Luke 24:9-12
9 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.
I’m intrigued by why the rest of the disciples didn’t believe the report of the women who had seen the empty tomb and heard from the angels of the resurrection of Jesus. Luke records them as claiming it was because what they were told sounded like nonsense. This is fair enough, after all, it isn’t everyday that one hears of someone coming back to life! I can’t help but wonder, however, if it was also because it was the testimony of women in an era when women were treated as unreliable and lesser. I hope and believe that attitudes have changed a lot since then, but the last few years have reminded us that sexism still exists. More broadly, however, it makes me wonder if there are people I treat as unlikely to be used by or speak for God as these women did…
Father, thank you for Jesus who treated people equally and with grace, giving attention not just to those of influence and respect, but also those who were overlooked and despised. Help me by your Spirit to enable me to be more like this, seeing beyond my prejudices, to treat them with grace as you have with me.
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