Meaning of Easter. Christian holiday Easter: history and traditions. Why is Easter still celebrated?

Easter

I. NAME

Evp. word passover means in the Bible, on the one hand, the feast of P., and on the other, the festive sacrifice, Easter. lamb. This word is derived from the verb, original. meaning "limp", and then got the meaning "to jump over something", "to leave untouched". When the Lord in Egypt struck down the firstborn, He did not touch the houses of the Jews, "jumped" over them (Ex 12:13). This event should be reminded to the Jews by P.

1) pharaoh did not want to let go of slavery. the Israelites into the wilderness even after God sent nine plagues on the Egyptians to break their stubbornness. And then Moses announced to Pharaoh the last, most severe punishment - the death of all Egyptian firstborn (Ex 11:4-6). This punishment was to force Pharaoh to let the Israelites out of the country (v. 8);
2) Jews had to carefully prepare for this day, which meant for them at the same time. and a test of faith (Heb 11:28). Starting from the 10th day of the month of Abib, i.e. from the beginning of Israel. year (Ex 12:2), each head of the house had to take care of a one-year-old, without flaws, a lamb or a kid for his family - a lamb (v. 3, 5). If a family was too small to eat a whole lamb at one time, it had to join a neighboring family so that the number of participants in the meal would be sufficient (v. 4). The lamb was to be slaughtered on 14 abiv “toward evening” (lit. “at dusk”), i.e. between sunset and nightfall (v. 6; Lev 23:5; Num 9:3,5,11; cf. Deut 16:6). A bunch of hyssop was to be anointed with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and the threshold of every Jewish house, after which no one had the right to go out the door (Ex 12:7,22). The lamb had to be baked whole - with the head, legs and entrails; not a single bone could be broken, it was forbidden to eat meat raw or boiled (vv. 8,9; cf. Deuteronomy 16:7 and 2 Chronicles 35:13; → Cooking, boil, 1). The Passover lamb was to be cooked in the house. Easter included. meals included, kp. moreover, unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex 12:8). All remnants of food were to be burned (v. 10), and all participants in the meal were to be ready to set off immediately (v. 11);
3) this bake. the whole lamb was a symbol of unity and wholeness. P. should have eaten in one house (v. 46) before the Lord, Who "is One" (Deut. 6:4). In one day He accomplished the liberation of Israel (Ex 12:41), and for this His people must serve Him alone (Deut 6:5). Unleavened bread (unleavened bread) is quickly baked "bad bread" (Deut. 16:3); later they reminded again and again of the haste during the Exodus (Ex. 12:34,39); bitter herbs symbolized the bitterness of life in Egypt. slavery;
4) when the Israelites celebrated Passover. meal, the Lord at midnight from 14 to 15 Abib "smoke all the firstborn in the land of Egypt" - from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the prisoner, as well as "all the firstborn of cattle" (Ex 12:29,30). However, the people of Israel were spared for the sake of the Passover. lambs who died instead of the firstborn (cf. → The Lord's Supper, I and II). Thus the way for the → exodus was opened;
5) the opinion is often expressed that even before Israel. P. there was an ancient form of this holiday - a spring festival celebrated annually by nomads; such an assumption can be made on the basis of a number of cultural and historical. data. However, there are no sources earlier than the Bible (or even contemporary with it).

