“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.”
Luke 24:1–2
The Gospels reveal that a number of women played influential roles in ministry alongside Jesus. When Jesus traveled, it’s often assumed that it was only the Twelve who traveled with him. However, Luke introduces us to members of the wider missionary team (see Luke 8:1–3).
These women played a fundamental role as they invested their money and resources into God’s mission. Scholars reflect that they were probably wealthy upper-class women who had been healed and transformed by Jesus’ ministry. But the women were more than sponsors; they were committed to Jesus and the cause, right to the end.
When all the Twelve but John had deserted Jesus, the women were at the cross. On that first Easter Sunday, it was the women who were the first to see the empty tomb. It was the women who were visited by angels with the news of the resurrection. Finally, it is to one of the women, Mary Magdalene, that Jesus appears, and she is the one instructed to share the news with the disciples. We’re so used to reading these stories that we may not understand how significant this is. At that time a women’s testimony was not recognized in a court of law. Yet Jesus entrusted the most important news in human history to a woman and sent her to share it. As a result, early Christian writings described her as an apostle to the apostles.
Reflect: Consider the accounts of the women in Jesus’ ministry team recorded in Luke 8:1–3; 24:1–10; and John 20:25. What stands out to you most about their devotion to Jesus?
Pray:
Praise Jesus, expressing your own loyalty, love, and devotion to him.
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
A Christian reconciliation group in Israel and Palestine warned that war would come. Now the war threatens their relevance.العربيةFrançais
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