Unexpected Witnesses

There’s a comical video that floats around social media with boxer Mike Tyson saying his back is broken. Generally we don’t think of someone with a broken back being able to compete athletically, and definitely not in a boxing ring. I don’t know what the condition of his back actually was, but the clip has floated around for a few years as folks have generally rolled their eyes at the validity of his broken back claim.

Ever know someone who makes claims you just don’t believe? Many of us have had someone like this in our lives. A coworker who has missed work when his grandmother died...for the third time, or some other tall tale teller we know. I was once standing in front of my brother-in-law’s home when a total stranger told me he had seen turtles in the Saw Mill River the size of Volkswagens. If you’re not from NY this river is only about 20 feet wide and you can walk across it. Some stories simply aren’t believable because of who’s telling them. Others aren’t believable because of the story itself.

In the Bible there was a time when both happened at the same time. The story of resurrection is unbelievable. Risen from the grave? Maybe if you told me someone was resuscitated after a couple minutes, but three days and buried? That’s a bit too much to believe. And then you had to throw in who was telling the story...women. 

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Luke 24:1-3

Now don’t time me out, sisters. But in the first century women weren’t considered reliable sources. Generally they weren’t educated, and legally they couldn’t sign contracts, legal documents, or even testify in court. We get an unbelievable story from an unreliable source.

Why is that important? For a couple of reasons in particular. One, this was revolutionary. God didn’t limit himself by the labels society placed on people. At the birth of Christ the same thing had occurred, only with shepherds. They also couldn’t legally testify, yet were the first witnesses of Christ’s birth. Now at his resurrection God would do it again.

As you read through Luke 24, as well as the other gospels, you can tell that ‘nobody expected to find no body.’ That’s what happened though, and among all who would witness the death and resurrection of Christ the first were women. Had the story been fictional you never would have had unreliable sources as your witnesses. It wouldn’t make any sense. We have writings from the second century where others mock the resurrection account based on the women’s testimony. If you were making the story up you would choose sources everyone would believe. But the story isn’t made up so it is told the way it took place. The disciples knew this would hurt their credibility. Nonetheless, they told the story the way it happened.

Society still tries to stick labels on us. Based on our gender, race, our past, and more. Don’t accept them. Just keep serving Jesus and testify of all you’ve seen and heard. On this weekend of resurrection celebration let’s be grateful for some women who did this 2,000 years ago, and let’s let God use us as well.

Following the Son,

James A Williams