Why were women of the Bible the first witnesses to the resurrection?

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” – John 20:18, ESV

Many of the accounts and stories we read in the New Testament involve the twelve men Jesus appointed as apostles. Each played a significant role in the salvation story that unfolds throughout Jesus’ ministry. Jesus gave them great responsibility and authority. He sent them to cast out evil spirits, heal the sick, and tell more people about the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2). They stood front and center in many stories told within the gospels.

So WHY did Jesus first appear to these women of the Bible after the world-changing event of His resurrection?

“The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.’” – Matthew 28:8-10, NLT

The Bible does not explicitly answer why Jesus revealed Himself to the women first; however, we can look at the character of God to shed some light on the possibilities. Although we could build an exhaustive list of arguments, for the sake of this article, we’ll talk about three factors: women’s role in society during that time period, the heart of Jesus, and women’s role in Jesus’ ministry.

3 Factors That Explain Why Jesus Chose These Women of the Bible

1. Women’s Role in Society in Jesus’ Day

First-century society viewed women as a lower social class and forced them into a “severely restricted position.” Men would even pray a prayer of gratefulness that they weren’t born a woman. This prejudice went deep into religious teaching, which viewed women as defiled and a source of temptation – a threat to a man’s religious devotion. (1)

It would have been highly uncommon for women to join a religious man’s ministry or to travel amongst his group of followers. Society not only discouraged this, but people also treated the presence of women as suspicious, harming the credibility of the religious leader and his teachings.

The culture viewed women so poorly that courts deemed their testimony inadmissible. (2) Imagine if a woman witnessed a murder solely on her own, and the judge completely disregarded her words as unreliable. This is the world women navigated day in and day out. Yet Jesus showed up and demonstrated a much different appreciation and respect for them.

2. The Heart of Jesus

The entirety of the Bible tells of God’s deep and enduring love for us. In Matthew 5, Jesus expresses some specifics that relate to our question here.

• Matthew 5:3: “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (NLT). The ESV translation uses the phrase “poor in spirit”. James 4:6-10 describes what that looks like. In summary, it says to come close to God, wash your hands, purify your hearts, let there be remorse for the things you’ve done against God, “humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up in honor” (James 4:10). Just like God, Jesus honors those whose hearts are teachable, repentant, and seek to abide in Him.
• Matthew 5:4: “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (NLT) This verse describes the depth of understanding, love, and compassion Jesus has for those who are suffering.
• Matthew 5:8: “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (NLT) This verse reveals that God will draw near to those whose deepest desire is to honor Him.
  From these three verses alone, we see that God has deep empathy for those who need Him.

A person in love with the world may feel drawn to people who dress or live a certain way. Unlike the world, Jesus expressed in these verses that He sees people much differently. He looks deeper.

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7, ESV

Like God, Jesus has tender mercy and adoration for those who are pure in heart and seek to abide in Him. Although society looked down upon women and their very presence as Jesus’ followers would have sparked controversy, He welcomed them with love and open arms.

3. Women’s Role in Jesus’ Ministry

Luke 8:1-3 gives a descriptive account of women joining the men who traveled with Jesus during his ministry. Luke lists some by name: “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.”

We see in these two verses that 1) women broke social norms to follow Jesus, and 2) they supported Him and His disciples out of their own financial means.

Luke mentioned in verse 2 that Jesus had healed the women of evil spirits and infirmities. This sets the stage for their motivation and their dismissal of social expectations to follow Jesus and help fund His work. He had restored their health and lives. Through His unwavering grace, He also restored their dignity and gave them a voice that society had silenced. Jesus brought women into the fold and showed them they held considerable value.

The First Witnesses of the Salvation Story

With a little more perspective on women’s role in society, the heart of Jesus, and the role of women in His ministry, let’s consider why He may have chosen women as the first people to see Him after His resurrection.

One possibility is that these women loved Jesus deeply and devoted themselves to Him with pure hearts (Matthew 5:8). Jesus found them reliable and worthy of stewarding this historic testimony.

Another contributing factor could be their strong faith. They easily believed that Jesus fulfilled what He had foretold. Yet, some of the disciples struggled to understand. We see this in Matthew 28:17 (NLT) which says, “When they saw him they worshiped him – but some doubted!”

Throughout the Bible, God positions women, men, people of different ethnic backgrounds, social status, ages, and even those with contagious diseases to tell the story of redemption. Jesus revealing Himself first to Mary Magdalene and the other women is just one example showing that God looks not at worldly characteristics or status, but at the heart. Although authors are no longer writing the Bible, history continues to unfold, and Jesus has a role for each of us – to love others as He did and point them to Himself.

Want to keep exploring the Easter story? If you loved reading about how Jesus revealed Himself to the women at the tomb, don’t miss our deeply personal devotional on this exact moment: The Real Easter Story: When Jesus Speaks Your Name.

References:

1. William G. Johnsson, Jesus of Nazareth: His Life, His Message, His Passion (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute; Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2015), 1:116-117.
2. Craig L. Blomberg, Women. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 825-826.