Deeper Reflection
TRUTH MUST BE TOLD AS IT IS, EVEN IF THE WITNESSES present at the scene were (wrongly) deemed as less reliable by their society because they were female. The credibility of the women’s account may have been further doubted as their emotions were at the time highly charged with fear, astonishment and awe.²⁷The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an undeniable historical fact and cornerstone of the Christian faith. Some opponents and sceptics did extensive research of the available evidence in order to refute the resurrection, but instead ended up writing volumes and books to prove that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.²⁸ Eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Christ were amazingly transformed from a discouraged and fearful lot²⁹ into courageous messengers of the Gospel and martyrs forChrist in the face of opposition, persecution and death. For example, Simon Peter – specifically mentioned by the angel (v.7) – had previously denied Jesus three times and was consequently crushed in his spirit. After Peter saw the resurrected Christ and was restored by Him by the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias) one morning (see Jn 21), Peter went on to preach the Gospel to thousands and later died as a martyr.³⁰ After Saul of Tarsus (later called Paul), encountered the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus while on a mission to arrest Christians, he became a faithful follower of Christ and a fearless proclaimer of the Gospel to Jews as well as Gentiles (see Acts 9:1-31). Church history testifies to countless lives of men and women so utterly changed that nothing short of God’s love and power could account for such a transformation.

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²⁷ In fact, the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel according to Mark ended this resurrection account – and indeed the entire Gospel account – rather abruptly (in a sense, hanging in mid-air) at verse 8 with the women fleeing away in fear and astonishment! ²⁸ See Frank Morison’s Who Moved the Stone?, Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict, and Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ. ²⁹ All of Jesus’ disciples deserted Him when He was arrested, and after His death they went into fearful hiding (Mk 14:26-50; Jn 20:1-19). ³⁰ Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down upon his request because he deemed himself unworthy to die in the same manner as his Saviour.