1) as a constant reminder of the fundamental will save. deed of God, for the deliverance of Israel. people from egypt. slavery, the Law instructs the Israelites annually (Ex 13:10), from the time of the conquest of the promised land (Ex 12:25; Ex 13:5 et seq.), to make P., linking it with the feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:14 et seq.; Numbers 28:16,17; Deut 16:1-8; see also Eze 45:21-24). Easter. lamb was allowed to be slaughtered and eaten only in a special priest. place (Deut. 16:5-7), for which all Israel. men were to appear “before God” (v. 16). All fathers were to explain to their sons the meaning of the holiday (Ex. 13:8). No foreigner, settler or mercenary had the right to participate in this common meal, which reminded the Israelites of the deliverance of their ancestors from slavery and made them relive this great event in their hearts again and again (Ex 12:43,45). Only having performed → circumcision, a bought slave, and if desired, a foreigner, could be allowed to participate in the holiday (Art. 44,48). The one who was prevented by ritual impurity or departure from celebrating P. on time could do it in a month (Numbers 9:10-12), during the so-called. small P. Anyone who neglected the feast out of disobedience was subject to the death penalty (v. 13), for he himself excluded himself from Jude. society;
2) immediate Adjacent to P. was the feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted from 15 to 21 Abib (Ex 12:18), which, on the one hand, also reminded of the exodus (v. 17; Deut 16:3; cf. Deut 26:1-11), and on the other hand, was the feast of the beginning of the harvest (Lev 23:10-14). The first and last day of the feast were the days of St. meetings, when only such work was allowed that was connected with the preparation of food (Ex 12:16; Lev 23:7,8; Numbers 28:18,25). Holiday sacrifices were offered daily (Lev 23:8; Numbers 28:19-24), to which were added the voluntary sacrifices of the Israelites (Ex 23:15). During the entire holiday, it was forbidden to eat and generally keep leavened bread in the house (Ex 12:18-20; Lev 23:6). On the trail. the day after the Sabbath (that is, after the first festive Saturday), on the second day of the feast (as understood by the Septuagint and Josephus), the priest offered the first sheaf as a shaking offering and a lamb as a burnt offering. Until that moment, the fruits of the new harvest were not allowed to be eaten (Lev. 23:9-14). This is probably the first sacrifice at the same time. symbolized the universal beginning of the harvest (Deut. 16:9). As in P., during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the violation of God's precepts was punishable by death (Ex 12:19);
3) the description of P. and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Deuteronomy 16 shows some differences from other prescriptions concerning these holidays. Here, it seems, it is allowed to bring as a passover. the sacrifices also are cattle (v. 2; however, it is possible we are talking other feast sacrifices) and mentions only one day of assembly at the end of the feast (v. 8; see also Ex 13:6). It was allowed to set off on the trail. morning after Easter. meals (Deut. 16:7), as it happened during the P. Exodus (Ex 12:11,39).

The holidays of P. are described in detail only a few times: after the celebration of P. at Sinai (Numbers 9:1-5), it was celebrated during the entry into Canaan: then the Israelites celebrated P. in Gilgal and the next. day they ate unleavened bread and roasted it. grain from the harvest of this land, after which the fall of the manna ceased (Josh 5:10-12). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is not mentioned here. After the construction of Solomon's temple, P. began to be celebrated regularly (2 Chronicles 8:13). Of great importance are the two feasts of P., celebrated under the kings Hezekiah (2 Chr. 30) and Josiah (2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chr. :1,11 ff; 2 Chronicles 35:18). However, if P. Hezekiah was committed in the second month (2 Chronicles 30:2 et seq.), according to the prescriptions, exposition. in Numbers 9:10 and following, then Josiah celebrated it in the first month, as it should be according to the Law (2 Chronicles 35:1). In both cases P. was followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread (2 Chr. 30:21; 2 Chr. 35:17).

Late Jud. the tradition clearly defines what rules for the celebration of P., due to specific. the situation of the outcome, have lost their relevance: the choice of the lamb on the 10th of Abib, the anointing of doors with blood, the prohibition to leave the house, the readiness of the participants in the meal to set off. Victims. lambs (the number of which reached several tens of thousands) were slaughtered on Nisan 14, approx. from 15 o'clock day, in the Jerusalem temple. The lamb was slaughtered by its owner or the one to whom he instructed to do it; the priests collected the blood in bowls, the bowls were handed over to one of the priests, who poured out the contents at the foot of the sacrifices. altar. During the slaughter of the lambs, the Levites sang psalms 112-117 (the so-called. hallel). The lambs were to be eaten within the boundaries of Jerusalem. At the same time, the place of the family community increasingly began to be occupied by a group of pilgrims who came to the feast, who agreed to eat Easter together.

