Women Witnesses of the Easter Events: Gaye Strathearn on Luke and John

This chapter, written by BYU ancient scripture professor Gaye Strathearn, appears in He Was Seen: Witnessing the Risen Christ, edited by David Calabro and George Pierce and published by the Religious Studies Center with Deseret Book. The RSC has the full chapter online, and what follows is our own short summary. The RSC page does not show a separate publication date for the chapter, so we have not given one. Strathearn was also recently named the RSC's new publications director, according to the RSC home page.

Two ways of looking at the women

Strathearn blends personal reflection with close reading. She begins with a visit to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, where a guide's testimony of the Resurrection stayed with her. She notes that the tomb there is probably not Jesus's actual tomb, but says it has still been a spiritual touchstone.

Luke's women disciples

In Luke, the women at the cross and tomb are the same women introduced earlier as traveling with Jesus and supporting him from their own means. Strathearn argues this connection shows their sacrifice and their steady discipleship: they did not simply watch from a distance but stayed with Jesus through the hardest week. She points out that Mary Magdalene is usually listed first among the women in the Gospels, which may suggest a leading role. Strathearn notes that Luke's wording suggests the women told the apostles repeatedly, and that the apostles at first treated the report as an idle tale until Peter went to see for himself.

John's Mary Magdalene

John's account centers on Mary Magdalene alone. After Peter and the other disciple leave the empty tomb, Mary stays, weeping. Strathearn highlights two moments: the angels' question, and then the risen Jesus calling her by name, which is when she recognizes him. She also notes the parallel between Jesus's question to Mary, "Whom seekest thou?", and his earliest question to John and Andrew, and reads this as a theme that revelation comes to those who actively seek it.

What she draws from it

Strathearn closes with a personal application: the Savior knows each of us by name, even when we mistake his presence for something ordinary, and disciples can minister to him by consecrating their time, means and will. She also shares her own experience of grief and says the hope of the Resurrection is real to her.

Notes on this summary

This is a faithful but brief overview, and the chapter's footnotes and Greek-language discussion are worth reading in full. For the scholarship behind Strathearn's claims, use the original linked above.