22: Meditations on the Resurrection, Part 4: The Women at the tomb

The first real experience of the Resurrected Jesus (since the Roman guards didn't actually see him) was given to a few women who had been close to him and came to embalm his buried remains. It is the only resurrection account recorded in all four gospels. Like the other events which were important enough for all four evangelists to write about, the discrepancies are infuriating to someone who wants to make a clear and precise picture of the scene. Was there one angel or two? Was the angel or angels already there when the women came, or did they appear afterwards? Did Mary Magdalene stay behind, allowing Jesus to appear to her by the tomb but also to appear to "the women" as they were on their way to find the disciples? Or did she return to the tomb after that appearance? Couldn't the writers have put a little more effort into making sure the details harmonize?

That would of course be a different essay. The fact is that you can make the stories harmonize, which is what you'll probably do if you believe the story, or you can make them contradict each other, which is what you'll do if you don't believe it. In that way it's like any other event being described by several witnesses.

Many of us have heard it emphasized again and again that one of the strangest aspects of the Resurrection appearances was Jesus' choice of witnesses. Again, he does not seem too interested in creating a credible groundwork of convincing evidence for his resurrection. Instead, he first gives the message to women, in a time and culture in which a woman's testimony would not be considered valid in a court of law. Is there some purpose or design in this? Is he intentionally going for the least weight of evidence? It may well be. It would not be the first time that the Bible emphasizes the role of the weak and insignificant in bringing forth God's power.

But there seems to be a more pragmatic reason. Like the Roman guards, the women get to be witnesses of the resurrection simply because thery are there. Any of the disciples could have been the first to see amazing sights and hear incredible news that Easter morning if it had occurred to him to go to the tomb.

And what brought the women there? Hope of the restoration of God's kingdom? A strong faith in the words that Christ had spoken about his own resurrection?

Hardly.

It was something far less dramatic. It was the earthy, practical consideration of displaying a final act of decency to the body of the deceased. While the disciples were trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered dream, the women still had the presence of mind to perform a final -- and, as far as Messianic hopes go, somewhat useless -- act of service.

I can't count how many times I have seen this in ministry work. You see people who are "involved" in the great mover and shaker stuff, but meanwhile, somewhere in the periphery, those who are truly experiencing Grace are the ones who remain faithful in simple acts of service. I've seen the hard-bitten heathen being engaged in argument and discussion all the time, only to be won over by the Christian who shows him the common decency of listening to his views without feeling pressured to make a reply. I've seen the hopeless addict who spent years in and out of recovery centers and who, on the verge of suicide, gave life another chance after one of the soup-kitchen workers noticed that this homeless junkie had gone to the trouble of ironing his shirt. I've seen God surprise me with deep spiritual encounters when I wasn't expecting them or even looking for them at all. I've also seen myself drift furthest from God during the times when I was most involved in ministry and spiritual disciplines.

The momentuous spiritual events are often not witnessed by those who have the highest hopes or the greatest faith. Often the privilege goes to those who faithfully perform the commonest acts of service.