No, we don’t mean those dyed eggs you hide every Spring. Easter eggs are little inside jokes, references and clues that creators hide in plain sight in their content. They are designed to add more interest, excitement and engagement with the general content, too. Fans consider them little “love notes” from the creator to them.
Did you know God invented “Easter eggs” and placed them throughout the Bible? Knowing where to find them isn’t a salvation issue, but kids and teens absolutely love them. The trouble is that most don’t know enough to find them. You can be their guide and increase their engagement with scripture in the process.
This post isn’t long enough to list every “Easter egg” in scripture. Honestly, I’m still discovering new ones all of the time. What you want to look for are interesting connections that most young people won’t notice, but make the Bible so much more interesting to them. Here are a few examples.
- Luke 14:28-30 Jesus is alluding to the building of Tiberius by Herod Antipas. It was constantly having cost overruns causing construction to halt temporarily while they raised more funds. The people would have seen this as a joke at Herod’s expense that also taught them a lesson. The part about war was also a jab at Herod who had been fighting with the Nabatean king over Herod’s questionable marriage.
- Pentecost by the time of Jesus celebrated Moses receiving the Law, considered the beginning of the covenant of the Law. It’s the same date God chose to begin the new covenant by establishing the Church.
- Luke 7:31-32 is a reference to Aesop’s fable the Fisherman and the Flute. Rabbis in this time often used Aesop’s fables and added their own twist to teach a spiritual lesson. Luke 4:23 is another example, where Jesus puts a twist on Aesop’s fable The Fox and the Frog.
- 3000 people were baptized on Pentecost, 3000 people were killed by the sword because of worshipping the golden calf
- 7 baskets were collected after the feeding of the four thousand. This probably took place in the Decapolis, a more Gentile influenced area. At the time, the Gentiles were known as the Seven Nations.
- The feeding of the 5000 occurred around Passover when the Jews remember their escape from Egypt and God giving them manna in the wilderness. They were seated in the same sized groups as they were placed in to leave Egypt. They would have seen the parallel of God/Jesus providing them food when there was none available and the 12 baskets of leftovers most likely mirrored the 12 tribes of Israel.
- John the Baptist deferring to Jesus at the baptism of Jesus mirrors the shift from Elijah to Elisha that also took place at the Jordan River
- Water dividing/Flood/Baptism always signaled the beginning of a new era or a new beginning of something else
- John 7 Jesus refers to “if anyone is thirsty”. This conversation happened at Succoth, the end of the dry season in Israel. Since Israel was rain dependent for water, everyone would have been thirsty at this point in the year, as saved rain was in short supply.
Sharing “Easter eggs” in the Bible with your students are the little things that can engage Bible students who otherwise might disengage from your lessons. It’s worthwhile to throw in a few whenever you can to remind them just how amazing the Bible is!