April 11.01: Light For The Day - "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ" -- Matthew 28:1-20 (RSV): 1 Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of  the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and  the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake;  for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven  and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his  raiment white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and  became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid;  for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come,  see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has  risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before  you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you." 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear  and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Hail!"  And they came up and took hold of his feet and  worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid;  go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there  they will see me."  ........... 11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard  went into the city and told the chief priests all that  had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the  soldiers 13 and said, "Tell people, ‘His disciples came by  night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears,  we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So they took the money and did as they were  directed; and this story has been spread among  the Jews to this day. ........................ 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee,  to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him;  but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority  in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father and of  the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have  commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,  to the close of the age." ----------------------------- Is Easter mentioned in the Bible? The name "Easter" is never mentioned in the original Scriptures. However, one English translation of the Bible  does use the word. The King James Version chose to  translate Acts 12:4 like this: "And when he [Herod the King] had apprehended him  [Peter], he put him in prison, and delivered him to four  quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after  Easter to bring him forth to the people." The book of Acts was originally written in the Greek language by the Christian Gentile and physician Luke. The Greek word that the King James Version translates as "Easter" is most  certainly not the name "Easter," it is actually the word "Pascha" (Hebrew: Pesach) which means "Passover" - and this is how all accurate  translations show it. For example,  the New King James Version says, "So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover." It was during an annual Passover celebration that Jesus was killed at Jerusalem. Passover was an annual Jewish religious celebration instituted by God (Leviticus 23:5). It dates from the time of Moses when God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Israel and spared their first-borns when all first-borns in Egypt died (Exodus 12:11f; Numbers 9:2f; Deuteronomy 16:1f; 2 Kings 23:21f). The name Easter is well-known to be highly pagan in origin. On this, all scholars agree.  This name is never used in the original Scriptures (Greek),  nor is it ever associated biblically with the death  and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For these reasons, we prefer to use the term "Resurrection Sunday" rather than "Easter" when referring to the annual Christian remembrance of Christ's resurrection. -- Author: Paul S. Taylor  --------------------- -- Mark 9:31 (RSV) "For He was teaching his disciples, saying to them,  "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men,  and they will kill him; and when he is killed,  after three days he will rise."