Peter from the Clare Valley in
South Australia asks
…
Why are the dates for Easter different every year?
When deciding the dates for Easter, an attempt is made to come as
close as possible to the time of the people of Israel’s annual celebration of
the Passover. This raises two further questions that need to be addressed before
we go any further into the question of dates. What is the Jewish event known as
the Passover all about and what is the connection between the Passover and
Easter?
The people of Israel began their history as a nation in the land
of Canaan, the land we now know as the land of Israel. This came about when God
called the young man Abraham to move from his home town of Ur near the River
Euphrates in the country we now know as Iraq. God’s purpose was for Abraham to
establish a new nation through which he would make himself and his plan of
salvation known to all people. Stephen begins the story of Abraham’s journey for
us as he addresses the Jewish leaders of his time.
“Brothers and honourable fathers, listen to me. Our glorious
God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he moved to Haran.
God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come to the land
that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in
Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land that I will
show you.” (Acts 7:2-4)
Abraham’s response to God’s call began in the context his father
Terah’s own decision to take his family to the land of Canaan. Abraham went with
them. However, when they came to Haran about half way along the trade route that
led to Canaan, Terah decided to settle there. It would appear that Abraham felt
responsible to stay with father in his declining years for, as Stephen tells us,
he ‘lived in Haran until his father died.’
Terah took his son Abram, his daughter in law Sarai, and his
grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the
land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled
there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.
Following his father’s death, Abraham felt free to continue the
move that family responsibilities had caused him to put on hold for several
years. He had never forgotten his calling.
The LORD told
Abraham, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to
the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great
nation. I will bless you an make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to
others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the
families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abraham departed as the LORD
had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was seventy five years old
when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his
wealth—his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at
Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan. (Genesis 12:1-5)
With the arrival in Canaan of Abraham’s extended family, the
seeds of nationhood were sown. The number of descendants grew as the years
rolled on. Abraham’s grandson Jacob for example, was the father of a many
children. Twelve of whom were sons. The youngest of these was Joseph and
appeared to have been favoured by his father over his older brothers. This
aroused the envy of his brothers to such a level that they arranged for some
traders to take him Egypt and sell him there as a servant to Potiphar, an
officer of the king of Egypt. It was there that events took an interesting turn.
When Joseph’s integrity and outstanding work for Potiphar came to the notice of
the King, he appointed him governor over all Egypt.
Back in Canaan members of Joseph’s family were experiencing hard
times because of a widespread drought. Food became so short that Jacob was
forced to send his remaining sons to Egypt to buy grain. There was grain in
Egypt because of Joseph’s foresight in storing up grain during the preceding
years of good harvests. And so it was that in the seven years of crop failures
during the drought, the people of Egypt had sufficient grain for their people
with some left over to sell.
It was during those years that the king of Egypt invited Joseph’s
father to bring his family to Egypt to live. They came and began to prosper
there under the rule of the then king and the governance of Joseph. But God’s
plan for them to build a new nation in the land of Canaan, now the land of
Israel, was never lost sight of. So much so that Joseph asked the people to be
sure to take his remains back to Canaan with them after he died. He remained
confident that they would eventually go back. The Biblical historian tells us of
Joseph’s final days.
So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to
live in Egypt. Joseph was 110 years old when he died. He lived to see three
generations of descendants of his son Ephraim and the children of Manasseh’s son
Makir, who were treated as if they were his own.
“Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will
surely come for you, to lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you
back to the land he vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.”
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he
said, “When God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my body with
you.” So Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him, and his body was
placed in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:22-26)
The new nation of Israel is beginning to take its place on the
world stage. But the people are in Egypt. They should be where God wants them to
be, in the land of Canaan, now Israel. When life is so good for them in Egypt,
how are they to be encouraged to return to the land where they were meant to be?
It came about this way as God used tough experiences start them moving.
As the years rolled on, the seventy descendants of Jacob who had
originally come to Egypt increased rapidly in number. We pick up the story in
the book Exodus.
In time, Joseph and each of his brothers died, ending that
generation. But their descendants had many children and grandchildren. In fact,
they multiplied so quickly that they soon filled the land. Then a new king came
to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He
told his people. “These Israelites are becoming a threat to us because there are
so many of them. We must find a way to put an end to this. If we don’t and if
war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will
escape from the country..”
So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves and put
brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down under heavy burdens.
They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centres for
the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more quickly the
Israelites multiplied! The Egyptians soon became alarmed and decided to make
their slavery more bitter still. They were ruthless with the Israelites, forcing
them to make bricks and mortar and to work long hours in the fields. (Exodus
1:6-14)
But even this harsh treatment failed to halt the growth of the
new nation for, ‘the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more quickly the
Israelites multiplied.’ But the people are still slaves in the country that is
not meant to be their national home. With the passing of many more years, Moses
appears on the scene. The Lord has protected him during those years and prepared
him to lead the deliverance of his people out of their life of oppression and
slavery in Egypt. He instructs Moses to go to the king with the request that he
set the people of Israel free to travel back to Canaan.