1) according to Ev. from John, Jesus died on Nisan 14, on the eve of P. (John 19:14), as a true sacrifice. The lamb, in which not a single bone was broken (v. 36); On Nisan 13, Jesus dined with His disciples for the last time (Jn 13:1). His burial took place on the evening of Nisan 14, before the onset of the Sabbath, which is called “great” (John 19:31), apparently because that year the holiday coincided with the calendar Sabbath. In this case, the morning of resurrection corresponds to the first day of the week (John 20:1), when the first fruits of the new harvest were brought (see above, III, 2). Ap. Paul testifies that Christ was slain for us as a passover. lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) and rose again as the firstborn of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20,23). The dating of the Evangelist John is confirmed by Vavil. the Talmud, which also calls Easter Eve the day of Jesus' death;
2) synoptic The Gospels call the day of resurrection the first day of the week (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:1,2; Lk 24:1), and the day of death is the eve of the Sabbath (Mt 27:57,62; Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54) , however, they do not mention the eve of P. At the same time, they unanimously call the day of the Supper of Jesus with the disciples "the first day of unleavened bread", when they offered the Passover. lamb (Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12; Lk 22:7), i.e. 14 Nisan. Thus, they, unlike John and Paul, refer the day of Jesus' death to Nisan 15, a festive Sabbath, which is thus at the same time. turns out to be the eve of the next. followed by a calendar Saturday. At the same time, it remains unclear that the Jews who took Jesus into custody had stakes with them (Mt 26:47,55; Mk 14:43,48; Lk 22:52), which, not being proper weapons, fell under the ban; kp. in addition, Joseph of Arimathea bought a linen in the evening (Mk 15:46), which also could not be done on Saturday;
3) this contradiction between the testimonies of John and the weather forecasters can be removed in two ways: a) the day when the Lord's Supper took place is called "the first day of unleavened bread" (see Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12; Lk 22:7); this may be due to the fact that the evangelists, as is customary among the Jews, attribute the time of the meal, which took place on Nisan 13 after 6 pm, to Nisan 14 already. In this case, a meal was prepared for Jesus without the Passover lamb, since the lambs were slaughtered only on the trail. day; b) it is known that there were disputes between the Pharisees and Sadducees about which day to celebrate the feast → Pentecost. Of particular importance here was the circumstance whether P. fell on the day, directly. preceding the Sabbath, or on the Sabbath itself. (In the year of Jesus' death, P. was celebrated on Saturday.) It is possible that the disputing parties reached a compromise, as a result of which the Sadducees celebrated their P. a day later than the Pharisees. If we assume that this was the case in the year of Jesus' death, then Jesus celebrated P. in more early term(see Mt 26:18), i.e. on a day that according to the calendar was Nisan 13, but the Pharisees considered it already Nisan 14, i.e. on the day when it was necessary to celebrate P. according to the Law; and the Sadducean priests considered P. next. day (John 18:28). Then the death of Jesus, which came "about the ninth hour," i.e. OK. 3 p.m. (see Mt 27:46,50 and parallel places), coincides with the official. the hour of the slaughter of the Paschal lamb among the Sadducees, while for the Pharisees this day was already the first Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the same time. day of preparation for the calendar Sabbath of the current week. If this assumption is correct, then the discrepancy between the data in the Gospels becomes understandable, justified and ceases to seem contradictory.

Anna writes: Hello! I will be glad to answer your question. why do they still celebrate easter? After all, this is an old testament, not always relevant for many churches, as they themselves claim. And if they celebrate. then why in your own way, and not as it was said in the bible. And what does Jesus have to do with Easter, especially since he died on Easter, and they say he rose again, he is not on Easter. And in general, all the preparations for this supposed holiday do not correspond to the Bible at all. Thanks for the answer.

Greetings, Sister Anna!

In one of my recent answers about Easter, I noted that we do not celebrate Easter. Yes, we can use the Easter holiday as an occasion to talk to people about God, about salvation, about faith. We even plan special services for this time to invite people whose piety is awakened only in connection with the traditional holiday. But for us, Easter is a foreign holiday. Why?

We do not celebrate Easter, not because it is the "old testament", as you said. In fact, the Old Testament is only the name of that part of the Bible, which in its content coincides with the Jewish Scriptures. The "Old Testament" has no more meaning. Similar " New Testament"- this is just the name of that part of the Bible in which the Christian Scriptures are collected. But it should be remembered that all the apostles and the first Christians used the Jewish Scriptures, that is, what we today call the "Old Testament." And when Jesus Christ said "search the Scriptures", and when the apostle Paul said "all Scripture is inspired by God", and when the apostle Peter said about the Scriptures that "the saints spoke it God's people, being moved by the Holy Spirit, "all this was said precisely about the Jewish Scriptures, that is, about the Old Testament. The real difference between the Old and New Testaments lies not in the CONTENT, but in their imprinting on the heart of a person. This is very well written in and. The content of both Testaments is absolutely the same, because God does not change, it is man who changes, and therefore, before the coming of the Savior, man had to be constantly instructed, taught and saved by images, and after the coming of the Savior, man has in his heart the presence of God, Who teaches, instructs and saves The new heart described in the Bible at and 36:26,27 is the essence of the New Testament.

