Easter Story

General Introduction Easter is the celebration of Jesus' victory over death
and mankind's hope for eternal life.

The highlights of the Easter story include Jesus' execution (or crucifixion on the cross),
His burial and, most importantly, His rising from death (or resurrection).
The accounts of Jesus' trial and execution are described in detail in the historical records
of Jesus (Gospels).
Essentially, he was condemned by religious leaders objecting to Jesus' claim to be their "Messiah", and then sentenced to death by authorities of the Roman government.
Jesus was brutally tortured to death by nailing his hands and feet to an upright post
in the shape of a cross.
The account of Jesus' rising from death was also recorded in the historical records of Jesus (Gospels):
Three days after His death, a few women first found His tomb empty.
Then Jesus appeared in front of these women and His disciples,
talking and eating with them.
Out of doubts still, one disciple did not believe Jesus was alive again until
he actually touched Jesus' fatal wounds.
In the following forty days, hundreds of people witnessed this Jesus who had returned
from death until He ascended to Heaven.
Before His death, Jesus had promised eternal life to those who followed Him.
If the story ended at His death, Jesus would have been no more than a religious figure
with a finite life span.
But the fact the Jesus rose from death demonstrated
He has the power over death, and only through Him
can people have hope for eternal life.
Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Easter is at the end of the Lenten season, which covers a forty-six-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter.

The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays in Lent

are not actually a part of Lent.

Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday

and have always been excluded from the Lenten fast.

The Lenten season is a period of penitence

in preparation for the highest festival of the church year, Easter.
Holy Week, the last week of Lent,

begins with the observance of Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday takes its name from Jesus' triumphal entry

into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms at his feet.

Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper,

which was held the evening before the Crucifixion.

Friday in Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion,

the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross.
Holy week and the Lenten season end with Easter Sunday,

the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ.