Jesus Appearing on Easter Eggs

There is much debate about Easter versus Resurrection Sunday as well as about Easter celebrations including Easter eggs and Easter bunnies. In my home, we celebrate Easter and Resurrection Sunday as the same holiday.

I have noticed this year when I say "Happy Easter" that many people have responded "Happy Resurrection Sunday." I wonder if "Happy Easter" is similar to saying "Happy Holidays" and "Happy Resurrection Sunday" is the way to say "Merry Christmas" in some circles.

For my family and children, the Easter holiday is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day after His crucifixion leading to His ascent into Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father and is our Savior and intercessor. We attend a Sunday church service in which the focus is on the sacrifice Jesus made for sinners and the effects of that sacrifice on the people who accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of their whole life including their heart, mind, body, soul, spirit, words, actions, habits, and decisions.

We also decorate eggs. During this holiday, they are called "Easter Eggs." My family will tell you that I decorate hard boiled eggs, egg shells, and lots of other nifty items from around the home year round. If an egg is boiled, why not decorate it? I think it is silly to only decorate eggs only once a year. It is much more fun to do it more often. And since I don't tie egg decorating with Easter bunnies, I am free to decorate eggs all year.

Our special feature egg this year was a drawing of Jesus on an Easter egg. On the back side of the egg is a scene of Calvary. I also drew a girl bunny rabbit on another egg as well as a baby chick. My children and I like decorating eggs as well as anything else we can get our hands on to decorate.

In 1998, Linda Bargas of Pueblo, Colorado claimed that Jesus appeared on her Easter egg after she dyed it. According to Local 6 of Orlando, Florida Linda was selling the Jesus Easter Egg in 2006. However, the Jesus on our egg did not have a miraculous appearance in the slightest. We simply hard boiled a few eggs, let them acclimate to room temperature, and began decorating our Easter eggs with pencil and markers.

First, I sketched the outline of Jesus on one side of the egg with a recycled pencil after I had completed the Calvary scene - three crosses on a hill - on the other side of the hard boiled Easter egg. Then I colored Jesus on the Easter egg using some BIC Mark-It Permanent markers. I created my scene while sitting on the front porch because I did not want to get the permanent marker smell trapped in my house, I did not want to contribute to any VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or air pollution in my home.

Children can decorate Easter eggs with markers too. However, it is best to give them washable non-toxic markers so their hands and clothing can easily be washed clean of the inevitable accidents with the markers. If you desire to have your children create a Jesus Easter egg, then give them hard boiled eggs with penciled-in sketches of Jesus or other scenes from the Resurrection that they can color in much like a coloring book page on an Easter egg.

An Easter egg-or a hard boiled egg from any time of the year-is nothing more than a canvas to me and my children. Since my drawing and coloring of Jesus on an Easter egg is my depiction of Him after He rose from the tomb, I suppose my Easter egg is technically a "Resurrection Egg."

I drew scenes from the bible on the eggs because I want my children to know that Passover, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Resurrection Sunday are all about Jesus Christ, not them or Easter baskets or Easter bunnies or candy. And since one of the 10 commandments states that as a disciple of Christ I am not supposed to lie, I do not tell my children that an Easter bunny hides the eggs nor have I ever told them that the Easter bunny is real.

We don't lie in our home because we love, respect, and obey Jesus and always telling the truth to my children shows them I also regard and respect them as competent human beings regardless of age. What better way to celebrate Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday than by telling the truth and obeying the commandment not to lie? How could my children believe my word if I lie to them each year? How will they know what is real or fake, when is it a fictional story and when is it factual history? And as for what day Jesus was actually crucified and brutally murdered, I have told them that we don't actually know the days or dates so we choose to remember the crucifixion on Good Friday and celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday.

More Information:

Step by Step Images and Directions on Drawing Jesus on Easter Eggs

FAQ:
Q: Does telling your children that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are not real ruin the holidays?

A: Not in the slightest, they know the "stories," enjoy the holidays like other children, but are more appreciative of their parents since they know that the gifts are coming from us rather than imaginary beings. My children also trust my word since I refuse to lie to them and they know that I refuse to lie to them.

Sources:

Got Questions Ministries, On what day was Jesus crucified?, GotQuestions.org

Heather Inks, How to Decorate Easter Eggs Photo Gallery, Heather Inks Educational Site

WKMG Local 6 News, Woman Says Jesus Appears on Easter Egg, ClickOrlando.com