24A03 Easter vs Passover (written by Dr. Kip Wehrman)
Hello my friends. Thanks for joining me today @ the PUNLA coffee table.
I’m excited to have this discussion this month. Easter vs. Passover.
I was asked this question a few weeks ago. Why is Passover after Easter this year? My first reaction was it’s not. But then I looked up the date for Easter this year 2024 which is March 31, 2024. Then I looked up the date for Passover this year. The first day of Passover is April 22,2024.
Let that sink in for a moment. The Passover meal is what Jesus and His disciples celebrated the night before His crucifixion. This is the last supper. How can Passover be three weeks after Easter. So I looked at the dates for the next three years.
Easter Passover Resurrection Sunday
March 31, 2024 Monday April 22, 2024 April 28, 2024
April 20, 2025 Saturday April 12, 2025 April 13, 2025
March 28, 2026 Wednesday April 1, 2026 April 5, 2026
April 16, 2027 Wednesday April 21, 2027 April 25, 2027
April 1, 2028 Monday April 10, 2028 April 16, 2028
April 21, 2029 Friday March 30, 2029 April 1, 2029
Not once in the next 6 years does Passover happen before Easter on the same week. None of these dates match the Bible story
Why are Christian churches celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday instead of the first Sunday after Passover.
The Date of Easter in the western churches is determined by the first Sunday after the Spring Equinox but if a full moon falls on that Sunday, then Easter is the next Sunday. The eastern churches like Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Coptic all celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon after Passover. This year it will be May 5, 2024.
I have to admit I was shocked to find out that the holiday I’ve always observed as Easter has more to do with the Pagan Spring Equinox celebration than the Jewish Passover and Unleavened Bread Festival and the Festival of First Fruits.
In reality, Jesus rose from the grave on the Festival of First Fruits which is always the Sunday after Passover. Always, even though Passover moves around, the festival of first fruits is always the first Sunday after Passover. This is resurrection Sunday.
Our challenge this month is to discuss importance of Church Tradition vs. Bible Truth.
If this is not enough, Christmas falls into this group of Church Traditions. We know clearly from the Bible story, that Jesus was born in warm month, most likely spring or summer. Yet, we celebrate the birth of Jesus in December. The answer again is to place this holiday near the winter equinox.
I expect our conversation will be one of learning, sharing, contemplation.
Next month (April) we will do things a little differently. I will be introducing you to an evaluation technique called ARROW.
Application-Relevance-Revelation-Opinion-Witness.
These are five practical tests for viewpoints, doctrines, interpretations, and worldviews.
Application is the Livability Test.
Relevance is the Essential Test
Revelation is the Consistency Test
Opinion is the Bias Test
Witness is the Reliability Test.
ARROW comes with three thesis.
-Any viewpoint is only as strong as the strongest critique against it.
-All Scripture must be reconciled or View reconsidered.
-Worthwhile things take time and effort
Two rules to Bible Interpretation and viewpoint challenge
- If plain sense, makes sense, look for no further sense
- If you sense, is non-sense, find another sense.
Basically, if the simplest view or interpretation makes sense don’t look for another
And, if you opinion leads to contradictions or logically flawed, then find another opinion
I’m excited to share this with you and I hope to be able to use this technique in future discussions. Thank you for joining me today @ the PUNLA CoffeeTable. If you liked the message, please share a link with a friend. You can contact me at kip@punla.org if you have comments or questions. So, until next time