It is a completely different matter when we talk about FOLLOWING the laws given by God. Jesus Christ, speaking of the immutability of the law, said: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until everything is fulfilled” (). What is "enforcement" of the law? If the law spoke for the sin of sacrificing a lamb or any other animal, then the same law explained that Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The lamb could not save the sinner, could not cover his sins. The sinner was saved by faith in the coming Son of God. And when the Son of God came and died as the true Lamb for the sins of all mankind, then continuing to offer the lamb as a sacrifice would mean not accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This would mean disagreeing that Christ died for us. This will mean disagreement with the fact that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was the promised Messiah, the Lamb who takes upon Himself the sin of the whole world. But it is precisely the fulfillment by Jesus Christ of this part of the law that is the reason for us to abandon the commandment about sacrifices. But the New Testament is not the very cessation of doing the actions of that fulfilled commandment. The New Testament is the constant remembrance that we today have the true Lamb, the true High Priest in heaven, who by Himself fulfilled those ordinances that were but images. Thus, the New Testament does not in any way reject the content of what is written in the Jewish Scriptures, only called the "Old Testament", but, on the contrary, affirms it and builds on it, develops on its basis. The New Testament is the same laws contained in the Scriptures of the "Old Testament", but already fixed in the heart and mind of a person through the acceptance of Christ: "This is the covenant that I will make to the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their thoughts, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and every one of his neighbors and every one of his brothers shall not teach, saying, Know the Lord: I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more" ( ; ). Notice that these are the same laws that existed in the time of the prophet Jeremiah!

But back to Easter. The Easter holiday, its establishment and the rules for its observance are described in the chapter. This holiday marked two events: the exit of the Jewish people from Egypt and the salvation of the firstborn from death. In the symbolism of this holiday there is a lamb and its blood, which saves from the Destroyer. We will omit other symbols for now, although they are also quite important. If we talk about Easter as a monument to the exodus from Egypt, then this holiday is important for every Jew. And if I was Jewish, I would continue to celebrate Easter as my own National holiday. Because in this sense, as long as the Jews exist, the decree on the celebration of Passover in memory of the exodus from Egypt cannot be "fulfilled", that is, come to its full completion. But I'm not a Jew, and therefore for me Easter is like a monument of the past. historical event- It's a different holiday. In the same way, I could celebrate the day of the discovery of America or the day of the liberation of Angola (one of my friends participated in the liberation of Angola, because for him it is an important holiday, but not for me). But Easter, in addition to the national side, has a spiritual side. And about this spiritual side we have two decrees in the Bible:

“So let no one condemn you for ... some holiday, ...: this is the shadow of the future, and the body is in Christ” ().

"Our Easter, Christ, was slain for us. Therefore, let us celebrate not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of purity and truth" ().

The Easter holiday was a shadow of the future redemption in Christ. It was one of the seven great Jewish holidays and was called "your Sabbath" () in contrast to the Lord's Sabbath (), which could not be a shadow of the future, but was a monument to past creation. It is said about it like about other holidays: "let no one condemn", that is, it is the business of every person - to celebrate or not to celebrate. If I wish to celebrate the same day of the liberation of Angola, then who will condemn me for this? If I wish to celebrate the day the Jews left Egypt, then this is my own business. I can even celebrate it as a symbol of redemption in Christ - this is also not reprehensible, although the Bible establishes another holiday in this regard. And this other holiday - "Our Easter Christ slain for us" - we celebrate in the form that Christ established in the form of the Lord's Supper, when He established the rite of washing the feet () and when he established the communion of unleavened bread and grape juice as symbols of His body and blood ( ; ). And we are told to celebrate this feast of Christ's Pascha not once a year at some fixed time, which each group of believers tries to make so as not to coincide with others, but "every time."

So, today the true feast of Easter for a Christian is the communion of the Lord's Supper with the washing of the feet, performed at any time. Everything else is human waste. Moreover, a number of things that today are attributed to the celebration of Easter are not even close in the Bible.

It is also true that Christ died on the Passover, and that the death of Christ is precisely the event that took center stage in the Jewish Passover. But to say that Christ was not resurrected on Easter is not entirely true. Because although Christ was resurrected on the day of the offering of the sheaf of shock, nevertheless this feast is also part of the celebration of Easter, which was celebrated for eight days. The death of Christ - it was this event that brought salvation to all mankind, and therefore it is this event that we should celebrate, no matter how blasphemous it may seem. But the resurrection is also very important: "and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain ... And if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins. Therefore, those who died in Christ died" ( ,18). But this is a completely different topic, because this refers not to the Passover holiday, which began the cycle of annual holidays, but to the Day of Judgment, the holiday that completed the cycle of Jewish annual holidays. Because it is written: "Who will accuse the elect of God? God justifies them. Who condemns? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is also at the right hand of God, He also intercedes for us" (). But we will talk about this another time.

