Background on Easter
Here are the three major people that you'll encounter in reading the biblical text - and what they learned/saw:
The angel at the tomb.
Each of the four Gospels record the women (though only Mary in John) who visit Jesus’ tomb encountering an unnamed angel (or two). This angel tells them to not be afraid and then invites them to see the empty place where Jesus once laid, before sharing that Jesus has been raised from the dead. While the women’s response to this shocking news varies in the Gospels – from outright stunned silence in Mark, to sharing with the other disciples in Luke – the angel’s presence is a signal of a profound shift in human history. Jesus’ resurrection marks a commissioning of the women and the disciples to go and share this good news – something that will later be made abundantly clear in Jesus’ subsequent appearances to the disciples.
Mary Magdalene (and others).
Although the total number of women who visited the tomb varies from gospel to gospel (John lists only Mary Magdalene, while Luke seems to suggest 5 or more), the gospels all state that Mary Magdalene was among the first to discover Jesus’ tomb being empty. Mentions of Mary elsewhere in the gospels are limited (perhaps only Luke 8:1-3), and as such very little is known about her. She has mistakenly been identified with the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 (the passage that precedes Mary’s introduction), which in turn led to identifying her as a former prostitute, but there appears to be no evidence that this was the case. Instead, the Luke 8:1-3 passage suggests that she may have been a wealthy patron of Jesus’ ministry – she “provided for them out of their resources” (Luke 8:3). Regardless, the sudden appearance of Mary Magdalene’s name numerous times in all four of the Gospels after Jesus’ resurrection suggests that she may have been significantly involved in the earliest days of the church.
Simon Peter.
Unlike the angel(s) and Mary Magdalene, we have spent a great deal of time with Simon Peter through the seasons of Epiphany and Lent. Peter is constantly positioned as a leader among the disciples and he would certainly have prominence in the early church. In the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, though, we see Peter needing to repent of his abandoning/threefold denial of Jesus after Jesus’ arrest. In a particularly pointed passage in John 21:15-19, Jesus asks Peter to affirm three times that Peter loves him and that Peter will “feed my sheep” – a direct reversal of Peter’s threefold denial.
Digging Deeper
What’s the deal with Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, and other “Easter” traditions?
At some point, your inquisitive child may wonder: what do eggs and the Easter bunny have to do with what I’m learning about at church? The short answer is that some of these traditions actually seem to be related to pre-Christian religious symbols/rituals that were retrofitted with Christian theology – but I’ll try to break down in greater detail below in case you field questions from your kids:
Easter Eggs
There are plenty of sources suggesting that decorating eggs was a practice in a wide variety of ancient civilizations, but the earliest Christian community to connect this decorating to Easter is debated. By 1610, though, Easter eggs were talked about as a symbol of the tomb/resurrection of Jesus in a Roman Catholic text.
Easter Bunny
Rabbits have long been associated with Spring and new birth for their, um, prodigious reproduction, but the connection with the church seems to have begun by German Lutherans. The “Osterhase”, or “Easter Hare”, would give children gifts of colored eggs because…. reasons? Chalk the Easter Bunny up in the strange traditions category.
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies
Although many have suspected that chocolate bunnies are hollow merely as a way to save chocolate and money, there are some who claim that they are hollow as a way to represent the empty tomb on Easter morning. I think that’s more than a stretch but, hey, feel free to run with it.
Marshmellow Peeps
Despite occasional claims to the contrary, this product of the 1950s definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity. It’s just a terrifying amount of sugar.
Talking about Peeps feels like a strange place to end, so I’ll instead close on this: I’m wishing you and your family happiness, joy, and wonder as you reflect on this Easter miracle once more! As we move into the early days of the church, and the drive of those earliest disciples to spread Jesus’ message around the world, I hope that we too feel similarly inspired to live our faith.
The angel at the tomb.
Each of the four Gospels record the women (though only Mary in John) who visit Jesus’ tomb encountering an unnamed angel (or two). This angel tells them to not be afraid and then invites them to see the empty place where Jesus once laid, before sharing that Jesus has been raised from the dead. While the women’s response to this shocking news varies in the Gospels – from outright stunned silence in Mark, to sharing with the other disciples in Luke – the angel’s presence is a signal of a profound shift in human history. Jesus’ resurrection marks a commissioning of the women and the disciples to go and share this good news – something that will later be made abundantly clear in Jesus’ subsequent appearances to the disciples.
Mary Magdalene (and others).
Although the total number of women who visited the tomb varies from gospel to gospel (John lists only Mary Magdalene, while Luke seems to suggest 5 or more), the gospels all state that Mary Magdalene was among the first to discover Jesus’ tomb being empty. Mentions of Mary elsewhere in the gospels are limited (perhaps only Luke 8:1-3), and as such very little is known about her. She has mistakenly been identified with the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 (the passage that precedes Mary’s introduction), which in turn led to identifying her as a former prostitute, but there appears to be no evidence that this was the case. Instead, the Luke 8:1-3 passage suggests that she may have been a wealthy patron of Jesus’ ministry – she “provided for them out of their resources” (Luke 8:3). Regardless, the sudden appearance of Mary Magdalene’s name numerous times in all four of the Gospels after Jesus’ resurrection suggests that she may have been significantly involved in the earliest days of the church.
Simon Peter.
Unlike the angel(s) and Mary Magdalene, we have spent a great deal of time with Simon Peter through the seasons of Epiphany and Lent. Peter is constantly positioned as a leader among the disciples and he would certainly have prominence in the early church. In the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, though, we see Peter needing to repent of his abandoning/threefold denial of Jesus after Jesus’ arrest. In a particularly pointed passage in John 21:15-19, Jesus asks Peter to affirm three times that Peter loves him and that Peter will “feed my sheep” – a direct reversal of Peter’s threefold denial.
Digging Deeper
What’s the deal with Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, and other “Easter” traditions?
At some point, your inquisitive child may wonder: what do eggs and the Easter bunny have to do with what I’m learning about at church? The short answer is that some of these traditions actually seem to be related to pre-Christian religious symbols/rituals that were retrofitted with Christian theology – but I’ll try to break down in greater detail below in case you field questions from your kids:
Easter Eggs
There are plenty of sources suggesting that decorating eggs was a practice in a wide variety of ancient civilizations, but the earliest Christian community to connect this decorating to Easter is debated. By 1610, though, Easter eggs were talked about as a symbol of the tomb/resurrection of Jesus in a Roman Catholic text.
Easter Bunny
Rabbits have long been associated with Spring and new birth for their, um, prodigious reproduction, but the connection with the church seems to have begun by German Lutherans. The “Osterhase”, or “Easter Hare”, would give children gifts of colored eggs because…. reasons? Chalk the Easter Bunny up in the strange traditions category.
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies
Although many have suspected that chocolate bunnies are hollow merely as a way to save chocolate and money, there are some who claim that they are hollow as a way to represent the empty tomb on Easter morning. I think that’s more than a stretch but, hey, feel free to run with it.
Marshmellow Peeps
Despite occasional claims to the contrary, this product of the 1950s definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity. It’s just a terrifying amount of sugar.
Talking about Peeps feels like a strange place to end, so I’ll instead close on this: I’m wishing you and your family happiness, joy, and wonder as you reflect on this Easter miracle once more! As we move into the early days of the church, and the drive of those earliest disciples to spread Jesus’ message around the world, I hope that we too feel similarly inspired to live our faith.