Constantine or Christ?
Gary Clayton, a Jewish believer in Jesus, looks at how the Jewish Passover eventually became the Christian Easter
It’ll soon be chocolate eggs, chicks and bunnies time and, before we know it, we’ll be thinking about what we in the UK know as ‘Easter’ – the festival Jesus and His disciples celebrated some 2,000 years ago as Pesach, the Jewish Passover mentioned in all four Gospels.
But why do Easter and Passover, which celebrates how God miraculously rescued His ancient people from slavery in Egypt, both exist – though on different dates?
The reason, sadly, has something to do with anti-Semitism and the Church’s departure from its original roots.
Although nearly all the early disciples, apostles, and New Testament writers were Jewish, in time the Church gradually became almost completely Gentile – changing dramatically as a result.
There’s a heart-rending joke which helpfully sums up the way many Gentile Christians later regardedtheJews. It not only illustrates the Jewish attitude to conversion but demonstrates the way Jewish converts tended to adopt Gentile attitudes towards their former brethren.
The joke involves two Jewish men in tsarist Russia, who see a sign saying, ‘Convert and we’ll give you ten roubles.’
One of them says to the other: “You know what? I haven’t eaten for ages – I’ll do it.”
A little later, he emerges from the church. “Well,” says his friend, “did you do it? Did they give you ten roubles?”
The new convert looks at his friend and replies contemptuously: “Why is it you people only ever think about money?”
The joke shows that, for many Gentiles, the Jews were seen as a Judas people – a race willing to betray Jesus for money – and illustrates the way Christians and Jewish converts tended to regard God’s chosen people.
The Jewish observance of Passover – the festival commemorated by Jesus shortly before His betrayal, trial, crucifixion and miraculous resurrection – is still celebrated by observant Jews worldwide.
But although the early Church celebrated Jesus’ death and resurrection at the same time as it celebrated the Jewish Passover with their Jewish brethren, the date eventually changed.
The reason for this is complicated and involves – among others – Constantine the Great (c280-337), the Roman emperor who saved the Church from persecution but, some would argue, helped it lose its soul in the process.
Although Constantine conquered in Christ’s Name, received baptism, erected magnificent churches, ordered that criminals no longer be branded on the face ‘because man is made in God’s image’, and gave the Church legal rights and a favoured status, he also set up a statue in Constantinople in honour of Sol Invictus (‘Unconquered Sun’), but with his face on!
Constantine became sole emperor in 324 and, although he may have had some form of Christian faith and belief (his mother, Helena, was also said to a believer), his actions were not always Christlike.
As self-appointed arbitrator of church affairs, Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea in 325. This formally established Easter’s independence from the Jewish calendar and, in an attempt at imposing uniformity, helped bring to an end the much-debated issue of when the festival should be celebrated in the West.
According to Constantine, ‘It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom of the Jews… Consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews… the murderers of our Lord.’
So, because of Nicaea, while the Jews continued to celebrate Passover using their ancient calendar[i], Christians in the West celebrated Pascha or Easter using the Roman calendar, even though Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred in Israel during Pesach, which Jews today still celebrate in the month of Nisan.
The change occurred despite the clear connection between Pascha (Easter) and Pesach, and the various references in the New Testament to Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread, including Acts 12:1-3, Acts 20:6, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and Hebrews 11:28.
Sadly, in time, the gulf between Jew and Gentile and between Christianity and Judaism became even wider – the resulting chasm caused by the seismic change in Jewish-Christian relations.
As we approach Easter, however, the season of resurrection, we can nevertheless thank God that throughout history there have always been Christians who have loved the Jewish people, many of whom now worship in Black-majority churches or celebrate the Jewish festivals as believers in Jesus, whether Jewish or Gentile.
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Gary Clayton is married to Julie, the father of Christopher (19) and Emma (16) and works for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). To learn how MAF planes bring help, hope, healing and reconciliation to some of Africa’s most isolated areas, visit www.maf-uk.org
[i] Leviticus 23:5-6 states, ‘The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.’
