Women Who Went First: The Women at the Resurrection
WRITTEN BY: CAITI SPIESS
As a new week began after Jesus’ death, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome were walking together, wandering and wondering what the future held for them. These women weren’t hoping to find a miracle, they were headed to a tomb—a tomb that had been purchased for someone else, but had become the final resting place for Jesus after his crucifixion.
With them, they carried spices to anoint his body in the traditional Jewish fashion. Though Jesus had forewarned his disciples that he would die and rise to life again three days later, this was not their focus as they approached the tomb. They were expecting to find a lifeless body, not the risen Lord.
So it’s easy to understand that instead of arriving in eager anticipation, they came prepared to complete the routine rituals of grief to care for the deceased. In that moment, they weren’t awaiting the glory of God, but grappling with the reality that this would be their final time serving their friend.
As they arrived at the tomb, their worry over moving the stone dissolved in an instant—it had already been rolled away! Inside, Jesus’ linens lay neatly folded, but his body was nowhere to be found. Overcome by a fresh wave of grief, Mary began to sob. But before she could even wipe the tears from her eyes, there was Jesus, in the flesh!
Mary’s moment of overwhelming emotion offers yet another glimpse of Jesus’ boundless compassion. Amidst her tears, he tenderly calls her directly by name, a gesture of empowerment and intimacy. Meeting her in her sadness, Jesus not only validates her humanity but also embraces her as a woman, upholding her worth and dignity in a society where women were regularly marginalized.
Divinely Called Women
Today, over 2,000 years later, we still remember this profound moment of grief and fear mixed together with inexpressible joy. And though we’re not given all the details about this emotional reunion, we can imagine a scene filled with hugs and elation as the realization dawns on the women: this Jesus they thought was dead… is alive!
What happens next is truly remarkable. Following these precious moments of celebration, Jesus reveals a new and holy purpose for these female witnesses. He instructs them to go and tell the other disciples that he has risen from the dead!
Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, chose these women as the first bearers of the gospel, entrusting them with the monumental task of announcing his resurrection!
Not surprisingly, the male disciples refused to take them at their word. Instead, “their report seemed to them like idle talk and nonsense, and they would not believe them” (Luke 24:11).
Maybe they wrote the women off because of their own grief. Or maybe it was due to the societal norms that said women couldn’t possibly be seen as credible witnesses. Whatever the reason, the disciples struggled to believe the words of Jesus, passed along to them through the women he entrusted.
We’re not told about the women’s reactions here either. Perhaps they anticipated the disciples’ disbelief. Or maybe they were blindsided by this dismissal of their calling, particularly at the hands of the men they had spent years learning alongside.
Either way, Jesus knew that the Women at the Resurrection wouldn’t be believed, and he commissioned them anyway. He called them to pave a way. He called them to go first—to be the first preachers of the greatest news of all time.
And nothing could invalidate this call. Not their shattered expectation of who they thought Jesus was. Not their grief. Not the disbelief of their fellow disciples. None of it nullified or undermined this commission from Jesus.
Carrying the Call Forward
The same truth rings true for us today.
Sisters, nothing can invalidate your call. Not the men who refuse to listen. Not the disillusionment of being dismissed time and again because of your gender. Not the grief you carry with you, tucked away hidden in your heart.
None of it can undermine the commission Jesus gave you—that he gave all of us:
“Go and tell.”
The Women at the Resurrection paved the way for us to accept, to embrace, and to live out this calling, regardless of the consequences. They went first to hold the tension between agonizing grief and unimaginable joy, bringing the good news to others all the same.
This Easter, whether we are full of anticipation or filled with grief, weariness, fear, and doubt, may we follow in their footsteps.
May we joyously proclaim, even in the midst of our mess, that Jesus is who he said he is, that we will do what he has commissioned us to do, and that we will be who he created us to be.
He has called us.
He has entrusted us with his good news.
HE IS RISEN!