The woman hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew 28:8)
We have arrived at Holy Week and I would like to share with you three “minimal facts” that come under the heading “Criteria of Authenticity” regarding the resurrection of Jesus agreed upon by most scholars and historians on both side of the debate (rooted in the work of Habermas, Licona and Craig). They use this approach to establish specific facts about the historical Jesus and the resurrection without assuming the inspiration of the Gospels. My focus this week will be on what is called “embarrassing” evidence, what is considered by all as counter-productive to serve as a source of proof for the resurrection.
The Witness of the Women
To understand the power of this embarrassing piece of evidence, we need to journey back in time to the first century. In our contemporary culture, what I am about to say doesn’t compute. But in the ancient world, it was simply a fact of life. Women were looked down upon by men as second-class citizens and their testimony was considered untrustworthy. They were not allowed to give testimony as public witnesses or public spokesmen, but they could testify in domestic and family matters. Also, they were never counted among the men. You might remember, in the feeding of the 5,000, the story only records the 5,000 men, without any mention of woman or children, who surely were there. So, this would be an unlikely invention in the minds of the first century gospel writers.
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. 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,’ So the woman hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them, “Greetings,” he said. (Matthew 28:1-8)
So, why do we read these second-class citizens who cannot give testimony in a court of law, are the first to see the risen Jesus? Because it is true! No one would up a story that would be both embarrassing and counter-productive. In fact, it must have been hard for the gospel writers to write it this way. After hearing the report from the women, here is what they have to say, “their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11). Surely, they would have rather said it was Peter, James, and John who first saw the empty tomb and the risen Lord. This would have been a far more credible statement for the first-century audience to swallow. But this would not have been the truth. So, we read exactly what God had planned in providing a powerful proof to the resurrection in the witness of the women.
A second-century critic of Christianity, Greek Philosopher Celsus, mocked and ridiculed the witness of the women saying Mary Magdalene was a “hysterical female . . . deluded by sorcery.” If you were going to make up the story of the resurrection to get anyone to believe it, you would never use the witness of the women. The only invention regarding the witness of the women is in the mind of the contemporary reader today. So, what do you think about the witness of the woman as the first to see the risen Jesus?
On Wednesday and Friday, we will look at enemy attestation as our second powerful proof of the resurrection.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 