The Most Important Moment in History
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christian faith. But have you ever noticed who God chose to be the first witnesses of this world changing event?
Not the Roman authorities. Not the Jewish religious leaders. Not even the male disciples who had followed Jesus for three years. Women.
This was not an accident. This was a divine unveiling. The resurrection proved something about women that the world had forgotten, and Jesus revealed a mystery that we are still unpacking today.
Let me take you back to that first Easter morning.
- The Cultural Reality - How Women Were Treated in First Century Judaism
To understand the power of what Jesus did, we must first understand the world He entered.
The Status of Women in Jesus's Time
In first century Jewish culture, women occupied a severely restricted place.
1. Women's Testimony Was Legally Worthless
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the testimony of women was not accepted in court because of "the levity and boldness of their sex" (Antiquities 4.219). The rabbis taught: "Any evidence which a woman gives is not valid." A woman could not serve as a witness in legal proceedings.
2. Women Were Not Taught Torah
Rabbi Eliezer famously said: "Whoever teaches his daughter Torah teaches her obscenity" (Mishnah Sotah 3:4). Women were actively excluded from religious education.
3. Women Were Separated in Worship
In the synagogue, women sat behind a partition or in a balcony. They were not counted in the minyan (the quorum of ten men required for public prayer).
4. Men Did Not Speak to Women in Public
A respectable man would not speak to a woman in public, not even his own wife. The rabbis taught: "Do not speak much with a woman" (Mishnah Avot 1:5).
5. Women Were Considered Untrustworthy
The cultural assumption was that women were emotional, irrational, and prone to deception. Their word could not be relied upon.
The Specific Disqualification: Women as Witnesses
This is the most important point for understanding the resurrection accounts.
In Jewish law, a legal matter required two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). But those witnesses had to be:
- Free men
- Of good character
- Not relatives of the parties involved
Women were automatically disqualified. Their testimony was considered legally meaningless.
So when God chose women to be the first witnesses of the resurrection, He was deliberately violating cultural norms. He was making a statement.
What Actually Happened - The Women at the Tomb
Let us walk through the Gospel accounts and see what these brave women did.
The Women Who Followed Jesus
Luke 8:1-3 tells us that women traveled with Jesus and supported His ministry financially: "Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means."
These women were not hangers on. They were co-laborers. They funded Jesus's ministry. They had left everything to follow Him.
The Women at the Cross
When Jesus was crucified, most of the male disciples fled. Peter denied knowing Him. Judas betrayed Him. Thomas doubted. Only John remained among the Twelve.
But the women stayed.
Matthew 27:55-56:
"There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee."
Mark 15:40-41:
"There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem."
John 19:25:
"Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."
The women were faithful when the men were fearful. They stayed when others scattered. They watched when others hid.
The Women at the Tomb
After Jesus was buried, the women went home and prepared spices and ointments (Luke 23:56). They rested on the Sabbath. And then, at first light on Sunday morning, they went to the tomb.
Mark 16:1-4:
"When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?' And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back, it was very large."
These women were not expecting a resurrection. They came to finish the burial rituals. They came to honor a dead body. They came in grief, not anticipation.
But what they found changed everything.
The Angels' Message
Luke 24:4-8:
"While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.' And they remembered his words."
The angels gave the women the first announcement of the resurrection. They were the first to hear it. They were the first to believe it.
The Women's Response
Matthew 28:8:
"So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples."
They ran. They were terrified and ecstatic. And they did exactly what the angels told them to do: they went to tell the men.
Jesus Appears to the Women
Matthew 28:9-10:
"And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'"
Jesus appeared first to women. He commissioned them, the ones whose testimony was legally worthless to be the first proclaimers of His resurrection.
The Disciples' Response - The Failure of Male Leadership
The Men Did Not Believe the Women
Luke 24:10-11:
"Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them."
The Greek word for "idle tale" is lēros - nonsense, nonsense, rubbish. The men dismissed the women's testimony as hysterical rambling.
Mark 16:11:
"When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it."
John 20:2:
"So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.'"
Even Mary Magdalene, who had been delivered from seven demons, was not believed. Her history as a former demoniac may have made her even less credible in their eyes.
The Disciples Had to Go See for Themselves
Peter and John ran to the tomb. They saw the empty grave clothes. John believed. But it took a personal appearance from Jesus to convince the rest.
The point: The men, who were the "credible witnesses" in their culture, failed to believe the women. But the women were right. The women were faithful. The women were chosen.
The Mystery - What Jesus Revealed at the Resurrection
Now we come to the deep truth. What did Jesus reveal by choosing women as the first witnesses?
Revelation 1: Women Are Trusted by God
In a culture that said women cannot be trusted, God said: "I trust women with the most important message in history."
The resurrection was not entrusted to angels to proclaim first. It was not entrusted to the Roman governor or the Jewish high priest. It was not even entrusted to the male disciples who had walked with Jesus for three years.
God entrusted the resurrection to women.
This is not a minor detail. This is a theological earthquake. God deliberately chose the ones society deemed unreliable to be the ones who carried the news that changes everything.
Revelation 2: Women Are Faithful When Others Falter
The women stayed at the cross. The men fled. The women went to the tomb. The men hid in fear. The women believed the angels. The men called their testimony "nonsense."
The resurrection revealed that faithfulness is not a matter of gender but of the heart.
The women were not more important than the men. But they were more present. They were more faithful in that moment. And God honored that faithfulness by choosing them to be the first witnesses.