Blessings!

Vasily Yunak

Read more on the topic "Easter, holidays":

After Pharaoh scorned the miracle of Moses and Aaron, Egypt was beset by a continuous series of disasters. These misfortunes, during which the country was flooded with toads, mosquitoes and locusts, pestilence came, unusual weather conditions- hail, rain and thunder - and the whole land of Egypt was covered with thick darkness, usually called "the ten plagues of Egypt."

If these "executions" really took place, as described in the Bible, then the evidence of contemporaries or later historians should have been preserved about them. However, no such references were found in any source other than the Bible. The tenth "execution" was decisive. God struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Only Jewish children survived. God commanded all Jewish families to eat the meat of the sacrificial lamb that night and anoint the doors of their houses with its blood:

Exod. 12:23. And the Lord will go to strike Egypt, and he will see the blood ... and the Lord will pass by the door, and will not ... strike you.

The meat of the sacrificial lamb is eaten every year by the Jews in celebration of this awe-inspiring event, which marked the beginning of the Jews' flight from Egypt and their establishment as a nation. This rite, according to the Bible, was called Passover - because of the promise of God to pass by Jewish houses:

Ex. 12:11. ... this is the Passover of the Lord.

"Passover" is a translation of the Hebrew word "Passover". The writers of the Bible noticed the similarity of this word with the Hebrew expression for "pass by" and therefore wrote the passage in such a way as to emphasize this similarity. The real meaning of the word "Passover" is unknown.

In all likelihood, Passover was an agricultural holiday that existed long before the time of Moses. Such holidays are common in all agricultural societies (Americans even came up with such a holiday for themselves - Thanksgiving Day). Usually such holidays, including among the early Israelites, were quite pagan in spirit.

The priests who wrote down Deuteronomy could not change the form of the ancient traditions too much. Many holidays were too popular and deeply rooted in the people, and it was impossible to cancel them immediately. The only thing that could be done was to firmly connect them with some legendary biblical event, separating them from idolatry. Easter, the most important agricultural holiday, was attached to the most important event of ancient traditions - the Exodus.

Similar identifications of holidays are characteristic of the history of the development of religion. So, in the early history of Christianity, a pagan holiday winter solstice- Saturnalia - became Christmas, turning into a celebration of the birth of Jesus. This topic will be discussed in the next volume.

After the Babylonian captivity, Passover became one of the three holidays on which all devout Jews sought to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and worship the temple. It was during one of these Easter celebrations that Jesus was crucified.

The annual resurrection of Jesus Christ is still celebrated as Easter at the same time of the year, but its days never coincide, since the Christian way of calculating this day differs from the Jewish one.

IN English language this resurrection is called "Easter", which is another example of religious adaptation. This word is formed on behalf of the ancient Teutonic goddess of spring. The pagan holiday of spring was turned into a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, but his pagan name continued to change until it became more acceptable.

Sometimes the word "Easter" ("Resurrection") is completely misused in relation to Easter. This happens in the King James Bible, where the Book of Acts of the Holy Apostles describes how the apostle Peter was imprisoned during the Passover to be brought to justice after the feast was over. King Herod ordered his soldiers to guard him,

Acts 12:4. ... intending to bring him out to the people after Easter.

In the Revised Standard Translation, in this case the word "Easter" is changed to "Passover" ("Easter").

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Easter - the true meaning

What does the Word of God tell us about Easter? The first mention of Easter we find in the Bible in the book "Exodus" (chapter 12). The backstory is this: The Israelites had been in Egyptian slavery for 430 years, and God, true to His Word to lead the people out, sent Moses and Aaron, empowering them to speak in His Name. Pharaoh resisted and did not let the people of Israel go to their homeland, to Canaan, not wanting to recognize True God. He listened to his priests - representatives of the pagan gods. Then the Lord poured out ten plagues on Egypt in order to judge the pagan gods of Egypt and show who the True God is.

The tenth plague was the defeat of the firstborn of the Egyptians, including the firstborn of the pharaoh, who, along with the pharaoh, was revered as a god in the flesh.

“But this very night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to cattle, and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord" (Ex. 12:12).

