It is not a coincidence that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus happened at the same time as Passover. The festivals in the Old Testament (that Jewish people still observe today) were both celebrations of how God had helped the Israelites and pictures of what Jesus was going to do. Parallels between Passover and Jesus include:

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

What is Passover and what has it got to do with Easter?

The Jewish celebration of Passover, or "Pesach" in Hebrew, was started about 1200 years before Jesus. The origins and form of this festival are described in the Bible, in chapter 12 of the book of Exodus. It is from when Moses was asking the Pharaoh to let the Jews -who were at that time slaves- leave Egypt, and because Pharaoh kept refusing, God punished the Egyptians by killing all their first born sons. The Jewish families were kept safe by daubing lamb's blood on their door-posts - when God saw this blood he "passed over" those homes.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

It is unhelpful that the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus is commonly known as "Easter", a name derived from a pagan god. A more appropriate name might be the "Christian Passover". Many other modern languages derive their name for Easter from the Latin pascha, in turn taken from the Hebrew pesach or Passover, eg the French "Paques", the Spanish "Pascua" and the Italian "Pasqua". This acknowledges that the Christian feast is a successor to the Jewish Passover.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Why is it called "Easter"?

Long before Jesus, many pagan cultures already celebrated at this time of year to welcome the return of spring and the new plant life that grew and the animals that were born. The pagans worshipped gods of fertility and new life, such as the Druidic Ishtar, Egyptian Osiris, Babylonian Astarte (who sprung from an egg which fell from heaven), and the Saxon goddess of dawn with a hare's head (or hare companion) called Eostre, from which we get the name "Easter".

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"Without the feeding of the five thousand or the walking on water, we'd still have Christianity. But without the resurrection, it would be just a minor cult in first-century Judaism." (Michael Symmons Roberts, "The Miracles of Jesus" )

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History records show that Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem in around 33AD, just before the Jewish festival of Passover. He was executed after Jewish religious leaders accused him of being a would-be revolutionary who wanted to overturn Roman rule. But Christians believe that God planned for this to happen and that in the spiritual realm the death, and then resurrection, of Jesus was necessary to conquer sin and enable believers to live a life guided by God's forgiveness and Holy Spirit.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

More on the origins of Easter

Easter is the spring-time holiday associated with chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. For Christians it is the anniversary and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.