1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 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? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 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, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
— Luke 24:1-12, ESV

Here is an old saying: Jesus Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed!  

Here is another old saying: Anything men can do, women can do better.  

Both of these familiar refrains were absolutely true on the original Easter Sunday.  Our Lord Jesus Christ capped His superlative life and sacrificial death with a surprising resurrection.  And it was women’s intuition, not men’s, that perceived the full meaning of the gospel and began to broadcast it to others.

Though men have always manned the leadership of the church, women always seem to have the upper hand.  It was Mary, more than Joseph, who had the greater influence upon the birth and parenting of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was another Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, who had the greater intuition into Jesus’ visit to their home in Bethany, realizing it would be His last, that led her to anoint Him with perfume in anticipation of His death and burial.  And it was two more Marys, a Joanna, and other women, who beat the men to the empty tomb and became the first to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Easter is a celebration of women’s intuition, as admitted by a Gospel written by a man.  Let’s look at who these women are, and are not.  Let’s look what they experienced, and see if we may experience the same thing.  And let’s listen, very intently, at what they have to say.  

Who They Were

Our heroines in the story are simply referred to as “the women” (ref. Luke 23:55) in the preceding paragraph regarding Jesus’ burial.  Joseph of Arimathea (ref. Luke 23:50) is mentioned by name, as is Nicodemus in another Gospel (ref. John 19:39), both men, of course.  The two males led the way in burying Jesus, but “the women” who watched them must have noticed inferior work.  Therefore, “They returned and prepared spices and ointments” (ref. Luke 23:56) to do the job right.  

Jesus died on a Friday.  “They,” as they are called for the most part of the narrative (ref. vs. 1-9), had to sit out the Sabbath on Saturday.  So “on the first day of the week,” the original Easter Sunday, the drama unfolded in a sunrise service like no other.

We are not told their names until the end of the story.  Even then, not all of the women’s names, and they are all women, are mentioned.  Luke simply states, “It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them” (vs. 10).  

Mary was a popular Jewish name because of Moses’ sister, Miriam, which is the way the Jews and early Christians would have said the name.  In Greek and subsequent Latin languages it becomes Maria, in English, Mary.  This is the tale of at least two Marys, “Magdalene” and “the mother of James.”  

Mary Magdalene appears in all four Gospels, always in the crucifixion and resurrection narratives, except for one reference in an earlier chronology.  There we are told she, and the Joanna of our present passage, became followers and supporters of Jesus after He delivered them from “evil spirits and infirmities” (ref. Luke 8:1-3).  Speculation about Mary Magdalene’s sexual life are just that, speculation, not scriptural.  

The other Mary was “the mother of James,” and this James was James the Less, an unfortunate nickname for a Holy Apostle.  As her son perhaps languished in the shadow of the more famous James, Son of Zebedee, and James, half-brother of the Lord, so these great and holy women served in the shadow of all of the men.  

As we recount their experience in a moment, notice how theirs was different from the men’s.  We will see the many things “they,” these great gospel women, did, saw, and said.  The only mention of the men will be that they “did not believe” (vs. 11) the women.  Women had the intuition.  Women took the initiative.  The men eventually followed.

We won’t find out who the real Christians are until we get to Heaven.  Surely, women will outnumber the men at least two to one.  I say this based on my own experience of decades in the church.  All who are there, women and men, will be there because they have been transformed by what these women experienced and proclaimed on the first Easter Sunday.

What They Experienced

It is difficult to pinpoint the precise moment the first Christians were, in Jesus words, “born again” (ref. John 3:1-5).  Was it when they first started following the Lord, during His earthly ministry?  Or, was it when they could fully reflect upon the completed work of Christ, after the crucifixion and resurrection?  Maybe it is both, maybe they were born again, again!?

Nevertheless, here is their experience.  Please look for any parallels with your encounter of grace, through faith, in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Man or woman, you must be born again.

First, there is investigation.  “They went to the tomb” (vs. 1).  “They found the stone rolled away” (vs. 2).  “They went in [and] they did not find the body” (vs. 3).

Salvation begins with investigation.  You have to look into Jesus, His body of work, His body on the cross, His body in the tomb, or the lack thereof.  I’ve been to both of them, by the way, in Jerusalem, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Gordon’s Calvary, and they are both empty!  And, I’ve seen all of Christ’s person and work fully predicted and typed in the Old Testament, on full display in the four Gospels, and explained in detail in the New Testament Epistles.  I have investigated the gospel, have you?

Then, there is consternation.  I do not think anyone can truly come to Christ without a little fear and trembling.  This is certainly true of these women.  “They were perplexed” (vs. 4).  “They were frightened” (vs. 5).

Remember, as much as they loved Jesus, as much as they may have believed in Him when He was alive, they were convinced up to this point that He was dead, graveyard dead.  It took two angels to jolt them.  Angels must look like serial killers, for they almost scare people to death when they are seen.  Their faith shaken, however, became their faith more sure.

It is okay to question the gospel, the Bible, as long as you question yourself.  Do I need to be saved, why?  Who can save me, how?  Like the Philippian jailer, we should all ask, “What must I do to be saved” (ref. Acts 16:30)?  God’s word should give you fear and trembling before it brings you peace and comfort.  I struggled with the gospel before I accepted it, have you?

Finally, there is confirmation.  Confirmation is always found in the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  These women found grace, mercy, and peace when, “They remembered His words” (vs. 6-8).  And because they truly believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, “They told all these things” (vs. 9).  True worshippers make great witnesses.  I have found great confirmation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the word of God; therefore, I will worship and I witness for the Lord Jesus Christ until the day I die, and beyond.  Will you?

What the women experienced was the most important event in all of human history.  It was more important than Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, more important than Washington crossing the Delaware, more important than the Enola Gay crossing over Japan.  It was the day our Lord Jesus Christ crossed over from death to life.  Today, He still offers the same journey to all who will experience God’s grace through God-given faith, in the perfect person and finished work of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Go back with these women one more time to that borrowed tomb.  Let the word of God and the Spirit of God make their experience your own.  And listen, like you’ve never listed to anything before in your life, at what they have to say.

What They Said

“[They] told these things” (vs. 10).  How did they tell it?  What did they say?  

It think it must have gone something like this: 

Mary Magdalen said, “Jesus Christ is risen.”

Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women said, “He is risen, indeed!”

Then the women said it again and again, until the men eventually joined in.  Of the superiority of women’s intuition, this text leaves no doubt.  Whether you are a woman or a man, I invite you to join them in their confession of faith.  

Jesus Christ is risen.  

He is risen, indeed!