Then the LORD told
him, “You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard
their cries for deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of
their suffering. So I have come to rescue them from the Egyptians and lead them
out of Egypt into their own good and spacious land. It is a land flowing with
milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites live. The
cries of the people of Israel have reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians
have oppressed them with heavy tasks. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh.
You will lead my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)
But when Moses, with his brother Aaron supporting him, went to
the king they met with a blunt refusal.
Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh. They told him, “This is
what the LORD, the God of Israel
says, ‘Let my people go, for they must go out into the wilderness to hold a
religious festival in my honour.’ ”
“Is that so,” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the LORD
that I should listen to him and let Israel go?”
But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met
with us,” they declared. “Let us take a three day trip into the wilderness so we
can offer sacrifices to the LORD our
God. If we don’t, we will surely die by disease or the sword.”
“Who do you think you are,” Pharaoh shouted, “distracting the
people from their tasks? Get back to work! Look, there are many people here in
Egypt and you are stopping them from doing their work.” (Exodus 5:1-5)
God’s answer to the king’s refusal was to tell Moses that he
would force the king to set his people free.
“I will crush Egypt with a series of disasters, after which I
will lead the forces of Israel out with great acts of judgment. When I show the
Egyptians my power and force them to let the Israelites go, they will realize
that I am the LORD.” (Exodus 7:4-6)
As the king continued to keep the people of Israel captive the
intensity of the disasters increased, culminating in the tragedy that would come
upon every Egyptian family including that of the King himself. The oldest son in
every household would die.
So Moses announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD
says, ‘About midnight I will pass through Egypt. All the firstborn sons will die
in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on the
throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest slave. Even the firstborn of the
animals will die. Then a loud wail will be heard throughout the land of Egypt.
There has never been such wailing before and there never will be again. But
among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then
you will know that the LORD makes a
distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.’ ” (Exodus 11:4-7)
The Egyptian king did not heed the warning and still refused to
set the people of Israel free. But when this final disaster fell upon his people
the king was forced to change his mind and let Israel go.
This is where we come to the story of the Passover. So that the
Israel would be spared the judgment about to fall on the Egyptians, a
sacrificial animal was to be offered to take the place of the people who would
otherwise die. The biblical historian continues the story.
Now the LORD gave
the following instructions to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land
of Egypt, “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.
Announce to the whole community that on the tenth day of this month each family
must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice. If the family is too small
to eat an entire lamb, let them share the lamb with another family in the
neighbourhood. Whether or not they share in this way depends on the size of the
family and how much they can eat. This animal must be a one year old male,
either a sheep or a goat, with no physical defects.
Take special care of these lambs until the fourteenth day of
this first month. Then each family in the community must slaughter its lamb.
They are to take some of the lamb’s blood and smear it on the top and sides of
the door frame where the lamb will be eaten. That evening everyone must eat
roast lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. The meat must never
be eaten raw or boiled. Roast it all, including the head, legs, and internal
organs. Do not leave any of it until the next day. Whatever is not eaten that
night must be burned before morning.
Wear your travelling clothes as you at this meal, as though
prepared for a long journey. Wear your sandals, and carry your walking sticks in
your hands. Eat the food quickly, for this is the LORD’s
Passover. On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the
firstborn sons and firstborn male animals in the land of Egypt. I will execute
judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD.
The blood you have smeared on your door posts will serve as a sign. When I see
the blood I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I
strike the land of Egypt.
You must remember this day forever. Each year you will
celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD.”
(Exodus 12:1-14)
Well Peter, we are now getting close to discussing the way the
dates for Easter are decided, and why they vary from year to year, for the
Easter dates are determined by the timing each year of the Jewish Passover
celebration. By now you must be asking, “What in the world has Easter got to do
with the Jewish Passover celebration.” The answer to that question Peter, is
that it has everything to do with it. For in it we see a picture of the
salvation God is offering, not just to the Jewish people, but to all people in
every generation.
The oppression and servitude the people of Israel once
experienced in Egypt pictures the way we are held captive to our sinful
tendencies. We are sinners by nature. As Jesus teaches us, “I assure you that
everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34)
And the sacrificial lamb of Passover night pictures for us the
sacrificial death of Christ. John the Baptist points us to him when he says,
“Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John
1:29) Paul also draws on this picture when he says, “Christ, our Passover Lamb,
has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the
old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and
truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
Just the waves of judgment passed over the people of Israel when
God saw the blood sprinkled on the top and sides of the door frame of their
houses, so we are set free from the sinfulness that holds us captive and spared
from the coming judgment of God when he sees that we have accepted the
sacrificial death of Christ as being made for our forgiveness. Instead of
continuing to be held captive in the sinfulness of what we are doing, we are set
free when we put our faith in Christ our saviour. Paul explains this for us in
one of his letters.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ
Jesus. For the power of the life giving Spirit has freed you through Christ
Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses could not save
us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to
save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours except that ours are
sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for
our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully
accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow
the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)
Paul then goes on to speak of that life of freedom now to be
enjoyed.
