THE FAITH OF THE WOMEN
Luke 23 and 24
“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”
In a patriarchal society it is inevitable that the men will get to lead and be heroes but it is wonderful for Luke to point out to us how the women were a strong group of people who did what needed to be done with little fanfare or complaint.
They had come with Jesus from Galilee. They were there at the crucifixion, not shying away from the gruesome horror, but just silently keeping Jesus company. They followed Joseph and watched the burial of Jesus’ body, making sure that things were done properly. As it was late they could not prepare the body properly and made plans to do so as soon as Sabbath was over. They prepared the perfumes and spices beforehand so they don’t waste time; the body would have begun to decompose.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them were exemplary followers of Jesus.
The one thing that was on their hearts when they encountered the empty tomb and the angels was Jesus. There were no useless questions as to the identity of the angels, or where the body had disappeared to or why these strange men had come to mock their love and loyalty to Jesus.
“He has risen, just as he said he would.” And they remembered and that was enough for them to race back to the disciples with the news.
I cannot fault the response of Peter and even of the disciples. Resurrection was just a step too far for them even though it was Jesus who told them about this; but not for these women.
“Then they remembered his words.”