YEA Lesson Library
Easter Connection
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that Easter is not Biblical and should not be celebrated.
Scriptures
Judges 2:11-13
1 Samuel 7:3-7
1 Samuel 12:8-11
1 Kings 11:29-33
Isaiah 44:12
Jeremiah 7:18
Acts 12:1-5
Words to Know
FAT TUESDAY - the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday
ASH WEDNESDAY - 40 days before Good Friday and the day Lent begins
LENT - (real meaning) to give for temporary use on condition that the same or equivalent be returned; (Religious meaning) The 40 days of abstinence that precedes Easter
MARDI GRAS - literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French
HOT CROSS BUNS - the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of Christ. They actually pre-date Christianity and were used in pagan worship
The Lesson
Our Protestant and Catholic friends do a lot of good things. They may try hard to help their teenagers understand the Bible, fulfill their religious obligations, and have a spiritual experience. During Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, and the Easter period they may do many religious things. But are these things commanded or even mentioned in your Bible? Do these things connect teenagers to God? Do they give teens a deeper spiritual experience in keeping with the Bible teaching?
To determine this, we have to answer the question. "Are those who celebrate Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, and Easter doing things that are laid out in the Bible for Christians to do?”
Get your concordance out and turn to Fat Tuesday and see how many scripture verses you can find that mention this date. The word 'fat' is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, but never in conjunction with the word "Tuesday." As a matter of fact, the word "Tuesday" is never mentioned in your Bible. All of God's holy days are mentioned in the Bible. Does it leave you thinking that since Fat Tuesday cannot be found in the Bible, that God must not intend for us to observe it? If God had wanted us to celebrate it, He would have mentioned it by name in the Bible and told us to celebrate it.
You have probably seen some of the Mardi Gras celebrations shown on television from New Orleans. These include masked balls, parties, and drunken people making fools of themselves. Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from slaughtering and feasting on a fatted calf on the last day of the carnival. But again, when you check your concordance to find scripture verses in the Bible that tell us to celebrate Mardi Gras, they simple are not there.
What about Ash Wednesday. Oops, it’s not anywhere to be found. But let’s be honest: the word "ash" is mentioned one time and Ash Wednesday is not mentioned at all in your Bible. Do you think if God wanted you to keep, celebrate, or observe this day that He would have included it in your Bible?
But as we said, "ash" is mentioned one time in the Bible. In Isaiah 44:14, it says, "He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.” Is this what happens in Catholic and some Protestant churches on Ash Wednesday? Do they go out and plant an ash tree in the forest. Hardly. What Catholics and some Protestants do is go to church on Ash Wednesday and have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross. So does that one and only scripture in your Bible that mentions the word "ash" tell us to do that? I think not.
Since there is no commandment in the Bible to keep Ash Wednesday, where did it come from and how did it get started? Even the Catholics can't come up with anything special happening 40 days before Christ's crucifixion and say it doesn’t commemorate any event. If the Bible doesn't tell us to celebrate Ash Wednesday and even the Catholics don't know of any event it commemorates, then why should we bother keeping it?
For Catholics and some Protestants, first comes Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and then Lent. Can we find Lent in the Bible? If so, does God command us to celebrate it? And what in the world does Lent mean? Well, for Catholics and Protestants, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday every year followed by 40 days of fasting or abstinence and ends on Easter Sunday. When you check your handy-dandy concordance again to find the word “Lent,” you find it mentioned in Exodus 12:36; Deuteronomy 23:19; 1 Samuel 1:28, 2:20; and Jeremiah 15:10 (KJV). Check each one of these scriptures out for yourself. Every one of these verses has everything to do with something that was given for temporary use on condition that the same or equivalent be returned. None of these verses says anything about a 40-day period of fasting and abstinence.
Now, isn't Easter in the Bible? Well, that depends. In Cruden's Concordance you will find Easter in it one time in Acts 12:4 (KJV). It says: "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people." This is the only place in the Bible where Easter is mentioned. It says nothing about Christians celebrating it. Additionally, Easter is a mistranslation that should be Passover. Notice just below Easter in your Cruden's Concordance that it says "(The Passover. The name Easter was given later in the Christian celebration of this season). The King James translation is the only version of the Bible that uses Easter. The Living Bible, NIV, The Message, etc. all use the word Passover. What have we found? We have found that one of the days and seasons most celebrated by Catholics and Protestants isn't mentioned in the Bible and has no biblical origins.
Judges 2:11-13 says, "Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths" (NIV). What were the Ashtoreths? Astarte was one of them. She was goddess of the evening star and renowned for her beauty. She was a goddess of fertility, love and war, often linked with Baal" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, page 395). Astarte is another name for Easter.
Student Prayer
Great God and Father,
Thank you for your Son who gave His life that I might have forgiveness of my sins. Help me to never diminish that with cheap substitutes.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Isaiah 44:12
Monday - Judges 2:11-13
Tuesday - Acts 12:1-5
Wednesday- Jeremiah 7:18
Thursday - 1 Samuel 7:3-7
Friday - 1 Samuel 12:8-11
Saturday - 1 Kings 11:29-33
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. List the four events that lead up to Easter and state that none of these are found in the Bible.