The Israelites were told that if they wanted to be saved from the destroying angel who slew the firstborn, then they needed to do the following: kill the best lamb- one for each family; anoint the doorposts with its blood, and then bake and eat with unleavened cakes and bitter herbs.By the way, literally Passover (Passover) from Hebrew means -"pass by". Passover in Israel was not called a bun with raisins, but a slaughtered lamb, whose blood was a saving sign that protected Jewish families from death.

“And Moses called all the elders of Israel together, and said to them, Choose and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and kill the passover; and take a bundle of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the vessel, and anoint the crossbar and both doorposts with the blood that is in the vessel; but you no one go out of the door of your house until the morning. And the Lord will go to strike Egypt, and he will see blood on the crossbar and on both doorposts, and the Lord will pass by the doors, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike. Keep this as a law for yourself and for your sons forever. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He said, keep this service. And when your children say to you, What is this service? say: this is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed by the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed down and bowed down(Ex. 12:21-27)

We know that the children of Israel were freed from bondage. In christianity Jesus Christ appeared as the sacrificial lamb who was killed for us, for our sins. And thus, as the blood of the lamb was for the Jews a guarantee that they would remain alive and come out of slavery; in the same way, the one who accepts the blood of Jesus Christ as shed for your sins (personally yours, with the recognition that you are a sinner), he receives the forgiveness of sins from God the Father - i.e. full amnesty and exit from spiritual slavery. During the first Passover, it was very important that each family member personally eat the lamb. It was impossible to do it for someone else, and no one could do it for you.

The pagans had a legend according to which the goddess Astarte was born from an egg. And it happened like this. An egg fell from the sky into the Euphrates River, which flows through the city of Babylon. The slaves rolled the egg ashore. Under the scorching sun, it warmed up, and out of it came fair maiden who became the goddess of heaven and earth. From ancient times, the pagans celebrated the day dedicated to the Queen of Heaven - Astarte. On this day, they decorated eggs and gave them to each other. This vile pagan custom was introduced to Christianity. The priests who did this began to interpret these symbols through the death and resurrection of Christ. Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus p.554 "The egg is a symbol of life, the red color is the Blood of Christ."

We will also read the interpretation of Easter eggs in the Orthodox newspaper Svet on 04/06/1922. Church significance Easter eggs originates from very distant times. Many years before the birth of Christ, ancient people revered the egg as a symbol of life and used it in their worship services. The pagans believed that the world was created from an egg. Catholic Christians have taken on the old forms of the pagan meanings of the egg while adding new religious meanings to it.” All this is not as harmless as it seems. From history we learn something else important: “One of the ancient pagan religions, which provided big influence on the formation of religious views of the inhabitants of Kievan Rus, was the cult of Tengri. It was common among the steppe peoples - Turks, Huns, Mongols and others. Having come into contact with these peoples for many centuries, the Slavs adopted a lot from them, breaking first through their national pagan beliefs, and then through adopted Christianity”(A.A. Oparin “Stones will cry out” p. 133).

And here among the Tengrians (worshiping the god Tengri): “The second great holiday was the arrival of spring. Traditionally, it was celebrated in the spring. By this day, the Tengrians baked Easter cakes, which personified the masculine principle. In India and in many other countries, his symbol was the phallus. The Tengrian Easter cake was given the appropriate shape (on top, the corresponding lubricant of the corresponding color). Two colored eggs were placed next to the Easter cake. This already shows a connection with the phallistic agricultural cults of India, but the connection of this custom with the Easter traditions of Christianity is just as obvious” (Encyclopedia: “Religions of the World”, 2 volumes Moscow, Avanta, 1996).

Just imagine how the devil rejoices, because God's great holiday is Easter, given by God, in order to exalt the sacrifice of Christ, turned into a vile pagan ritual with disgusting symbolism.

How did Jesus celebrate Easter? What did He say at the last Passover dinner with His disciples? What did he command them to do?

“On the very first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him: Where do you order us to prepare the Passover for You? He said: go to the city to such and such and say to him: The teacher says: My time is near; I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your place. The disciples did as Jesus commanded them and prepared the passover. When evening came, He lay down with the twelve disciples.” (Mat. 26:17-20).

“And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, and said, Drink all of you out of it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. I tell you that from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink new [wine] with you in the kingdom of my Father.” (Mat. 26:26-29).

