The Resurrection: The Testimony of Women
The validity of the Resurrection has been argued for 2000 years. Many deny it out right as an event that could have never occurred. Others say that they believe it "on faith." A smaller number of believers say "look at the evidence; examine the evidence." But what are the facts, the evidence, surrounding this event that we know of as Christ's resurrection?
We first have to answer the question, "Was Jesus of Nazareth a real historical person?
The answer to that question is, decidedly, yes. It's undeniable. In addition to the Gospel writers and Paul (who are every bit as authoritative writers of antiquity as any others), we have Josephus, a Jewish historian of the 1st century AD, who mentions and discusses Jesus of Nazareth and some of the particulars of his life in his book, "The Antiquities of the Jews." Tacitus, the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD and later became emperor of Rome, mentions Jesus of Nazareth, as do the Pliny's (other Roman authors). There are other citations that could be mentioned, but the point is, Jesus of Nazareth was a real historical person, every bit as much as Napoleon or George Washington.
The next question to be answered is, "Did He rise from the dead?" Here we only have the Gospel writers and Paul who have documented this event in what they have written. Some would argue that they have to be discounted as they are "Christian" writers, but the fact remains that what they have written can, in many cases, be verified by other historical records. Luke, the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament, mentions a large number of historical names and events that have been verified to be completely accurate when related to other information found in excavations. As a historian, Luke has never been found to be wrong. And as his data was largely gathered from individuals who were very close to Jesus, there is no reason to doubt the authority and accuracy of what the other Gospel writers and Paul have included.
So what do we know about the events of the crucifixion and resurrection? Jesus was crucified by the Romans, on a Roman cross outside of Jerusalem, and died on that cross about mid-afternoon on a Friday. His body was taken down from the cross and placed in a donated tomb
(probably a small cave carved out of the soft rock) and the tomb was sealed by a large stone.
It was then guarded by a contingent of Roman soldiers, ordered to do that to prevent theft of the body (Matt 27: 62-66).
Sunday morning came and very strange things started happening.
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. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." (Matt 28: 1-7).
As if this wasn't enough, then this happened.
So the women hurried away from the tomb. afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee: there they will see me." (Matt 28 8-10).
As remarkable as this story is, we, living in the 21st century, do not understand the true significance of the story being related in this way, and why it is extremely strong evidence for the fact that the resurrection occurred exactly as it is told. It is called, "The Testimony of Women" and this is why it is so important.
In First Century AD Jerusalem, women were absolutely second class citizens. They could not own land, hold office, have jobs, vote, or even worship in the same part of the temple as men.
Their testimony was inadmissible in a court of law. They were not considered believable. They were women. So. If Matthew was making this story up, he would have NEVER told it this way.
No one would have believed him. He would be laughing stock. These are women. The only reason he can have for relating the story in this manner is, that is EXACTLY the way it happened.
So there we have it: The Testimony of Women. Conclusive evidence that Christ's resurrection happened just as Matthew relates it to us? What do you think?