What is (Πάσχα) Pascha?

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

What is Πάσχα (Pascha)?

Unless you googled Pascha. I’m guessing many of you are wondering what Pascha is. Let’s start with that. When you learn another language you associate a new word with familiar things. When the new word you are learning is similar to what you already know it makes it easier to remember or even brings memories to mind.

For example, I grew up associating Easter with the word Pascoa, which is the Portuguese word for Easter, or Pâques (Paak) in French, or Pascua in Spanish, or Pasqua (Pascoa) in Italian, or Pasen (Paasen) in Dutch, or Πάσχα Pascha in Greek.

So Pascha is the Greek word for Easter. What you might have noticed is that in several languages the word Easter sound similar to the Greek word Pascha. This Greek word is the translation of another Hebrew word. Does anyone want to guess what that might be? … It’s Passover. Passover is closely associated with Easter.

Passover was a festival instituted by God in Exodus 12 where God told Moses to tell the Israelites while in Egypt before they left, to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle the blood on the doorposts as a sign. This is what it says in Exodus 12:23 “23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.”

It was during the celebration of Passover that Jesus was crucified. Therefore Paul calls Jesus the Passover lamb in 1 Cor 5:7 “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” There is a lot of significance in Christ’s death at the end of the Passover. There were many traditions and rituals that Passover might have brought to mind for the first-century believers. So when they heard the word Passover or in Greek Pascha, it brought to their minds a lot of memories.

When I hear the word Easter it does not bring any memories to me, but hearing the word Pascoa, many memories come back to my mind.

You might expect that I could tell you the Brazilian traditions for Easter, but the traditions I have are more of a mix of my grandparent's traditions. Since my father pass away when I was a kid, I have some precious memories with my grandparents. My (grandma which I would call nonna, which is the Italian word for grandma) so nonna Celia had a strong Italian accent and Italian traditions, with her Easter was going to church, going on Good Friday procession, which is a Catholic tradition of remembering Christ’s death during Easter. I could always count on getting a chocolate bar from my nonna.

My other grandmother, we would call her Mutter (which is the German word for mother). My Mutter on the other hand would not give me a bar of chocolate, but a big egg of chocolate. With my Mutter, we would take empty chicken eggs, wash and dry and then colored the eggs with a special kind of paper that bleeds the color onto the eggs. After all that we would fill the eggs with sugary roasted peanuts. I think my first ever egg hunt was when Byron hunted for eggs in our basement, for me growing up the Easter eggs would be in the kitchen with the dessert bowl.

I’m confident that you have different memories when you hear the word Easter. These memories and traditions might be good, but honestly, they are not that important. Because our traditions don’t define what Easter is. Therefore we need to look at the question: what is Easter?

So what is Pascha, Easter? It is a celebration of what is to come, it is a reminder to be anticipating the completion of our salvation.

Easter is one of the oldest Christian holiday. Historically, the oldest Christian tradition is to meet weekly on Sunday. The second oldest Christian tradition is to celebrate Easter, which was celebrated during the time of Passover. This tradition was well established before the year 200. The earliest records that we know of Easter were celebrated by a vigil beginning on Saturday evening and ending on Sunday morning with a dual focus on Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Therefore, throughout the last two thousand years, Easter has been a time to focus on Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. We see from 1 Cor 15:3-4 that Paul highlights three things as the most elemental for our Christian faith. First that Christ died for our sins. Secondly, that Christ was buried. Third that Christ rose on the third day. Throughout the centuries the focus on Christ’s crucifixion and death is remembered on Good Friday, while today Easter Sunday the focus is on Christ’s resurrection.

For me growing up in the Catholic church there was much emphasis on the crucifixion during Easter. But the living hope is in the Resurrection. That will be our focus today as we look at two questions: why is the resurrection crucial? and what will the resurrection provide?

Why is the Resurrection crucial?

I think we all know the importance of the cross; how crucial it is for our salvation. It is the sacrifice that Jesus provided. We are aware of the power of the cross and of the blood of Christ. But do we truly recognize the crucial importance of the resurrection?

When we look at the Scriptures it seems that the resurrection was a foundation truth for the first-century believers and apostles. We see the importance of the resurrection in the gospels as the climax to the story we call the gospel. Then we see the apostles boldly proclaiming Christ and putting their lives at risk because they were eyewitnesses of the resurrection. Not eyewitnesses to Jesus’ miracles or the wrongful death… but His resurrection.

I’m sure you have studied this passage in Acts 4 before, but notice the importance of the resurrection in this account.