Notice how Jesus made the transition from the Old Testament Passover to the New Testament: “…when they ate, He took…”. What did they eat? Of course, the Passover lamb, for Jesus asked them to prepare the Passover for Him ( Luke 22:7-8). Since the lamb sacrificed at Easter symbolized the sacrifice of Jesus and Christ was about to fulfill what was predicted, after which it would no longer be necessary to sacrifice animals, He changes the Old Testament symbols of Easter to the New Testament, namely the slaughtered lamb for bread (symbol of His Body) and wine (symbol of His Blood).

Please note that this replacement took place during the Passover days, when everything fermented and leavened was destroyed in the homes of the Israelites according to the word of God, since leaven is a symbol of sin, and God wanted to give the people the realization that the Lamb of God - Christ - is sinless, and that God and wants to see them as saints. Therefore, both the bread and wine used by Jesus for New Testament symbols were unfermented. In those days, there were no fermented foods in any house, since disobedience to this God's ordinance entailed death (see Ex. 12:15,19). Be attentive to the words of the Apostle Matthew, who wrote: "... on the first day of unleavened bread," the Old Testament Passover was prepared for Jesus, where He replaced the symbols for the New Testament Passover, which was called the "Lord's Supper." Therefore, according to God's Word - the Bible, Easter in the New Testament is not Easter cakes and colored eggs, but unleavened bread - a symbol of His pure Body and unfermented wine - a symbol of His pure Blood.

Why did Jesus institute the New Testament Passover?

Why does Jesus speak of Himself as a sacrifice?Because He wanted the assembled disciples to understand that He is the true Passover for mankind. To be saved from God's judgment on sinners, every person must accept the Paschal sacrifice, Jesus Christ, into his heart, otherwise God will sentence him to eternal punishment. " Then he will say also to those who left side: Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."(Gospel of Matthew 25:41).

Today is our Easter - Christ.He gave His life so that the judgment of God would not fall on us. However, to do this, you must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If you do not agree that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, then God's judgment awaits you after death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “ And how people are supposed to die one day, and then judgment". Many people repented when the judgments of God fell on Egypt, but it was too late. And it can be just as late for you if you delay the decision to accept Christ or not. The Lord says that it is necessary to accept His Passover - the Lamb of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ and said: …behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world(Gospel of John 1:29). Paul in his First Epistle to Corinthians 5:7 said: « ... for our Passover, Christ, was slain for us» . Easter is not our traditions or sweet Easter cake, Easter is Christ and His salvation. Come to Him and receive forgiveness and eternal life as a gift: ...and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23b). The true meaning of Easter is salvation in Christ! He patiently waits for you with outstretched arms, wanting to save you. With all your heart turn to Him in prayer, and He will save you. If you don't know how to pray, you can pray something like this:

“Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ. I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again on the third day for my justification. Jesus, come into my heart and change my whole life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord for your salvation, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen" .

You can talk a lot about Easter, but it is better to read about it in the Bible. Here we will summarize, simply, concrete facts: what is Easter and what it is eaten with (literally), because, as you know, they really eat it!

Let's start! A long time ago, we will not start from the beginning.

When the Israelites settled in a country called Egypt, the indigenous people of Egypt, and especially the Pharaoh, did not like it. And the Egyptians decided to make the Israelites slaves.

A slave is one who does the bidding of his master. The Israelites did not like it either and they “cryed out” to God for help. God heard them and about 30-40 years later gave them a leader, Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery.

This exit is marked by the holiday "Easter".

When the Egyptians began to oppress the people of Israel (Jews) and made them slaves and subject to the Egyptians, the Israelites wept and began to pray to God for help, salvation, from the hand of Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. God heard their prayers and cries.

This is because the Pharaoh issued a decree on birth control by the people of Israel - all male babies must be killed.

In one Israeli family, a boy was born, who had to be hidden for some time, and then secretly released to the will of fate.

Parents put the baby Moses in a basket and let it float down the Nile to the will of fate. At this time, the Pharaoh's daughter went out to bathe on the Nile River and saw a floating basket, looking into it, she saw a baby and decided to adopt him.

Moses and the Overseer

Time passed, Moses grew up, he became an adult and decided to establish "communication" with his brothers, with his people.

Once he saw an Egyptian overseer beating an Israelite, he became angry with the Egyptian and killed him. Pharaoh became aware of this, and he, in turn, was also angry, only at Moses, well, and ordered him to be put to death.

Moses was afraid of punishment and fled from Egypt to the land of Midian.

There Moses lived for some time, got married, had children...

