When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.(NIV)

The first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus were ”the women” who faithfully went to His tomb in the early morning. Here is an example of the revolutionary nature of Christianity. In that culture, women were demeaned. They were regarded as less important than men. So much so that they were not allowed to be witnesses in a court of law. Every morning, in his prayers, a Jewish man would thank God that he was not born a Gentile, a woman or a slave. But the good news of the risen Lord was entrusted to a band of devoted women who were among His followers. A few years later, the apostle Paul was to write to the Christian community in Corinth:

”God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (1 Cor.1:28,29)

In this ‘Upside Down Kingdom’, God gets things done in His own way. Regularly this runs counter to human thoughts, ideas and prejudices.

Although the women were not generally believed at first, Peter modelled the right approach (12). He investigated the evidence for himself. Over the centuries, those who have followed in his steps, looking into these matters with honest hearts, have often come to believe.