Happy Easter 2018! Today we celebrate the ascension of Jesus Christ from the dead after he was crucified on Good Friday. Christians the world celebrate Easter with a spirit of joyful renewal as Christ washes away their sins with his blood.
Especially interesting for is that Passover and Easter fall at the same time. Most scholars agree that Jesus was presiding over a Passover Seder in what would eventually become known as the Last Supper, according to Biblical Archaeology. This line up isn't always the case for these religions because Jewish people use a lunar calendar to determine the date of Passover, which is always the 14th day of the Jewish month Nisan, a fixed date, while, for Western Christians, Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon of Spring. This year, the spring equinox occurred on March 20.
During the spring equinox, the sun will move directly over the earth's equator and signal the first day of the astronomical spring, versus the meteorological spring. These are the two ways to measure the seasons: the astronomical way reflects natural phenomena to mark time, while the meteorological way is based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our 12-month calendar.
The meteorological spring begins on March 1, and the meteorological spring always occurs during the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 19, 20, or 21 every year, writes DateAndTime.com. The spring equinox is one of the four seasonal astronomical events that affect the earth. The others include the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice, which is also right around Christmas time, Jesus' birthday.
But today we commemorate Jesus' complete life and specifically his betrayal, his crucifixion, and his ascension from the dead.
Here are the best Bible quotes to celebrate this time of spiritual rebirth:
1. “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” — Matthew 20:18-19
2. "Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” — Luke 23: 46-47
3. "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away." — Mark 16:1-4
4. "As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." — Mark 16: 5-6
5. "In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’" — Luke 24: 5-7 5
6. "The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” — Matthew 28:5-7
7. "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." — Romans 6:8-11
8. "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." — Romans 8:34
9. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." — Colossians 1:13-14
10. "ou killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this." — Acts 3:15 15