Revelation 3: God Works Through the Marginalised
Throughout Scripture, God chooses the overlooked, the underestimated, the disqualified by human standards:
- He chose David, the youngest son, to be king
- He chose Moses, a stutterer and fugitive, to lead Israel
- He chose Rahab, a prostitute, to be in the lineage of Jesus
- He chose shepherds, the lowliest of professions, to hear the first announcement of Jesus's birth
- And He chose women, the legally disqualified, to announce His resurrection
The mystery: God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). He chooses what the world despises to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Revelation 4: Jesus Sees Women Differently Than Culture Does
Jesus consistently treated women with dignity, respect, and equality:
- He taught Mary at His feet, the position of a disciple (Luke 10:39-42)
- He spoke to the Samaritan woman, breaking three cultural taboos (John 4)
- He defended the woman caught in adultery (John 8)
- He accepted the anointing of the sinful woman (Luke 7)
- He healed the woman with the issue of blood, calling her "daughter" (Mark 5)
- He appeared first to Mary Magdalene (John 20)
The resurrection was the culmination of Jesus's radical inclusion of women. By appearing to them first and commissioning them as witnesses, He was overturning centuries of cultural devaluation.
Revelation 5: The Curse Is Being Reversed
Remember Genesis 3? When Eve sinned, God pronounced a curse: "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16). Sin brought domination and distrust.
But the resurrection is the beginning of the reversal of the curse.
- Where Eve brought the message of death to Adam, women now bring the message of life to the disciples.
- Where Eve was deceived, women are now the first to understand the truth of the resurrection.
- Where women were silenced, women are now the first proclaimers.
The resurrection proved that in Christ, the curse is being undone.The new creation has begun. And in the new creation, women are fully restored as image-bearers, witnesses, and proclaimers of the gospel.
What This Means for Women Today
You Are Trusted by God
Sister, the same God who trusted women with the resurrection trusts you with His message today. Your voice matters. Your testimony is valuable. Your witness is not "nonsense" in God's ears, even if the world dismisses you.
1 Timothy 2:15 has been misunderstood, but the truth is: women are saved, delivered, restored through their role in bringing forth life, including the spiritual life of proclaiming the resurrection.
Your Faithfulness Is Seen
The women were not apostles. They were not leaders in the formal sense. They were simply faithful. They showed up. They stayed. They served. And God honored that faithfulness in the most extraordinary way.
You do not need a title to be chosen by God. You need a faithful heart.
You Are Part of the Reversal of the Curse
Every time you speak the name of Jesus, every time you share your testimony, every time you teach, preach, or witness, you are participating in the undoing of what sin did. The resurrection proved that God is making all things new including the place of women in His kingdom.
You Stand in a Long Line of Faithful Women
Mary Magdalene. Joanna. Susanna. Mary the mother of James. Salome. These women were the first evangelists. They ran from the tomb with fear and great joy, and they told the good news.
You are their spiritual daughters. The same Spirit that empowered them empowers you.
The Challenge for the Church
To Women: Embrace Your Calling
Do not let cultural voices or even church voices silence you. God has given you a message.
The resurrection is still the greatest news in the world. And you are still called to proclaim it.
- Speak the truth of the resurrection.
- Share your testimony of what Jesus has done for you.
- Teach the next generation.
- Lead where God has placed you.
To Men: Listen to the Women
The disciples dismissed the women's testimony as "nonsense." They were wrong. How many times has the church dismissed the voices of women and missed what God was saying?
The resurrection challenges men to listen. Not because women are superior, but because God speaks through them. The same God who chose women to be the first witnesses still speaks through women today.
To the Church: Repent of Your Dismissal
The church has often treated women the way the disciples treated Mary Magdalene as unreliable, as secondary, as less than. This is sin. It is a failure to understand what the resurrection revealed.
The resurrection proves that in Christ, there is no male and female (Galatians 3:28).
Not that distinctions disappear, but that access to God, calling to ministry, and value as witnesses are equal.
The Resurrection Revolution
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was not just a victory over death. It was a victory over every system of devaluation, every structure of oppression, every lie that says some people are less than others.
What did the resurrection prove about women?
It proved that God trusts women with His most important message.
It proved that faithfulness is not a matter of gender.
It proved that the curse is being reversed.
It proved that in Christ, women are fully restored as image bearers and witnesses.
It proved that the first witnesses of the resurrection were not wrong they were chosen.
The mystery that Jesus pulled during this season of resurrection:
He took the ones the world considered worthless witnesses and made them the first proclaimers of the most important event in history.
He flipped the script. He overturned the hierarchy. He showed that in His kingdom, the last are first, the weak are strong, and the dismissed are trusted.
To every woman reading this:
You are not an "idle tale." Your voice is not nonsense. Your testimony is not worthless. God trusted women with the resurrection. He trusts you with His message today.
Go. Tell. Proclaim.
He is risen. And you are His witness.
Amen.
A Prayer for Women This Easter Season
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for what You revealed at the empty tomb. Thank You for choosing women to be the first witnesses of Your resurrection. Thank You for trusting us with the most important news in history.
Forgive us for the times we have believed the world's lies about our value. Forgive us for silencing ourselves when You have called us to speak. Forgive the church for dismissing the voices of women.
Raise us up, Lord. Give us the courage of Mary Magdalene, the faithfulness of Joanna, the boldness of Salome. Let us run from the empty tomb with fear and great joy, telling everyone that You are alive.
And let the world know that in Your kingdom, the last are first, the weak are strong, and the women You have called are unstoppable.
In the name of the risen King, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Written By Percie Patience Mbowa
The She Global Writing Team
The resurrection is still good news. And we are still the witnesses.
#HeIsRisen #WomenOfFaith #TheResurrectionRevealed #EmptyTomb #MaryMagdalene #EasterTruth #TheSheGlobalWritingTeam #TheSheGlobal
