Holy Week Holy Women - From Cross to Empty Tomb
Faith of Our Mothers 38
As we move through Holy Week we find Jesus surrounded by women. As we noted in our last reflection, this shouldn’t surprise us, since rituals around grieving, death and burial have often been ‘women’s work’ in many cultures, including that in which we find Jesus. You can find the reflection, “On the Way to the Cross” here. This week we consider the women at the cross and at the empty tomb.
I’ll include links to other resources where possible within our Faith of Our Mothers series or in my other writings.
All four Gospels recognise that there were women gathered at the base of the cross during Jesus’ crucifixion. All three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) indicate there were many women, so the fact that each Gospel gives a different list of named women simply means that each Gospel writer chose to focus on different members of a large group.
Matthew 27:55-56 tells us:
55 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
The synoptic Gospels all place the women at a distance, but they are clearly close enough to be mentioned: close enough to witness Jesus’ suffering; close enough to assure Jesus that he was not alone in that suffering.
There are certainly good reasons why they might stand at a distance:
The full force of Roman terror has been applied to crush the leader of this movement. It would be reasonable to assume his followers would be next. They would, perhaps, not want to stand so close that they would be identified as his followers.
They also may be keeping their distance out of concern for his dignity, given that Jesus had been stripped naked before being hung on the cross.
Mark 15:40-41 tells us:
40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
Matthew, Mark and John identify Mary Magdalene as one of these women at the cross, and Luke hints at her presence without naming her. She dominates the concluding chapters of all four Gospels - her prominence being exceeded only by that of Jesus. While we know little of her background, it is clear that for the first readers of the Gospels she was such a key leader in the church that she needed no introduction. We have two reflections on her in our series:
Mary Magdalene - Apostle of Resurrection
Luke 23:49 tells us:
49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke indicates that these women at the cross do not appear out of nowhere. They have been following Jesus all along, just as the male disciples have. They were introduced in chapter 8:1-3
Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.
These women have received healing and liberation from Jesus and, in turn, have been providing financial support for his ministry. They have been learning from him alongside the male disciples. They have been ministering to, through and for Jesus at least as much as the male disciples. There is no reason to assume that these women were excluded when Jesus sent his followers out to preach and heal. (Luke 10:1-12)
There are places in the Gospels when a particular group of 12 male disciples is mentioned. This is a significant number in the Bible, given that 12 tribes made up the Kingdom of Israel. Most of these 12 disciples went on to lead the church and take the Good News out to the world, but around the time of his crucifixion one of them betrayed Jesus, one denied knowing him, and the others seem to have fled. Only in John’s Gospel is there any indication that one of them remained at the foot of the cross, and Luke’s Gospel is vague concerning the possible presence of male disciples at the cross.
I don’t wish to disparage the male disciples here. I certainly can’t be sure I would have done any better than them. But we do need to notice the contrast the Gospel writers are holding before our eyes. Women in their culture were often thought to be more erratic and less reliable than men, yet here are the women, constant and steady, from the start of Jesus’ ministry to the cross. And because of their steadfast commitment it is women who are the first witnesses to the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus.
In John 19:25-27 the women are not at a distance, but near the cross:
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27 Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Jesus’ mother is specifically mentioned only in this Gospel, but of course she was there! She would not run from the sword that pierced her son and was destined to enter her own soul (Luke 2:34-35). We have two reflections on this remarkable woman:
Mary of Nazareth - Icon of Humanity
See also:
The Most Pregnant Women in History
Of all Jesus’ words from the cross these words to his mother and friend are, in my estimation, the most significant and most precious. With these words, Jesus announces the birth of the church, and enacts that birth with the blood and water than flow from his body.
And so Jesus dies, with words of new relationship on his lips, and the blood and water of new birth flowing from his body.
The women who loved Jesus would have been prostrated by grief, and would have carried the additional grief of being prevented from cleaning his body and preparing it for burial. By the time he was taken from the cross Sabbath, which began at sundown on Friday, was fast approaching. There was no time give his body the loving attention that was the right and obligation of his female relatives to provide. We can only imagine the grief with which they spent that time, and how little they slept those two nights. But then it was Sunday morning and, at last, they could run to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body.
All four Gospels agree that Mary Magdalene was there. John focuses exclusively on her, while the other three name her among other women. These women are charged, by Jesus or by an angel, to let the other disciples know that Jesus is alive. Mary Magdalene has, therefore, become known as “Apostle to the Apostles”.
The crucial responsibility of preaching the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection was entrusted to women then, has been faithfully carried out by women ever since, and remains a duty and delight of Christian women today. Throughout history there have been men who, like the disciples, accuse women preachers of telling “idle tales” (Luke 24:11) but the witness of these women to the resurrection remains the foundation for all preaching of the Good News.
So, let’s pray:
God who creates life through death, Who, in suffering and celebration, Calls women to your side; And sends us to the world you love With words of Victory over death, Hope beyond despair , And perseverance despite prejudice; Give us the generosity of Joanna, The strength of Mary of Nazareth, And the courage of Mary Magdalene To live and serve and testify to Truth in Mary's son. Amen
Rev Dr Margaret Wesley serves as parish priest at St Paul’s, Ashgrove, and Area Dean in Brisbane North West. Having begun her ministry in a diocese that does not ordain women, she served the church as a Bible teacher, Spiritual director, retreat facilitator, poet and liturgist since long before she was ordained. In serving the Anglican church across three dioceses, she has struggled to be a person of peace in a fractured and fractious church. Like most of us, her heart is broken in many directions over the violence in the world, in society, in Australia’s homes and in Australia’s history, so she is always looking for ways to promote peace and wholeness.
Margaret is the editor and instigator of Faith of our Mothers, and has another Substack blog for her sermons, prayers and poetry.