April 5, 2023

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20

Is it not accurate to state that the central-most event of the New Testament is the resurrection of Jesus? Most readers are likely to agree that it is, even those who view Scripture as merely a historical document. There is a fascinating aspect, however, of the chronology of those who actually believed that Jesus was resurrected! Matthew implicitly conveys that the first were the Roman guards (see 27:66 & 28:4).

So, the Roman guards went straight to the Jews—specifically the chief priests—to report it. And they, in turn, pulled the elders together and all agreed that something must be done. This certainly explains why the religious leaders bribed the guards to lie about it (28:11-15). In addition to paying the Roman guards a large sum (v.12), they added that, if necessary, they stood ready to appease the Roman governor in order to protect them (v.14). Isn’t it ironic that the first to believe in the resurrection were the enemies of Christ?

Next in this chronological lineup come the women who went to the tomb, found it opened and empty, and were told by the heavenly messengers that Jesus was alive! (Mark 16:1-7) Women! Everyone likes to be the “first to know” a good piece of news. But, culturally speaking, the testimony of women was considered, at the worst, totally untrue, and unreliable at best. (see Luke 24:11)

Based on a detail in John’s account, Mary Magdalene was a bit ahead of the other women at the tomb, having arrived while it was still dark (20:1). All she knew was that it was empty—and she ran and told Peter and John (v.2) and they both ran together to the tomb but John outran Peter and got there first—then Peter entered the tomb, followed by John. While both disciples saw the linen graveclothes, it was John, the youngest of all of the disciples, who first believed—between the two of them, that is. (v.8)

And after all of this, the first follower to actually see Jesus alive was Mary (v.16). For those who seek lessons from the seemingly small details of Scripture, there is at least one lesson that can be readily learned from this ‘lineup’ of characters: our Lord has a wonderful way of upending the human perspective of priorities, within society, and especially how we may view ourselves. Paul said is succinctly:

For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:11