MATTHEW 28:8

One of the strong points of the resurrection message was not only the angelic testimony and witness but also the testimony of the women. In his Newsweek article on “Rethinking the Resurrection,” Kenneth L. Woodward said, “Had the story been invented solely for propaganda purposes, the early Christians would have used men as the first witnesses, since the testimony of women carried far less authority in the patriarchal Jewish society” (Newsweek pg. 66, April 1996). However, God never goes by the status quo. I find it still true that God delights in using the weak things and the base things to confound the wise.

Women being despised, God elevated them into prominence and again recognized their intrinsic worth and valuableness to His program. Eve brought pain, but He used Mary to reintroduce hope into our fallen world. After His resurrection, He again used the women to be the first proclaimers of this most glorious message. He is most certainly the God of a second chance and a third chance. He came to restore. In His economy, women are not dismissed or treated as insignificant, but they too are indispensable.

It is noteworthy that the women marked the spot where they laid the crucified Messiah and came back with spices, early on Sunday morning to anoint the broken, wounded, dead body of Jesus (Luke 24:1). They came to do loving service to the precious body of the One they loved so well, but when they came, they were confronted with the drama and frightening mystery of the empty tomb.

An empty tomb made for the most powerful theme of the Christian message. For us, an empty tomb bespeaks the begetting of a lively hope. It tells in an obviously splendid manner, that the resurrection of the dead, the most glorious resurrection back into life, had taken place. The empty tomb eloquently tells the story that death had given way to life. Death was finally knocked out and defeated. The sting of death was finally removed.

Today, we vociferously declare that the empty remains one of Christianity’s most enduring images, but we also must swiftly acknowledge that the empty tomb by itself means extraordinarily little. It must never be overlooked that the empty tomb is offered always in conjunction with the dynamic message of the risen Savior. It serves as proof to the message that the crucified Messiah rose from the dead just like He said. It is offered as supporting evidence.

With dogmatic certainty, the Scriptures reveal “And the angel answered and said to the women, Fear not: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold He goeth before you into Galilee; there ye shall see Him; lo, I have told you” (Matthew 28:5-7). It further states, “And they departed quickly with fear and great joy; and did run and bring His disciples word” (Matthew 28:8). As they were carefully instructed, they meticulously followed. They ran with the message of the empty tomb and the Risen Savior. They accurately and courageously bore witness to the things which they saw and heard. We still believe the awe-inspiring testimony of the women!