Celebration of the Resurrection
            QUESTION from Mark on July 20, 2003

I wish to make several points, both from history and also from Scripture, upon which I will base my question. (1) Emperor Constantine I, at the Council of Nicaea in 325, fixed the date for the celebration of the Resurrection on a certain day, even though many still did not agree and required subsequent discussions in later councils and synods. Many believers even continued to celebrate the resurrection in accordance with Passover (even after Constantine's legislation). That is why Constantine references the Jewish practices in his letter. Constantine stated, "we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast." (Constantine, "On the Keeping of Easter", Council of Nicaea, 325 AD). His administration was known for many things, including particularly harsh legislation passed severely restricting the rights of the Jews. (2) If we read in the Canonical Scriptures today, chapter 23 of the book of Leviticus, we find: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. (Leviticus 23: 1-2) The Scriptures we all hold as being the authentic word of God, states in the first two verses that the feasts (of which Passover is one) are not "Jewish" feasts, but they are feasts of the LORD. Remember, this is _God_ speaking, not man. We believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; the early Jewish leaders understood these claims to mean that Jesus in fact _was_ God (Matthew 26: 63-66, Mark 14: 61-64, Luke 22: 70-71), for which they delivered Him up to be crucified. (3) Scripture again states, when Jesus shared the wine and the bread with His discples, in Luke's account of the Gospel: And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22: 19-20) Remember, these men were Jews, so the bread they were using was unleavened bread. And again, this isn't just a man speaking and establishing doctrine, it is the Son of God. In each of the gospel accounts, it is clear that Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover, and he was placed in the tomb before the setting of the sun which would officially begin the Passover. Passover is central to the death and resurrection of our Messiah, which is, in fact, what God intended with the original Passover in Egypt. (4) The one Scripture to which theologians point as being evidence of the resurrection on the first day of the week, Matthew 28: 1-6, seems to contradict the timing relayed in the other three Gospel accounts: Mark 16: 1-6, Luke 24: 1-7, John 20: 1-2. Even without studying Matthew's account and understanding his literary style, or studying the greek writings to compare verb tense and moods, a simple majority says that before the sun had risen, the stone had already been rolled away. (Of course, if He rose some time on Saturday, He would have had to have been crucified sometime on Wednesday) Question: Now, knowing that Jesus in fact did not rise on Sunday, but some time on Saturday [4], and that Jesus Himself commands us to celebrate His death [3], and that God Himself commands us to observe Passover [2], why do we still follow the law established by a pagan emperor who hated the Jews (not by early Apostles or Disciples) [1] instead of following the commandments of our God and our Saviour in celebrating the Passover, that is, the death of our Messiah by partaking of the cup and the (unleavened) bread according to the commandment of God? Surely no man and no tradition, however great they are, is greater than the very God which created man, the earth, and the universe by His Son, to whom belongs all honour and glory forever. Amen. A celebration of the resurrection, then, would only seem appropriate when it follows three days and three nights after the celebration of the crucifixion, which was the afternoon preceeding the evening of the Passover.