Women & Christ's Resurrection

“And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

…And [the angel] saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”

Mark 16:3 &6 [KJV]

Sarah & Daniel's Resurrection Garden

Of the billions of stories in the world, there is none like the story of the Gospel. It’s a story of a Father’s love so tremendous it is almost impossible to summarise, but 1 Timothy 3:16 comes close: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Within this story, we can ‘zoom in’ on different aspects of the glorious, overarching truth. At Christmas we often focus on the birth of Jesus Christ: “God was manifest in the flesh”. At Easter we focus on his death, burial and resurrection. This Easter, I’ve been drawn to the account of the women finding the empty tomb after Jesus’ resurrection. As the Apostle Paul said, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection of Christ, amongst other things, shows God’s power over life and death (1 Corinthians 15:54–57), validates Jesus’ claim to be the prophesied Messiah (Romans 1:4), and demonstrates that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 10:12-14).

While the resurrection is Christ-centred, I want to focus on the faith of the three women who discovered Jesus’ tomb was empty. In Mark 16:1, we read, “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.” These women came to the tomb expecting to find a dead body they could anoint with spices in a traditional gesture of love and respect for the deceased person. Like Jesus’ other followers, they must not have understood his teaching about rising again (e.g. Matthew 12:39-40). Perhaps, like Martha, they assumed Jesus spoke of the raising of people’s bodies “in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). While their understanding was flawed, there are three lessons we can learn about faith, and three ways God rewards faith, in this account. Let’s start by looking at the three lessons on faith.

Firstly, these women were not daunted by fear of consequences. The Romans had crucified Jesus at the request of the Jewish leaders. Those who confessed Jesus as the Christ were banned from the Temple (John 9:22) as betrayers of their heritage and culture; and declared to be enemies of Rome (John 19:15). Heresy and political rebellion were crimes that carried the death penalty, so it is not surprising other disciples had gone into hiding (John 20:19). Yet these women were so motivated by their desire to perform (as they thought) one last act of service for their slain Lord, that they were willing to endanger their lives. Now that is faith. Many women will not do the Lord’s will because they are afraid of the consequences. We’re worried what others will think, say, and do. We can become so worried we disobey the Lord. Yet the Almighty God who “canst do everything” (Job 42:2), commands us to obey Him (John 14:15), and entrust Him with the consequences (Romans 8:28).

Secondly, these women went in faith without knowing how every detail would be worked out. They had the spices with them, but Mark 16:3 records, “And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” A rock that commentators suggest weighed one to two tonnes stood between them and their goal. There was also a Roman guard who had placed a seal on the tomb (Matthew 27:64-66). I don’t know about you, but I am often daunted by uncertainties far smaller than what the women faced. I like clear plans that account for all possible things that might happen. When we look at our futures, pride tells us we have a right to know what will happen, a right to an existence free of uncertainty, and a right to control our destinies. In short, pride claims we have a right to a life where everything is foreseeable and nothing is faith. But 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. On his quest to find a godly wife for Issac, Abraham’s servant testified, “I being in the way, the Lord led me” (Genesis 24:27). In today’s language, we might say, “I set out to do what God had revealed to be His will, and it was after I started that He showed me the next step.” When we follow the Lord in faith, He will fulfil His promise to direct our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 37:23).

Thirdly, by faith, these women considered domestic duties an act of service to God. When we think of acts of faith, we often think of those “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33-34). Yet Jesus praised little actions of faith, such as a widow donating two mites to the temple treasury (Mark 12:42-44), or someone giving a cup of water in the name of the Lord (Mark 9:41). In Jewish culture, anointing dead bodies was a domestic chore often assigned to women. In our day and age, we quickly tire of, and sometimes resent, tasks traditionally assigned to women, such as cooking, cleaning, child rearing/minding, supporting a husband, or behind the scenes ministry roles. These things can be direct acts of service to God. They can also prepare us for greater responsibilities, with Jesus saying, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10a).

What were some key rewards these women received for their faith? They saw the resurrected Christ. After the women had told the disciples of their encounter with the angel, Mary Magdalene returned to the empty tomb and there she met the resurrected Jesus. If Mary had not gone to the tomb that morning, she would not have encountered Jesus. She had known Jesus before: but now she met the resurrected Lord and her whole perspective changed. Job expresses a similar sentiment as he reflects on what he has learnt about God through his trials, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:5). Faith’s rewards include growth “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18a). Jesus promises that those who keep His commandments “shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21b). Another reward of faith is discovering how much Jesus cares for us individually. Jesus did not say, “Hey, you” or “I forgot your name”; He said “Mary.” The One who knows each sparrow watches over each of us (Matthew 10:29-31). As we trust Him, He will “shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). Another reward of faith is empowerment to witness to others of what Christ has done. The women at the tomb were twice commissioned, once by an angel, once by the Lord Himself, to testify that He was risen from the dead. As the Apostles Peter and John said, “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). What a privilege it is to testify of God’s working in our lives!

This Easter, let us remember that Jesus’ resurrection demands we respond in faith. May the Lord enable each of us to put aside fear of consequences, to surrender our ‘right’ to know every step of God’s will in advance, and to see that even domestic duties done in faith can receive great rewards.