13: The Risen Lord – It is Written – Dicussions with the Author
Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Thomas R. Shepherd, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “The Beginning of the Gospel.”
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Good afternoon, i did not quite understand this statement "Apologists for the resurrection story of Jesus have used this fact, that of women being the first ones to have seen Jesus, as powerful evidence for the veracity of the story."
Hello Natalya! In those days a woman's testimony was not considered reliable. Therefore if you are going to fabricate a story about the resurrection, you wouldn't use a woman as the first witness. I hope that answers your question and brings clarity into the situation.
Thank you! But I still do not understand. It is a confusing statement in my opinion.
If "a woman's testimony was not considered reliable", why then it is a "powerful evidence for the veracity of the story"?
"The love of women, their courage, their dignity received recognition. But it's not just that. This small group of women, 6 or so, saw Jesus die, they saw His burial, and now they have seen Jesus risen, so only their words can be considered credible. None of the men saw the death of Christ except John. None of the apostles were eyewitnesses to the burial to confirm Jesus' death. It was the women who turned out to be witnesses, because they saw everything with their own eyes. Resurrection is impossible without death and burial. True witnesses had to ascertain a real death, a real burial and a real resurrection. Women became such witnesses. They saw Christ die. They knew that He died because they did not break His legs, but pierced His side with a spear, and blood and water came out from there. They knew that Christ was dead because they saw Him buried. And now they knew that He was alive because they saw Him."
Hi again Natalya. It's almost counter intuitive, however if you were going to fabricate the story, you would have the disciples discovering the empty tomb before the women. Because in that day men and women weren't considered equal, the testimony of men would be more believable than women. In the resurrection account the men confirm the validity of the women's testimony.
It might also retrace the order of the fall into sin by mankind. Satan caused Eve to fall first, and then Adam followed. So in reversing the curse, Satan probably first saw the Risen Christ, because the angel's appearance caused the soldiers to faint "as dead men", then the women came to the tomb, and lastly the disciples. In the same order that the curse entered the world, it was revealed that the curse had been reversed by Christ's death and resurrection.
Hopefully that is more clear to you.
Oh, thank you so much, Tim! Your explanation helped me understand it.