Why were there no men at the empty tomb?
The biblical accounts specify all the women who were there at first light: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, the other Mary, Salome, Joanna, and other women.
Was it typically the woman’s duty to care for the bodies of the departed? Or were the men kept away by the facts: Jesus was dead and everyone knows death is final. End of story.
But might there be something else here to see? What had God created specifically in women that drove these six that Sunday morning to express their deep love by going near Jesus to anoint His body?
Because of love they went to be with Him.
Because of love they encountered the angels.
Because of love they were the first to see Jesus alive!
And they believed!
“Selfless love is beauty in action.”
The mysterious handiwork of God to create in women a uniquely different capacity for belief is on display at the tomb. Jesus honors His female disciples, quick to recognize and believe the impossible by giving them the first sighting of His resurrected life! When I give my belief to Jesus in obedience, in surrender, in hope, even as I wait for His timing, I am in turn given life!
For we are His works of art, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
The eager, welcoming faith of these women was abundantly rewarded, while the inner circle of 11 disciples, was later rebuked by Jesus for not believing the truthful report of the women.
I want to be like the women who went to be near Jesus, even though they thought hope was lost. When my world feels hopeless, when my prayers feel lifeless, I want to go near Jesus with a quick-to-believe faith that rises above my fears. Do you? Will you talk to Him tonight about your fears that hinder your faith?