So, dear Christian friends, you have no obligation whatsoever
to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it,
you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it
and its evil deeds you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are
children of God.
So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should
behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him
“Father, dear Father.” For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and
tells us that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will
share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours too.
But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (Romans
8:12-17)
We were once slaves to our sinful nature but our faith in Christ
has set us free. Look again at Jesus’ words …
“I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A
slave is not a permanent member of the family but a son is part of the family
forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.” (John 8:34-36)
The sacrificial lamb offered at the time of the Passover to gain
Israel’s freedom from the oppression of the Egyptians points us to the
sacrificial death of Christ, made to purchase our freedom from the grip of
sinfulness. Just as the people of Israel celebrate their deliverance from
slavery in Egypt in the annual Passover festival, so Christians celebrate their
redemption from a life of addiction to sinfulness by the sacrificial death and
glorious resurrection of Christ during the Easter festival.
The dates for Easter are set each year to correspond, as closely
as possible, to the dates set aside by Jewish people for the celebration of the
Passover. The reason for this is that Christ’s death on the cross took place at
the time of one of those celebrations of Passover. Jesus himself joined in a
Passover meal with his disciples. It was during that meal that Jesus explained
to them how they were to remember his death and the reason for it. Four of the
disciples who were with Jesus in the days before he voluntarily offered himself
up as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,’ all record the
events of that week. We quote selections from Matthew’s account …
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he said to his
disciples, “As you know, the Passover celebration begins in two days, and I, the
Son of Man, will be betrayed and crucified.”
… On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the
disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover
supper?”
“As you go into he city,” he told them, “you will see s
certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says, My time has come, and I will eat the
Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’ ” So the disciples did as Jesus
told them and prepared the Passover supper there.
When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the
twelve disciples … As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked
God’s blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples,
saying, “Take it and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and
gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from
it, for this is my blood which seals the covenant between God and his people. It
is poured out to forgive the sins of many.” (Matthew 26:1-2, 18-20, 26-28)
Even as the priests were in the nearby Temple there in Jerusalem,
offering up the Passover lambs, Jesus was preparing to go to the cross as the
sacrificial offering for our sins that would replace forever that old system.
John tells us that at exactly the same time as the Passover lambs were being
prepared for sacrifice in the temple, Jesus was taken away to be crucified.
It was now about noon of the day of preparation for the
Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Here is your king.”
“Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him—crucify him!”
“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted
back.
Then Pilate gave Jesus to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus and led him away. Carrying the cross by
himself, Jesus went to the place called Skull Hill (in Hebrew, Golgotha).
There they crucified him. (John 19:14-18)
Notice that Jesus offered no resistance to his captors. As God’s
sacrificial lamb, he offered himself voluntarily for our redemption. Jesus
explains this personally for us …
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and they know me,
just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the
sheep … No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I
have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it
again. For my Father has given me this command.” (John 10:14, 18)
There is now no need for anyone, anywhere, to offer up any other
sacrifice to God. Jesus has paid the price once and for all time. He died and
rose again and returned to his place in heaven. This writer explains it
beautifully.
For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now
before God as our Advocate. He did not go into the earthly place of worship, for
that was merely a copy of the real Temple in heaven. Nor did he enter heaven to
offer himself again and again, like the earthly high priest who enters the Most
Holy Place year after year to offer the blood of an animal. If that had been
necessary, he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began.
But no! He came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of
sin forever by his sacrificial death for us.
And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and
after that comes the judgment, so also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to
take away the sins of many people. He will come again but not to deal with our
sins again. This time he will bring salvation to all those who are eagerly
waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:24-28)
By now Peter, you may be able to see why the date for Easter is
determined each year in accord with the date for Passover. The date set for the
Passover festival is related to the time of the month that the full moon occurs.
And because a full moon comes around once every 28 days, the night on which it
occurs is different in each calendar month, the length of which may vary from 28
days in February (29 in leap year) to 30 or 31 days in other months. But because
different calendars have been developed over the years it has not been easy to
reach agreement for the Passover dates and therefore for the Easter dates.
However, if we follow the calendar now in general worldwide use, the Western
calendar as distinct from the Lunar calendar, we are able to decide on Easter
Sunday as being the Sunday that follows the full moon associated with the time
of the Jewish Passover festival according to that calendar. Take the year 2008
for example. The full moon occurs on Friday March 21. This gives us the Easter
Sunday date of March 23.
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