2. Explain that al of these events have pagan origins and were co-opted into the Passover season by the Catholic Church.
Topics & Themes
Easter
Holidays, Easter
Pagan Traditions
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students' and Teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, CD or cassette tape, music player, awards
How to Teach This Lesson
After opening the class with prayer, divide the students into two groups. Have the two groups form two lines facing each other about five feet apart. Explain that you will give them a question. The first person who knows the answer in either group is to step forward and give their answer. After that person answers the question, ask: Does anyone else have anything to add? A person from either team can add to the original answer. This question can be asked until no one else has anything to add to the question. Then ask the second question in the same manner as the first, allowing students to add to the original answer.
Three points should be given to the team that has the person who gives the correct first answer and two points to the team for every person who correctly adds to the first answer. Keep score as you go. After you have finished playing this game, give the winning team an award. Have students go to their seats and sit in a semicircle.
Debrief - Ask: How did you feel about this game? What did the things you learned from this game mean to you? How is this experience like or unlike some other aspects of your life? What kinds of problems does Easter present for you as a teenager? How will this lesson help you in dealing with your friends during the Lent and Easter season? How many times did you find the word Easter in your Bible? How many translations have the word "Easter"in them? How should the word "Easter" be translated?
Hot Cross Buns - Ask: How many of you have seen hot cross buns in a bakery? Have the students recite their memory verse. How do you see that your memory verse ties in with hot cross buns?
Background - Read Background to your class and then encourage a discussion about the entire Easter season, beginning with Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, etc. Ask: How do you think God feels about Christians observing these days and customs? What days should we celebrate instead of these days? Have students write this down so they can check out this information.
Teacher-Directed Activity
Go over the Activity in the students' book with them. Allow those who have not completed the activity to fill-in the definitions at this time.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight: Jeremiah 7:18
Look up the word “provoke.” Write down the Hebrew word and its meaning. Then find three other Scriptures where this word is used. Are you familiar with the word “provoke”? Do you ever provoke your brother or sister to anger? Do you ever provoke your mom or dad to anger? What is the result? What do you think the result of provoking God would be? Write this word, its definition, and your thoughts about it in this context in your Bible notebook.
Where in the World? Queen of Heaven
Where in the world did the Israelites pick up the worship of the queen of heaven? What other name is she known by? How did people worship her? What was her super power, supposedly? Why would anyone want to worship a pagan god? Do you think she is still worshipped today? Why or why not? Write the answers to these questions and any other interesting information you find in your Bible notebook.
They Did What Back Then? Baal and Ashtoreths
Who were these pagan gods? Why did the inhabitants of the land worship these false gods? What were they the gods of? What super powers did they supposedly possess? How did the people worship these gods? Why in the world would anyone want to worship these gods? Do you think they are still worshipped today? Why or why not? Find at least three verses which talk about God’s people being enticed to worship these pagans gods. What were the consequences?
Making It Mine: The Easter Connection
Your YEA lesson teaches the origins of Easter, but most people today would say that they are not worshipping the Queen of Heaven, Astarte. They are honoring God by celebrating the day Jesus was resurrected. How would you answer that? Start by asking some questions. 1) What does Jesus’ resurrection have to do with Easter eggs and Easter bunnies? 2) If you knew that Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t on Easter Sunday, would you still celebrate it? 3) Where do you find Easter in the Bible?
Answers: 1) Easter eggs and Easter bunnies don’t have anything to do with Jesus’ resurrection. They were part of the fertility celebrations associated with Easter, Astarte; 2) Some people don’t really care that Jesus wasn’t resurrected on Easter Sunday. It’s a family tradition and they do what they’ve always done. You can explain the three days-three nights and that Jesus was resurrected at the end of the Sabbath. But for some people, it doesn’t really matter; 3) Easter is found in the KJV, but when you look up the word translated Easter, it comes from the Greek pascha - which is accurately translated Passover in other translations. So if they were using the verse to justify the celebration of Easter, they really should be celebrating Passover.
Keep in mind that when you are talking with people about celebrating Easter, be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within you, but do it with gentleness. (1 Peter 3:15)
Worldview Collisions: God and God Alone
A non-Christian worldview says that the One True God is just the God of the Christians or the God of the Jews. He’s their version of Allah or Buddha or Thor. Jehovah (or Yahweh) is just one of the many gods in our world today.
A Biblical worldview says that the One True God is the God of the whole universe. He is the Creator of everything. Jehovah (or Yahweh) has chosen the Israelites, of which the Jews are one tribe, and the Christians, who are spiritual descendants of Abraham. But God is not limited to any race or culture. In fact, when Jesus Christ returns and sets up His kingdom, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and Master and King.
Write this worldview collision in your Bible notebook. Add any notes you can think of which demonstrate that God is God of all. (Hint: weather, life/death, healing, disciples)
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
"The Greatest Thing" is on page 17 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Ask the students to form a circle and join hands. Go around the circle and let each students pick one of the words in the game we played today and tell something about it. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer thanking God for showing us that the Easter season is a counterfeit for the Passover. Ask Him to give us a deeper appreciation for Jesus' death and resurrection.
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