The Biblical Origins of Easter

How Christ's Rising from the Dead Secures Eternal Life for All of Us

To understand the biblical origins of Easter, it is necessary to start with the Christmas story, because one Holy Day is meaningless without the other. Christians contemplate the history of Christ’s life in total, and the biblical origins of Easter can only be appreciated in that context.

The Jewish community at the time of Christ was extremely oppressed. They were seeking a Savior, whom they pictured as a great warrior who would redeem them from the injustices they had suffered. Instead, God sent a babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, into the humblest circumstances imaginable: a dirty cattle stall. God did this because He gives all of us free choice. Had He sent a warrior, people would have had no choice but to follow or be killed, which was pretty much the theory under which Caesar operated.

Not much is recorded in the Bible about the first 30 years of Jesus’ life, other than that He was gifted in teaching, and spent at least some time discussing Jewish law with the leaders of the church. Once He reached adulthood, He was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, then set out preaching and teaching, gathering believers as He went.

For three years, Jesus traveled the lands around the Sea of Galilee, preaching the word of God and demonstrating what has now become cliché: “What would Jesus do?” His twelve closest followers, the Apostles, traveled with him and assisted him in his teachings. Some of them subsequently recorded the stories and letters that now make up the New Testament.

At the end of the three years of teaching, the story of the biblical origins of Easter begins. The leaders in Rome had become frightened because of Jesus’ great popularity with the people. Afraid He would wrest power from them, they plotted to have Jesus arrested. The Apostle Judas met secretly with Roman soldiers. He sold Jesus out for a few pieces of silver and later hanged himself. This is why a person today who betrays us is labeled a “Judas”.