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that the resurrection of our Lord and Savior is something certainly worthy of commemoration, but is “Easter” the proper time to do it? The name “Easter,” for example, has absolutely no connection to the resurrection. The customs and traditions which have become commonly associated with it, namely the Easter Bunny and egg hunts, have nothing to do with commemorating what the Lord has accomplished by His atoning work at Golgotha (Calvary). Instead, many conclude that they stem from Babylonian fertility rites. If we are to truly commemorate Yeshua’s sacrifice and resurrection, then we believe that it should be done as part of remembering the God-ordained Spring festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread.
There are Messianic people who are seen to unfairly criticize and condemn our Christian brothers and sisters who celebrate Easter in ignorance, who sincerely believe that they are honoring the Lord. We believe that this is inappropriate, and that it is our responsibility to show them the right way to do things from the Scriptures. When many of us were still involved in evangelical Christianity, we celebrated Easter with similar intentions of wanting to remember the completed work of Jesus for our sins. Believing in ignorance that we were celebrating Yeshua’s death, burial, and resurrection, the Lord in His mercy honored us for what we did. Yet today, remembering Yeshua’s work for us in light of Him as the slain Passover lamb, who delivers us from the bondage of a personal Egypt, is much more deep and meaningful. We have to extend mercy to our brothers and sisters who do not celebrate His appointed times, so that the Holy Spirit might convict them about what they should truly be doing from the Word.[1]
NOTES
[1] Consult the author’s article “What is the Problem With Easter?” for a further discussion of this issue (appearing in the Messianic Spring Holiday Helper).