When Peter and John were before the council because the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees were according to verse 2 “2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Let’s pause. So the leaders were upset not because they were preaching or healing or even talking about what Jesus did, but because they were proclaiming the resurrection from the dead! You might remember this was a major difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, they would say the life we have now is what there is. The Pharisees did believe in a resurrection and that this life is not all that there is. So it is ironic and significant that they both stand against Peter and John. The reason they did stand against the apostles was that they were against Jesus, that it was in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Jesus equally debunks their own conception of God, instead, they should have been listening to Him.

Then Peter and John were arrested and when they were questioned about how they healed the crippled man because clearly, the leaders didn’t like what they were preaching, so they try to change the topic by asking “by what power or by what name did you do this?” Peter filled with the Holy Spirit responded in v 10 “10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.” Then the council couldn’t find a reason to imprison them regarding the account of the man that was healed. Therefore the leaders charged the apostles to speak no more to anyone in this name. Because that’s what bothered them, they didn’t mind the miracle healing, the problem was Jesus or even the mention of Jesus’ name. Isn’t this the same in our world today? you can talk all you want about Christian life or even God, but people don’t like when you mention the name of Jesus. But, back to Acts, then Peter and John responded in v20 “20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” specifically Jesus' resurrection!

One application that is screaming to be addressed is our responsibility to share this news with others today in the same boldness as the apostles. To tell people proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. We have not seen the resurrected Christ with our physical eyes, but by faith, we have seen Him and believe in Him, so we too can proclaim the resurrection from the dead in Jesus. Easter might be a time where we repeat traditions, let’s not miss the hope of Easter, the hope of resurrection. We don’t need to change our traditions but we need to make sure that we are not putting Jesus aside in our traditions. Like Peter and John, we need to boldly and faithfully proclaim Jesus to our kids, friends, and family, to our neighbors, and to anyone God will put in our paths.

In summary, we see the resurrection as prime importance in what Peter and John were teaching the people in the temple after healing the cripple man, the apostles pointed out that it was through the name of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, that they were going to continue preaching. Not just preaching but because they had seen and heard, they were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection and could not remain silent because of such miraculous and life-changing news.

We continue seeing the centrality of the resurrection in 1 Cor 15 where Paul says in v14 “14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

Then 1 Cor 15:17-19 “17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

We can see here God saying that the resurrection is crucial for the foundation of our faith. There are many aspects of the resurrection that we could focus on, but today after we focus on the two guarantees the resurrection provides for us right now, we will also study the future blessing the resurrection provides.

First, the resurrection guarantees our justification. Before we go any further we need to be reminded of the definition of justification. According to Elwell “Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal.” Acquittal is the same as not guilty in legal terms, it certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense.

Baker encyclopedia of the Bible defines justification as “The act of God in bringing sinners into a new covenant relationship with himself through the forgiveness of sins. Along with such terms as “regeneration” and “reconciliation,” it relates to a basic aspect of conversion. It is a declarative act of God by which he establishes persons as righteous; that is, in right and true relationship to himself.

We could summarize justification as the declaration of being righteous. But, how does the fact of being declared not guilty but righteous before God have to do with the resurrection?

Paul makes the connection between the resurrection and our justification in Rom 4.

Rom 4:24-25 “24 It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Here we see that when Paul says Christ was raised for our justification. He is basically saying that the declaration of being not guilty was made by God the Father when He raised Christ from the dead. The resurrection is the final proof that Christ paid fully for our justification.

This is better explained by Grudem:

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine b. Christ’s Resurrection Insures Our Justification

By raising Christ from the dead, God the Father was in effect saying that he approved of Christ’s work of suffering and dying for our sins, that his work was completed, and that Christ no longer had any need to remain dead. There was no penalty left to pay for sin, no more wrath of God to bear, no more guilt or liability to punishment—all had been completely paid for, and no guilt remained. In the resurrection, God was saying to Christ, “I approve of what you have done, and you find favor in my sight

Christ’s resurrection is the living proof of our justification. That we were declared righteous by God, that our unrighteousness was paid on the cross and that we are covered by Christ’s righteousness. This is an amazing truth and it is so important for us to remember so that we can have great confidence in Christ.

I’m confident you might be thinking: good but you haven’t told me anything new, I know this, I know this truth. But what does this mean for us in our everyday lives? I think we often miss confessing our sins to one another and even forgiving ourselves.

Before I got married I thought I was a pretty good Christian. But the closer I get to others the more evident is my imperfect heart and my need for a redeemer. I think this is being more evident since we got kids in the mix. I am often surprised at my selfishness and my desire to control things, instead of trusting and resting in God. But what I am learning is my need to humble myself and confess my sins to my son when I sin against him and others, or at times to forgive myself. The reason we struggle to confess our sins to one another or to forgive ourselves is that we forget the hope we have that Christ has taken our sins and His resurrection is the declaration that we are forgiven, we are righteous, we are covered in His blood, so now we can confess and forgive.

