"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." — Matthew 28:6 (KJV)
The short answer
The word "Easter" is not part of the Bible's own vocabulary, and Scripture names no springtime holiday. What it proclaims instead is the event Easter celebrates: Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day. His empty tomb is the ground of our hope — anchored in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and Matthew 28:5-6.
The Bible never institutes a holiday called Easter, prescribes no eggs or feasts, and does not build its faith on a date on the calendar. (The King James Version prints the word once, at Acts 12:4, but there it renders the Greek word for Passover.) What Scripture builds everything on is an event in history: the crucified Jesus walked out of His grave alive. Strip away every custom and this remains, unshakable and central. Below are eight passages, quoted exactly from the King James Version, that keep our eyes on the risen Lord and on the hope His empty tomb secures.
Is "Easter" in the Bible?
The holiday name is not Scripture's, and the Bible does not rest on a festival. It rests on a message — the "first of all" that the apostle Paul handed down as the core of the faith.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (KJV)
Here is Easter with the wrapping removed. Not a season, but a Saviour who "died for our sins," "was buried," and "rose again the third day." Everything the church has ever celebrated in spring is simply this fact, remembered with joy.
What happened at the empty tomb?
The women who came to mourn found the stone rolled away and an angel with news that turned grief to wonder. The tomb was not a shrine to visit but a place He had already left.
"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." — Matthew 28:5-6 (KJV)
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said." The resurrection was no surprise to Jesus — He had promised it. The angel invites them not to weep at the grave but to "come, see" that it is empty.
"He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee," — Luke 24:6 (KJV)
The messengers call the women to remember His own words. Faith is anchored not in a feeling but in a fact He foretold and then fulfilled: He is risen.
What does the resurrection mean for me?
The risen Christ does not keep His victory to Himself. Because He conquered death, He is able to give life to all who trust Him — and death's grip on us is broken.
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" — John 11:25 (KJV)
Jesus does not merely give resurrection; He is the resurrection. Life is found in a Person, and it is promised to "he that believeth in me" — a hope that reaches even beyond the grave.
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." — Romans 6:9 (KJV)
Death once seemed to rule everything. Now it "hath no more dominion" over the risen Christ — and, united to Him, no final dominion over those who are His.
What hope does the risen Christ give?
Scripture calls the resurrection a "living hope" and a "firstfruits" — the first sheaf of a harvest still to come. His rising is the promise of ours.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," — 1 Peter 1:3 (KJV)
Our hope is "lively" — alive, because it rests on a living Saviour. It flows from "abundant mercy," not from anything we earned, and it is grounded in an event that actually happened.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." — 1 Corinthians 15:20 (KJV)
"Firstfruits" is a farmer's word for the first ripe grain that guarantees the rest of the crop. Christ's resurrection is the guarantee that death will not have the last word for His people.
How do I respond to the risen Lord?
The empty tomb asks something of us. Scripture does not leave us as spectators; it calls for a response of the mouth and the heart.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." — Romans 10:9 (KJV)
Salvation is offered on the simplest of terms: confess Him as Lord, believe that God raised Him. The resurrection is not only a truth to admire but a door to walk through — "thou shalt be saved."
Frequently asked questions
Is the word Easter in the Bible?
The modern holiday name Easter is not part of the Bible's own vocabulary, and Scripture never commands a springtime festival or its customs. The King James Version does print the word once, at Acts 12:4, but there it simply translates the Greek word for Passover. What the Bible proclaims is not a holiday but an event: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, KJV). The name is a human label; the empty tomb is the reality.
What is the true meaning of Easter according to the Bible?
The heart of Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible presents it as historical fact and saving good news: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said (Matthew 28:6, KJV). Because Christ is risen, death has lost its dominion, and everyone who trusts in Him shares His life. Romans 10:9 makes the response plain: if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." — Revelation 1:18 (KJV)
Take it deeper
These verses are a beginning, not the whole of what God says about the cross and the empty tomb. FlickerFaith is a Scripture-first study companion — open it to read the resurrection accounts in full context, trace the death and rising of Jesus across all four Gospels, pray through what the risen Christ means for you, and ask honest questions about hope beyond the grave. It keeps you close to the Word, not away from it.
Keep reading
Study the rising itself in what the Bible says about the resurrection, and meet the risen Saviour in who is Jesus Christ? The week that led here begins at Palm Sunday, and it all started at Christmas and the birth of Jesus. You can also browse all Bible topics or return home.