Let’s talk about the women who witnessed the empty tomb.
In first century Judea, women were considered second-class, and were disregarded as witnesses in court of law. This observation lends itself to the credibility and truthfulness of those who recorded the Gospels because if, in fact, they were making up an account, they would’ve used male witnesses—not women.
Like last time, I want to introduce to you a scenario written from the perspective of Peter after learning that the Messiah died. I hope you enjoy this short prose.
***
The Women
Over a cup, they wept—bitterly.
Judas had killed himself, now Yeshua was dead. There was no Messiah—an inconsolable John rested on the shoulder of his brother. Peter replayed the last moments he’d seen Yeshua. How could he face this truth? When his own friend had needed him, Peter denied Him in front of a crowd.
He’d live with this guilt. He’d die with this guilt.
The door swung open. “The grave is empty!” A panic-stricken Mary Magdalene braced herself in the doorframe, her eyes widened in fright. “They’ve taken the body.”
John was the first to get up, to dart through the door. Still overcome with guilt, Peter lazily rung his finger around his cup.
“Peter!” she screamed. “You can’t just stay here. Come and see for yourself.”
John had already gone a distance ahead of him. Peter raced behind John, failing to catch up to the young boy. But when they’d arrived at the tomb, it was empty and the linen that had wrapped Yeshua had been neatly folded in the corner.
Peter’s heart raced. What could’ve happened? Did Yosef take the body, bury it somewhere else? After all, the Pharisee had only done a favor for them since they could not afford a proper burial. If someone else in his family had died, it would only make sense to bury the body elsewhere. But Yosef would’ve told them.
Right?
“It’s empty,” John confirmed.
Peter pulled in a breath, watching as Mary kneeled by the tomb’s opening, crying. “There’s nothing we can do,” Peter said. “Get up and let’s go.”
But the woman wouldn’t move.
Frustrated, and already too deep in his own guilt to prioritize a crying woman, Peter made his way back to the house. Thomas looked up, waiting for a response.
“The tomb is empty,” Peter finally said.
“But we can’t just—” Thomas shook his head. “We need to tell authorities. If someone robbed the grave, we need to make sure.”
“They’re not going to care.” Andrew rested his hand on Thomas’s shoulder. “But we can get in trouble. They already think we’re going to incite a rebellion.”
“What rebellion?” Thomas argued. “The man is dead! What we need to know is which idiot would steal a body?”
Peter’s eyelids weighed down. He was too depressed to think about it. To think about someone willing to steal a failed revolutionist’s body—
“He’s alive!” A shriek of terrified laughter shook the room.
Peter turned to see Mary again, bracing the door. “What?”
“He’s alive!” Her countenance was different, brighter.
“Alive?” John stood up. “What do you mean?”
“I saw Yeshua. I saw Him with my eyes. He told me to tell you—”
“No one’s going to believe you,” Peter cut her short.
Mary frowned. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“I—I don’t think you are, but Mary, why would He show up to you and not to us?”
“You didn’t come to help roll away the stone, Peter,” she reminded. “And none of you were there to take his body down from the cross.”
“I was.” John shuffled toward Mary.
Mary stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “I wasn’t the one that left when we all discovered the tomb was empty. Perhaps if you’d stayed—”
“Who else was with you?” Andrew was the reasonable one.
“Joanna, and … and Martha.”
“Any men?” Andrew arched his eyebrow.
“Of course not. You all ran back to the house when you realized the tomb was empty.”
“They’re going to frame us.” John fiddled with his fingers. “They’re going to frame us for stealing the body, and they’ll have us killed for it.”
“No one stole the body.” Peter tried to console John. “But at the same time, we don’t have proof that he’s alive.” He narrowed his eyes at Mary. “No proof other than women. And who would believe us.”
“Peter, the Messiah said He would die and come back to life. Weren’t you listening?”
“He’s not the Messiah.” Thomas leaned back into his seat. “He’s dead. If he was the Messiah, he’d still be alive and leading us—”
“But he is alive.” She barred her teeth. “And I saw him. And if you are going to call me a liar because I’m a woman—”
“We’re not calling you a liar because you’re a woman,” Peter said. “We’re simply saying no one else would believe you because you’re a woman. Your testimony won’t hold in a court of law. Unfortunately, even if you did see him, even if it were true, no one would believe us.”
Next Post
In the next post, I’ll be sharing with you some videos I’ve watched that helped strengthen the evidence of the resurrection.
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