Pastor, I Have a Question March 2012

QUESTION: How is the date for Easter determined?
ANSWER: Easter is the most important event in world history. It gives meaning and value to Jesus’ Good Friday sacrifice. St. Paul wrote, “He was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25). The ELS’ An Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism teaches, “The resurrection of Christ definitely proves that Christ is the Son of God, that He has made full satisfaction for all my sins, that I too shall rise again on the last day, and it gives me strength to forsake sin and live a new life” (See the references Romans 1:4, 1 Corinthians 15:17, John 14:19, and Romans 6:4) [page 119].
Jesus, both true God and true Man, took all our sins to His cross. His sacrificial death is the punishment for all sins. His sacrifice was complete, One for all people and once for all time. When Jesus rose, God declared us “not guilty.” By faith in Jesus, we are God’s children, forgiven and eternal. Easter proves Jesus, who said He would die and rise again. He did it. He is God. All other gods are false.
St. Paul taught, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen…if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen…if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:13–20, selected verses).
The Bible gives us more information about the date of Easter than it does Christmas. One fourth of St. Matthew’s Gospel is dedicated to the week of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. It occurred during the time of Israel’s Passover. We get close to the date of Easter by learning when the Passover occurred. The Bible also reports that Jesus rose on the first day of the week (John 20:1).  Thus, Easter will always be on a Sunday.
God commanded Israel to celebrate the Passover in the first month. The Hebrew religious calendar is based on the lunar month, meaning that each month began with a full moon. The first month of the year is Nisan or Aviv (literally spring). Accordingly, Passover follows the first full moon in the spring: “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5).
The New Testament Church does not follow the Hebrew calendar. The early church lived under the calendar established by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C. Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582, established another calendar, called the Gregorian, Western, or Christian calendar. Not all Christians accepted this decree of the Roman Pope. Those in the east preferred the Julian calendar.
By now, even this writer is a bit confused. Understandably, there was little uniformity worldwide on the date for Easter. To alleviate the confusion, the first Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring (in the northern hemisphere). The church also decreed that the equinox would fall on March 21. Easter, therefore, will be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21. Thus, Easter may be on any day between March 22 and April 25 for those who follow the Gregorian calendar. This year, the first full moon following March 21 appears on April 6 and Easter is on April 8.
For the eastern Orthodox Christians, Easter is on April 15. Orthodox churches continue to follow the Julian calendar. Eastern Orthodox Easter is rarely the same Sunday as it is for us.
On whatever Sunday Easter is celebrated, its message remains the same: Jesus is risen. He is risen for you. Because He lives, you will live also.
Rev. Charles Keeler
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Winter Haven, FL
cjohnk@aol.com