Hi dear doves,

Many Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ during a holiday called Easter. However, it is crucial to understand that the term Easter itself does not originate from the Bible. In fact, the name has pagan roots, deriving from Ēostre (or Ostara), a Germanic goddess associated with spring and fertility. This terminology was adopted by English-speaking Christians as the faith spread across regions where spring festivals were already in place. While believers today use the word Easter to commemorate the resurrection, it is important to recognize that its original connotation had nothing to do with Christ.

In most other languages, the word for Easter (like Páscoa, Pascua, Pasqua) is derived from the Hebrew word "Pesach", meaning Passover — and this is far more biblically accurate.

Now, regarding the actual timeline of Jesus' death and resurrection, Scripture reveals something deeper than the traditional Friday-to-Sunday narrative taught by many churches. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:40:

> "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

A Friday crucifixion and a Sunday morning resurrection does not add up to three days and three nights. At best, that would be one full day and two nights. The only timeline that aligns with Jesus’ words is that He was crucified on a Wednesday before sunset and resurrected sometime after the Sabbath, likely at the end of Saturday or early Sunday before dawn.

This confusion is often caused by a misunderstanding of the word “Sabbath.” In John 19:31, it says:

> “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day)...”

This high Sabbath was not the weekly Sabbath (Saturday), but the Passover Sabbath — a special annual holy day that could fall on any day of the week (Leviticus 23:4–7). Jesus died on the Preparation Day (Wednesday), the Passover itself, fulfilling the role of the true Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), and was buried just before the High Sabbath began that evening.

Therefore:

- Jesus died on Wednesday before sunset.

- Thursday was the High Sabbath (First Day of Unleavened Bread).

- Friday the women prepared spices (Luke 23:56).

- Saturday was the weekly Sabbath.

- He rose after three days and three nights, sometime around Saturday evening.

This timeline fits perfectly with the prophecy and upholds Jesus' own words.

Let us return to the biblical understanding of these holy events and avoid blending our faith with traditions that originated in pagan rituals and human doctrines (Mark 7:7–9). The resurrection of Christ is not about eggs, rabbits, or spring goddesses — it is about the victory over sin and death through the Lamb of God, sacrificed for us at the appointed time of Passover.