One day while grazing his father-in-law's flocks, he saw a burning bush that burned, but did not burn. From this bush he heard the voice of God Telling him what to do next in his life.

God told him that Moses should return to Egypt and bring the people of God (Israel) out of this land. After meeting and talking with God, Moses returned to Egypt and came to the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Moses told Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go to the wilderness for a few days, with all their belongings, belongings, livestock ... so that they could worship God and make sacrifices to Him. Of course, Pharaoh did not believe this and became stubborn. And for this, God performed many plagues on the Egyptians, as it is now customary to call them "Egyptian plagues."

Pharaoh resisted for a long time, but in the end, after the last execution, he decided to let the people of Israel go to worship God.

The last plague is a type of Easter

The last plague also includes the prototype of Easter. What happened there?

Now the time has come for the last Egyptian plague. Pharaoh resisted for a long time before that, but God knew and told Moses that this time Pharaoh the king of Egypt would let my people out of this land. And so it happened. But first Moses was told that the children of Israel should be ready for the exodus from Egypt.

They had to get ready, boil lamb, cook bitter herbs, anoint the doorposts in their dwellings with this blood (lamb-lamb), be dressed and gathered, eat the lamb at night, and at dawn when everything is over and Pharaoh will let the people of Israel go, let him (the people) will beg from the neighbors of the Egyptians various things and thus plunder them.

And then he will rush out of Egypt. Everything was done that way, everything happened as we have described here and as described in the Bible.

Here you need to look at important points regarding Easter:

1. this is the last execution;
2. lamb (lamb);
3. exodus from Egypt

These three concepts are directly related to such concepts as "Easter", and even the modern "Easter".

Detailed history of Easter Old Testament described in the book of Exodus from the 1st to the 12th chapters.

Meaning of Easter

Let's start with the execution. The meaning of the execution was that:

1. Firstly, the people of Israel and Egypt were to see the power of God (who founded heaven and earth),
2. Secondly were to die in all the land of Egypt, all the firstborn, from man to beast,
3. Thirdly so that one of the firstborn would not die, it was necessary to anoint the crossbar and the doorposts of their dwellings with blood,
4. fourthly, it was necessary to eat a lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (unleavened bread) that night and not leave the house until morning,
5. fifth, after all this hastily leave Egypt.

This is the meaning of Easter.

Namely, the symbol of Passover is the lamb (lamb) and its blood.

Passover is the lamb to be eaten!

The Jews smear their doorposts with the blood of this lamb. The power of God was revealed through an angel who, seeing blood on the door frame, passed by the house. Where the door was not anointed with the blood of the lamb, the firstborn died.

The events described were commanded to the Israelites to remember and observe every year.

Holiday of liberation from Egyptian slavery!

Symbols that were on the table of every Jewish family: unleavened bread, grape juice and roast lamb with bitter herbs.

This is where Easter came from.

Modern Easter

Modern Christians honor this holiday like the ancient Israelites.

How?

Not in the way that different denominations came up with, but as the New Testament teaches, as Jesus Himself established!

The Apostle Paul compares the old Passover with the new:

6 You have nothing to boast about. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole dough?
7 Purge therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new dough, because you are without leaven, for our Passover, Christ, was slain for us.
8 Therefore let us not celebrate with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth.
(1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, "Our Passover is Christ, who was slain for us."

In the Bible, we will not find any other example, guidance for believers today, except as God Himself established already in the New Testament.

There is no mention in the Bible that New Easter, no mention of cottage cheese, eggs and other kinds of rituals.

But there are references to what Christ asks us to do for this holiday. Remember that He saved us from the bondage of sin, as the people of Israel from the bondage of Egypt.

This is a spiritual example, a parallel of sin and Egyptian slavery.

Here is what Jesus asks us to do every Sunday:

22 And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to them, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them: and they all drank from it.
24 And he said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
25 Truly I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink new wine in the kingdom of God.
26 And having sung, they went up to the Mount of Olives.
(Mark 14:22-26)

Here are the symbols of Easter in the New Testament:

1. Christ is a symbol of the lamb of the ancient Israelites, which they ate when leaving Egypt (a spiritual parallel with the body of Christ from the New Testament).
2. The blood of Christ cleanses and saves us from sin (a spiritual parallel to the blood of a lamb on a doorpost in the Old Testament).

7 On the very first day of the week, when the disciples were assembled to break bread, Paul, intending to set out on the next day, talked with them and continued his discourse until midnight.
(Acts 20:7)