What is the meaning of Easter?
Easter – a story of love and life
Despite hot cross buns and Easter eggs appearing on store shelves from early January, Easter is not an easily understood Christian holiday. For starters, the week is full of contrasts. There is honour and praise followed by a day of deep, dark sadness, followed by joy, hope and light.
It can be a little complicated understanding why Good Friday is ‘good’, why Easter is celebrated or how the meaning of Easter relates to our lives today.
Easter is a celebration of the death and resurrection (rising again) of Jesus Christ. Many scholars believe Jesus was crucified (died on a cross) on a Friday and rose again on the Sunday in AD33.
The celebration of Easter for Christians varies from year to year as it is based upon the Jewish festival of Passover, which is determined by the cycles of the moon. This is because Jesus celebrated Passover right before he died.
The earliest recorded celebration of Easter by Christians is in the 2nd Century.
Holy Week refers to the days and events leading up to Easter Sunday. It starts with Palm Sunday – when Jesus was celebrated – and remembers his journey through to death. This includes his betrayal by a close friend, his last meal with his followers (Passover), a night of sorrowful prayer and then Good Friday – when Jesus died on the cross.
God – our Creator – loves us all so much and wants to be in a perfect, peaceful relationship with us. He wants to give meaning and purpose to our lives. So that could happen, he sent his one and only son – Jesus – to Earth to live, die and rise again for our sake.
“For here is the way God loved the world – he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life” (John 3:16, TPT).
While on Earth, Jesus experienced life as a human. Throughout his life, he knew what it was like to be hungry, tired, alone and grieving. Then, on Good Friday, he was betrayed, rejected, and physically and verbally hurt.
Many of the emotions that were there on Good Friday are similar to those we experience today. There is nothing you can experience today that God has not seen before. Friends who betray and reject us. Fear and anxiety over financial insecurity and sickness. Pain and heartache for loved ones. Confusion and hopelessness about the future. Grief, despair, loneliness. Jesus understands all of it.
He took all of this, including our shame, brokenness and mistakes upon himself. He put them to death on the cross so that we could be free of it all.
The significance of Good Friday lies in the fact that Jesus loves us so much that he gave up everything so that we could experience true and everlasting life.
After he died, Jesus was taken down from the cross and his body was placed in a dark tomb. It was sealed up and guarded from the outside with a heavy stone. All of Saturday, Jesus’ followers felt devastated, afraid, disappointed, uncertain and hopeless.
But on Sunday, a miracle happened: Jesus rose back to life (Jesus was resurrected).
The Bible says in the first light of day some women went to Jesus’ tomb, expecting to anoint his dead body, as per their custom. But, instead of finding Jesus’ body, they saw angels, who said, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:5-6, NLT).
This event – Jesus' resurrection – is the reason for Easter Sunday celebrations as it gives Christians their hope and joy. After all, there can be no ‘coming back to life’ without a death first.
In the days that followed, Jesus appeared to his large group of disciples many times – showing them that he truly was alive.
Read more about the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Bible, starting at Luke chapter 22.
Many of the Easter traditions we enjoy today stem from the biblical Easter story.
Hot cross buns, traditionally eaten on Good Friday, carry the symbolism of the cross on which Jesus died. The spices inside the bun represent the spices used on his dead body when he was placed in his tomb.
The significance of Easter eggs also comes from the events of Easter Sunday. The enjoyment of the hollow chocolate Easter egg is a reminder of the empty tomb after Jesus rose back to life and the solid egg is shaped like the tomb stone that rolled away. Chocolate bunnies represent new life, which is because new, everlasting life is offered to everyone who believes that Jesus died and rose again.
Whatever Easter customs and traditions you enjoy this year, we hope they remind you of the real meaning of Easter – which is Jesus’ love for you.
What is the true meaning of Easter?
The true meaning of Easter is about the love Jesus has for us and the purpose and peace he gives us.
In the Bible, Jesus said of himself, “I am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, The Voice). Jesus died and rose back to life so everyone can have a meaningful relationship with God the Father – the Creator of the Universe. Sin broke that relationship, but Jesus repaired it. Because of Jesus’ victory over death by coming back to life, we too can experience a new, everlasting life in Heaven with God.
But not only does Jesus offer us a promise for the future, he also offers everyone hope and joy for today. When the world causes us stress about the cost of living and health concerns, anxiety over safety, heartache, dissatisfaction, fear and many other crises or negative feelings, Jesus offers us something greater and deeper. He offers us a promise of peace.
Jesus says, “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, TLB).
It means that whatever life involves, we can have hope and peace. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection mean you are deeply loved, and you are not alone in your struggles. Jesus’ promise of peace is steady and everlasting. It’s up to us to choose to accept it.
Learn more about Jesus' promise of peace and what Easter means for your life at your local Salvos.
Find peace this Easter
If you would like some practical support to experience peace in your tough times this Easter, please contact us. Find out how we can help you with life’s essentials, financial counselling, housing, safety in the home, alcohol and drug addictions, and more.