What is Easter About? The history and why it matters
The following article is written by Max Jeganathan, author and speaker at OCCA, The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.
Every year, 2.6 billion Christians celebrate Easter. But for many of us, it’s just a few days off work or study, and a chance to take a breath from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. So what’s it all about?
The Historical Origins: From Christmas to Jerusalem
Specifically, Easter commemorates four days of events that took place in and around Jerusalem around 2,000 years ago. However, to fully understand its significance, we must go back to the very first Christmas – around 33 years earlier.
That is when – according to the biographies we have of Jesus in the Bible (accounts of Jesus’ life based on eye-witness testimony, known as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) – God stepped into the world as a person, born to a lower-class Jewish family in ancient Judea.
Jesus grew up, and for around three years, performed miracles, spoke about the Kingdom of God and called people to repent of their sins, to be forgiven and to receive forgiveness, redemption and eternal life through relationship with Him.
What Happened on the First Good Friday?
Towards the end of Jesus’ life – and largely because of his claims to be The Son of God – Jesus fell foul of the religious authorities of the day. Ultimately, this led to his murder by the Roman Empire – by crucifixion.
This event – Jesus’ death – is what is commemorated on what is now referred to as Good Friday. On the first Good Friday, Jesus died and was buried in a tomb.
The Resurrection: Why Easter Sunday Matters
However, that wasn’t the end of the story. According to the eye-witness accounts we have, this same Jesus rose from the dead three days later, appearing to his followers and hundreds of others in the days that followed.
Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday – two nights or three days after Good Friday. It is this day – Resurrection Sunday – that the Christian church historically celebrated each year. It became what we now know as Easter – which now includes a commemoration of the days and events leading up to Jesus’ resurrection.
The Foundation of the Christian Faith
In essence, Easter commemorates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be The Son of God (or put differently, ‘God incarnate’). For Christians, it is the most important festival in their calendar, and the centrepiece and foundation of the Christian faith. As is written in the Bible:
“..it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” – From a letter to the early church in Corinth from the Apostle Paul
Conclusion: The Personal Meaning of Easter
These astonishing historical events are what Easter is all about – its historical meaning. However, what that means for you and me – its theological and personal meaning – is a far deeper, richer and perhaps more challenging story.
If you are new to Christianity or exploring it, take a look at our companion article to this one – which unpacks the meaning of Easter for you.
Learning More
OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics was established in 2004 to raise up the next generation of evangelist-apologists. By 2021, around 350 emerging evangelists from around the world had studied on the OCCA one-year programme. This course equipped each of them to share and defend the gospel message and to come alongside others to help them with their intellectual objections and heartfelt concerns about the Christian faith. Subscribe to our weekly newsletters to see our latest articles from our team of speakers.
Max Jeganathan