This is glorious truth and amazing news that our justification is secure and proven in the resurrection. However, there is more than the resurrection guarantees for us right now. The resurrection guarantees our regeneration.

Let’s remember the definition of regeneration. Regeneration is the idea of being born again. More technically Holman defines it as a “Special act of God in which the recipient is passive. God alone awakens the person spiritually through the power of His Holy Spirit. In a technical sense, the act of regeneration takes place at the moment of conversion as the individual is spiritually awakened.”

We might have a better understanding considering Elwell’s definition “Inner cleansing and renewal of the human nature by the Holy Spirit. Mankind’s spiritual condition is transformed from a disposition of sin to one of a new relationship with God (Ti 3:5). Regeneration involves both moral restoration and the reception of new life. The idea of regeneration is expressed as rebirth—being born again (Jn 3:3–7). This new birth suggests the newness of life in Christ. The process of regeneration is not brought about by human righteousness but by the gracious act of God (Eph 2:8, 9).”

Now that we were reminded of the definition of regeneration we can look at the following question. How does the resurrection guarantee our regeneration? Peter says the following in 1 Peter 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

In this passage, God is saying that in regeneration He caused us to be born again is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This connection is better explained by Grudem “When Jesus rose from the dead he had a new quality of life, a “resurrection life” in a human body and human spirit that were perfectly suited for fellowship and obedience to God forever. In his resurrection, Jesus earned for us a new life just like his. We do not receive all of that new “resurrection life” when we become Christians, for our bodies remain as they were, still subject to weakness, aging, and death. But in our spirits, we are made alive with new resurrection power”

So it is through the power of the resurrection that we are made spiritually alive. And this same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us. Paul prays that the Ephesians would know Eph 1:19-20 “19 what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,” Here he is saying the immeasurable greatness of his power that is at work within us is the same power that raises Christ from the dead. Let me say this again because this is important. Here he is saying the immeasurable greatness of his power that is at work within us is the same power that raises Christ from the dead.

We have seen that the resurrection provides two great amazing things for us right now, it guarantees our justification and regeneration. It is through the power of the resurrection that we can be born again in our spirits. The heart of stone is removed and the heart of flesh is given. This prophecy from Ezekiel describes justification and regeneration.

Ezekiel 36:25-26 “25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

In this prophecy from Ezekiel, we see the amazing work of God made available for us today. This is not a future prophecy for us, it is available to us right now. If you have not repented and trusted in Jesus, don’t wait until tomorrow, He can make you alive today.

These provisions are amazing and eternally life-saving and life-giving, but that’s not all, there is more. There is another very important provision through the resurrection. Unlike the previous, this is something that we are waiting to receive. It is the final piece of our salvation.

Let’s look at our last question.

What will the Resurrection provide?

The final piece of our salvation is when we will receive new bodies. When we will be completely separated from sin. Then we will not be able to sin anymore. I don’t think we talk enough or think enough about what it is going to be like, to have perfect bodies, we will glorify God perfectly, we will worship Him perfectly. We will obey Him perfectly.

I think the reason we don’t talk and think too much about it, is because there are so many unknowns. In fact, Scripture is vague in the few details that are provided. I think this is because if we really knew and understood we would be longing for heaven and the resurrected bodies so much that we would want to short-change our time on earth. Regardless, I believe the most common thought might be that we will be like when we were in our 20s. But, I don’t think that is a precise picture of what is going to be like.

This is not a perfect illustration, but this is what I could think of. I have an old mower. I mean a really old, 24-year-old mower. And due to its age every winter I need to replace major parts in addition to the normal maintenance. Just as a disclosure I like my old mower partially because I learn so much fixing it. We might think of our bodies like my old mower, which is always just one turn away from something else breaking and needing fixing. So we might think of the new bodies as getting a new shining mower. But it is much better than that, a new mower still will break and need maintenance, our new bodies are going to be perfect and will never break again. It is going to be so different that we might say: I think that is a mower, it doesn’t look like it but it seems like my old mower. So it will be with our bodies.

So what does Scripture say about our new bodies, here is a good summary from a systematic book:

“The New Testament several times connects Jesus’ resurrection with our final bodily resurrection. “The most extensive discussion of the connection between Christ’s resurrection and our own is found in 1 Corinthians 15:12–58. There Paul says that Christ is the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). In calling Christ the “first fruits” (Gk. ἀπαρχή, G569), Paul uses a metaphor from agriculture to indicate that we will be like Christ. Just as the “first fruits” or the first taste of the ripening crop show what the rest of the harvest will be like for that crop, so Christ as the “first fruits” shows what our resurrection bodies will be like when, in God’s final “harvest,” he raises us from the dead and brings us into his presence.”

