Easter Sunday Worship Notes // Easter Symbols
Easter Eggs
- Maybe from pagan (or non-religious) origins but used by people of faith to teach about Jesus
- Jesus supreme over all (Acts 17:28 tells us Jesus is the One others consider thew unknown God)
- Symbolizes new life not just springtime, but salvation through the forgiveness of sin
Eggs in Judaism
- Eaten during Passover meal (meal that points to God delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt)
- Symbolic of Ancient Israelites Tears (originally regarding slavery in Egypt, and now also the destruction of the Temple)
- Eaten after a funeral Acknowledgement of grief (again, symbolic of tears and hope for new life)
Eggs in Early Christianity
- Thought to be part of Holy Week fasts (not eaten, but hens kept laying them, so they were predominant parts of Easter morning celebrations)
- Probably originated in Germany in 13th Century with the Lutherans and brought to America)
Easter Eggs Today
- Egg Hunt – Look for Jesus
- Egg Rolls – Roll Away Stone
- Empty Tomb, as in the emptied of hopelessness to be filled with God’s powerful love
Resurrection Egg Symbols
- Palm Sunday – Jesus’ Triumphant Entry
• “Hosannah,” a word of praise and a prayer for deliverance
• John 12:22-23 - Judas Betrays Jesus
• God Knows Betrayal just like we do
• Luke 22:4 - Jesus Washes Feet
• Service: the greatest is the one who serves, and Jesus gave us the model for stooping down and getting dirty in our messes and misses
• John 13:4-5 - The Last Supper
• Remember what Jesus did and does
• Matthew 26:26-28 - Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
• “Stay with Me” and pray, which helps us when we, too, are consumed with grief to the point of wishing it all to end
• Matthew 26:38-39 - Jesus is Beaten
• By His Wounds You are Healed: Jesus’ blood removes the stain of sin
• Matthew 2626:26a - Jesus Crucified
• “It is Finished” referring both to the fulfillment of the sin debt and God’s wrath
• John 19:16-18a - Soldiers Play a Game (Gamble) for Jesus’ Clothes
• Prophecy Fulfilled
• John 19:23-24 - Soldiers Pierce Jesus with a Spear
• God’s Heartbreak, going back to the flood in Genesis to the cross because of humanity’s sin
• John 19:34 - Jesus Wrapped in Linen
• Born to Die: connection to Christmas and the swaddling clothes
• John 19:40 - A Stone Seals Jesus’ Tomb
• Secure? — not even the governor (Pilate) and the soldiers of the guard could stop God’s resurrecting power; therefore, God wants us to be secure in Him and not worldly power either in government or military might
• Matthew 27:65-66 - Jesus is Risen!
• Seek the Living for Jesus is still alive as He was that very first Resurrection morning
• Luke 24:1-7: But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
Do YOU Believe?
- John 11:25-26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
- Do you believe this?”
- With so much decay around us, we need the powerful HOPE of resurrection!
Reflection Questions:
- What do you find most fascinating about the history of the egg in religious rituals and symbolism?
- How will learning about these traditions enhance your celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection today and forever more?
- When you look at the list of symbols that tell the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, what strikes you?
- Jesus asked then, as He does today, if we believe in His resurrection. Do you?
- Where do you need God’s resurrection power in your life today?
