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If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#6) the Women Would Have Known It First

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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:1-6

Jesus had a large following of women. We will try to unravel the confusion of their names shortly (there were a lot named “Mary”), although that is not our ultimate purpose here. Our purpose is to contemplate that it was the women who were the first to be told Jesus had risen from the dead and the first to see the risen Lord. In fact, according to the gospel records, the angels spoke to no one else except the women. And, it was the women who were given charge to inform the disciples.

This is remarkable, given the prevailing view toward women in the Jewish culture of that day. Although it pains me to go through it, consider the following: *

  • Josephus, in his “Antiquity of the Jews” under “The Polity Settled by Moses” states “Let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex.” Although this rule is not in the Scripture, Josephus lists it as a rule from Moses that was being followed.
  • Consider this next one in light of the fact that the news of the resurrection was first given to, and only given to, women: A Rabbinical text (Sotah 19a) states “Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women.” Think just how stark this is! Let the words of the Law be burnt? How much more extreme could one get in order to show the disgust of the thought that God’s Word might be delivered to women?
  • Or this Rabbinical text (Kiddushin 82b): “Happy is he whose children are male, but unhappy is he whose children are female!” Imagine being a daughter living in a world like that.
  • And maybe most devastating of all we have the daily prayer of every Jewish man in which he ended with this benediction: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who has not created me a woman.” (Berachos 60b)

Although this seems foreign to us now because Jesus changed all of this (although God’s word never put women in this position), we need to understand the view toward women in that day in order to feel the weight of what God did at the resurrection. It is also important as a rebuttal to those who vainly try to posit that the resurrection was a myth created by the disciples. No Jewish male would write such a thing in which it was women who first heard the good news from the angels. And, that it was to the women that Jesus first showed Himself. This is unthinkable if one were making it all up. If you wanted to create a story in that culture to convince people Jesus rose from the dead, you wouldn’t make your key witnesses women.

But God did. And He did it in spades.

The gospel accounts tell us that there were many women who followed Jesus and ministered to Him. When He was crucified, they were standing by watching, and no doubt, grieving:

Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. Matthew 27:55-56

And John tells us this:

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19:25 

Additionally, as we saw in our opening verses from Matthew:

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Matthew 28:1

There are a lot of women named Mary in the gospel accounts!

So, this brings us to the confusion, and sometimes source of rebuttal, regarding perceived contradictions in the account of the women. I’ll give you my take (with apologies to those who believe Mary had no sisters or brothers :), so that we can continue without being confused by “which Mary are we talking about?”.

The gospels record what appears to be five different women named Mary:

  1. Mary, mother of Jesus (Matthew)
  2. Mary, wife of Clopas (John)
  3. Mary, mother of James and Joseph (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
  4. Mary Magdalene (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
  5. Mary, “the other Mary” (Matthew)

Someday I will detail why I came to the following conclusion, but for now I will tell you that I believe Mary (2) (3) and (5) are all the same person. I will also someday tell you why I believe why it is possible that two sisters would both carry the name Mary.

So, we have three named Mary who we will internally rename so that we don’t get confused:

  1. Mary, the mother of Jesus
  2. Aunt Mary, the sister of Jesus’ mother and therefore Jesus’ aunt; the wife of Clopas, the mother of James and Joseph
  3. Magdalene, Mary Magdalene

So, in John’s account, 19:25, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene”, I believe you should read this as three women, not four: “Mary the wife of Clopas” is an appositive of “his mother’s sister”. This is the better understanding from the Greek.

So, you can kind of see what John was faced with in that verse: 

“Near the cross of Jesus stood Mary, Mary and Mary.

Which, in our temporary substitution for clarity, reads: 

“Near the cross of Jesus stood Mary, Aunt Mary and Magdalene.”

So, who went to the tomb in Matthew 28:1? 

  • It was Magdalene and Aunt Mary.

Who followed Joseph of Arimathea to see where Jesus had been laid in Matthew 27:61? 

  • Magdalene and Aunt Mary.

Who does Mark list as being at the cross in Mark 15:40?

  • Magdalene, Aunt Mary and Salome (the wife of Zebedee, mother of James and John) 

Hopefully, that will help clear up some of the confusion when one comes to reading about the women and their part in the resurrection story. It may also give you a greater appreciation for Aunt Mary and her prevalent role.

But let’s now return to our purpose. The women, first of all, were no small part of the life of Jesus. They were following Him from town to town and sacrificially providing for Him. Here is Luke’s account:

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3

Here we find two more names: Joanna and Susanna. They are listed here because Jesus had cured them of demons and disease. Joanna is listed as one of the women who is found testifying of the risen Jesus to the skeptical disciples. (Luke 24:10)

We don’t know the background of Mary Magdalene. What we do know, however, is that Jesus healed her of seven demons. If the number seven is taken literally or figuratively, they had completely consumed her. But then Jesus touched her life and she was made whole. Her subsequent dedication to Him is found throughout His final days and resurrection.

If we follow John’s account: Mary Magdalene came early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, to the tomb. Was she doing what she had seen Jesus do countless times—being with the Father early in the mornings? No doubt she was still heavily grieving the loss of her Lord. Shockingly, the stone had been rolled away. She went into the tomb and found the Lord’s body gone. This must have been emotionally devastating to her. She is crushed. Her Lord had been savagely scourged, then crucified and put to death and buried in a tomb. And now, on top of all of that, someone had taken His body and violated his grave. She must have been in shock as she ran to tell Peter, who then, with John, ran to the tomb and also found it empty. The men returned home. No angel appeared to them.