Let's look at the text in 1 Cor 15:42-44, 49 which is comparing our current earthly body with our heavenly body which is to come.

“42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” “49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

There are a few keywords from this passage that gives us an idea of what our heavenly bodies are going to be like. The key verse is v49 where it says we shall bear the image of Christ. Right now because of our justification and regeneration we partially bear His image by reflecting on His heart and compassion and love for God. What is to come is when we will perfectly bear His image, our bodies will be like Christ’s resurrected body.

You might ask does it mean we will be able to go through walls? we might be thinking of John 20:26 where it describes the resurrected Christ, but Scripture doesn’t say that Jesus went through the wall, all it says is that the doors were locked, and Jesus came and stood among them. It does not say how Jesus got into the room, in my mind it is very possible that Jesus just open the locked door and no one noticed because they knew the doors were locked.

I think it is safe to assume that we are going to eat and drink in our resurrected bodies because Jesus did drink and eat after the resurrection in Luke 24:43. At the same time after the resurrection, the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus right away, this is likely because Jesus’ resurrected body was different but there was something familiar to them that after a while they did recognize Him. This was the case on the road to Emmaus and the two disciples in Luke 24 and when Jesus appeared to Mary in John 20.

Going back to 1 Cor 15 we see that first Paul says that new bodies are going to be imperishable. That means we will NOT grow old or wear out, we will NOT be subject to disease or sickness. We will be completely healthy forever. Back to my imperfect mower illustration, this means the mower won’t even need maintenance such as fixing a flat tire, greasing the joints, blade sharpening, or engine repairs! In the same way, as hard as it is to imagine, we won’t need to blow our noses or take vitamins or filter the water we drink, we won’t get sick, not even a little cold. Because we will no longer be perishing, this is crazy and almost unimaginable to think about.

In this life every day we are perishing, what is to come is imperishable. That is the perfect and ultimate healing that we will receive if we have received the other two benefits from the resurrection justification and regeneration or salvation through Jesus Christ.

The second description of our heavenly bodies is body glory. This concept might suggest two things, our bodies will be glorious in their beauty and our bodies will have a visible radiance because we will be reflecting God’s glory. This might sound strange but listen to what Jesus said in Matt 13:43 “43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” The prophet Daniel also said something similar in Dan 12:3 “3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Also, remember Moses’ face was shining after seeing God Ex 34:35. Considering these passages it makes sense that in our resurrected bodies we will radiate, reflect, and shine God’s glory.

Paul goes on to describe our bodies now as in weakness with the raised body being in power. This power indicates fullness of strength, completely healthy and strong. Probably not what we might think of as superhero strong, but as strong as God intended our bodies to be in the beginning. We will have all the strength that we will need in order to honor and glorify God.

The last description of our new bodies Paul uses is that it is a spiritual body. The translation of this phrase is not the best translation. A more accurate paraphrase of this verse would be the following:

“It is sown a natural body subject to the characteristics and desires of this age, and governed by its own sinful will, but it is raised a spiritual body, completely subject to the will of the Holy Spirit and responsive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.”

Such a body is not at all “nonphysical,” but it is a physical body raised to the degree of perfection for which God originally intended it.” (Grudem)

Let me repeat this, the idea here of a spiritual body does not mean a nonphysical body but a body that is completely consistent with the character and standard and activity of the Holy Spirit. That means not only that we will be completely separated from sin, but that we will do everything all the time exactly in a way that pleases the Lord. Praise the Lord. This might remind you of how Adam and Eve were in communion with God in the garden of Eden. It is going to be even better for us because we will not be able to sin, perfect communion with our God forever and ever. Praise the Lord!

When Christ comes back and gives us our new bodies, our resurrected bodies. He will finish the work that He has already started in our hearts. Our salvation which we are working out now is going to be complete! Our new bodies will be imperishable, with no sickness, no aging. We will radiate God’s glory. We will be completely healthy and strong, with more strength than we have now. And most importantly we will be completely obeying God, completely separated from sin. Our desire will be always to do God’s will. We will worship Him perfectly. We will please Him at all times. We will see Him face to face. All of this is not because of anything we have ever done or ever will do, it is all by grace through the resurrection! Amen and Amen!!!

So what is Pascha, Easter? It is a celebration of what is to come, it is a reminder to be anticipating the completion of our salvation.

It is HOPE… a hope that goes beyond our heavenly bodies. It is a hope that will be realized and cannot be destroyed. It is the hope of salvation - a hope that you can receive today, whether for the first time by surrendering to Jesus and accepting what He did for you on the cross and through His resurrection. Or renewal of this hope for those of us who have salvation.

What is (Πάσχα) Pascha?

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What is Πάσχα (Pascha)?

Why is the Resurrection crucial?

What will the Resurrection provide?