But Magdalene, who had followed them, was left standing outside the tomb, weeping deeply. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb again and saw two angels, one at the head where Jesus had lain and one at the feet. They asked her why she was weeping and she said that it was because they had taken away the Lord’s body and she didn’t know where it was. Poor Mary, so filled with grief, eyes so full of tears, a heart so deep in pain. Maybe this is why it appears as if she didn’t even recognized them as angels. Her world was turned upside down. Her heart, no doubt, was wrenched and her world in complete turmoil… until, someone behind her asked: “Who are you seeking?”

And then Jesus called her name. 

“Mary!”

And, for this woman, nothing would ever be the same again. Oh, what unspeakable joy! He was alive! He had conquered the grave!

The women were the first to know the tomb was empty. They were the first to see the risen Lord. They were second-class citizens. Of no account. But God blessed them mightily—the God who has a heart for the lowly and the outcast; the God who has compassion for the oppressed and the downtrodden. 

And this is the God who called your name. He is the One who called mine. And that is why, for those of us in Christ, nothing will ever be the same again.

He is risen, indeed!

Who are you seeking?

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* Thanks to William Lane Craig, “Reasonable Faith”, for these quotes, page 367

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If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#1) the Seal Was Broken
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5
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#5) the Angels Would Have Announced It
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:1-6 It may be too bold to say this, but I believe that it should come as no surprise to anyone that the announcement of the Lord’s resurrection was made by the angles, for this, indeed, was a cosmic moment. And, also not surprising, is that there is controversy over this: how many angels, where they were, and what did they really say. Matthew and Mark have one angel; Luke and John have two. We will deal with all of that soon. But today, we want to ponder the fact that it was the angels that announced the resurrection and why. Recall the great passage in Galatians (don’t skip through it… read it): What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  Galatians 4:1-5 The advent of the Messiah was a “set time”—set by God. It wasn’t just that we landed on a nice calendar day. This was as if all the prophecies and all the promises were set on a timer and they all went off together at this moment. It was a cosmic moment: the time in which God was going to enter the world as a human being in order to redeem those who were in bondage under the law. It was a moment that began with the birth of the Messiah and extended through His resurrection… one big cosmic moment. John Calvin refers to the resurrection as “the closing scene of our redemption.” And the privilege of announcing this cosmic moment was going to be given to the angels. They came to Mary and to Joseph. They came to Zacharias and then on the night of His birth, the heavens were filled with a host of angels announcing the news… not to Herod or to the High Priest, but to the lowly, despised and smelly shepherds. Not in a palace or in the temple, but out in the middle of a common, ordinary field.  Should we, therefore, be surprised that it would be the angels who would announce His resurrection? And, to a woman in a graveyard? We will deal more with this later, but recall that women in that culture were second-class citizens. Jesus changed all of that forever. But it was no small deal in those days that the angels would break the news to a woman, and to Mary Magdalene, who at one time had been possessed by seven demons and no doubt suffered from the ravages those demons would visit upon her.  No, this is not surprising to us, for this is who God is. God’s heart is with the humble. And He blesses His creatures by allowing them to carry out His purposes and plans. Thus, He sends angels to announce the Moment of Moments. So, who are these “angels”?  Well, they are an amazing part of God’s creation. There are tons of them, “innumerable”, says Hebrews 12:22 and “thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand” says Revelation 5:11.  That is a lot of angels! There is even some conjecture that we might each have an “assigned” angel. When speaking of the children, Jesus refers to “their angels in heaven”. This certainly is inconclusive, but there surely are enough of them to go around! Maybe that is why there are so many. One thing we know for sure, they do minister to us: Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 Angels are strong. They are mighty. They battle the forces of darkness and they serve God as He sends them to fulfill His purposes. They are messengers, but they also carry out some of God’s judgments. When Herod was struck down and eaten by worms because he did not give glory to God, it was an angel that struck him. (Acts 12:23) Some are sent to patrol the earth. (Zechariah 1:8-11) Scripture even says you might have come in contact with angels as they go about their duties in human form: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 And so, it was the angels who kicked off the Moment and became quite active in the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. And it was the angels who ministered to Him in His times of need on earth. When Jesus had finished 40 days of fasting and had been tempted by Satan, the angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11) When He was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and His soul was “deeply grieved to the point of death”, an angel came and strengthened Him. (Luke 22:43) I can imagine, then, how much they would have been straining at the bit to save Him from the scourge and the nails. All they needed was a word from Him and they would have swept in like a ferocious army. When Peter impetuously cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant, during the arrest, Jesus admonished Peter and said,  Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Matthew 26:53-54 A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers. Twelve would be 72,000 mighty angel warriors. If one angel can buckle the knees of the guards, imagine what 72,000 would do?  So, as Jesus was being scourged and nailed, as he hung on the tree, all He needed to do was say the word and the angels would have rescued Him. But He didn’t.  Can you imagine that? Can you imagine how easy it would have been in the midst of all of that pain and suffering to call out for rescue and relief? To just say the word and all the misery of that moment goes away? But no, He didn’t. It was our sin and His love that held Him there—denying Himself for our sake.  The angels who filled the sky with praise and glory at His birth are now held in check, silent at His death. The earth spoke, yes, but the angels remained silent. But! On the 3rd day, all that changed! The angels are released and silent no more. They announce the News of News—“He is not here! He has risen just as He said!” Yes, if Jesus rose from the dead, then the angels would have been there to announce it. You could not have kept them away. He is risen indeed! [previous] [next]
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