Women are hardly mentioned in the first 14 chapters of the Gospel of Mark. In the 15th chapter, though, a dramatic shift occurs. When Jesus is condemned to death and picks up His cross, the leading male characters are replaced with previously unmentioned female characters. What accounts for this sudden shift? Women take center stage because the apostles, except for John, go missing. Out of fear, they are hiding from everything happening around Calvary— and in the process, they miss Jesus’ crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. While the apostles were missing, however, Jesus’ faithful female followers were present. They did not hide; instead, they remained by His side and witnessed it all. If it were not for these women, much less would be known from eyewitness accounts about what happened when the Son of God saved the world. The women at the Cross are so important to salvation history that Mark’s Gospel is not the only one to highlight the presence of Jesus’ faithful female followers. All four Gospels, as well as the Stations of the Cross, emphasize the presence of women during Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection because the existence of these women matter— they were the primary witnesses of these events, [and not just by chance]. Out of gratitude for all [that Jesus] had done for them— the ways He ministered to them and healed them both physically and spiritually—they used their feminine genius gift of fidelity to remain by His side.
While we can know little of their personal lives, their actions speak volumes about their fidelity. When all others abandoned Jesus, the presence of His faithful female disciples would have been the primary source of support extended to Him during His Passion. They were there for Him despite the danger. They were there for Him despite the emotional agony it must have caused them. Can you imagine actually witnessing Jesus’ Passion and crucifixion? It must have been heart-wrenching, yet these women were there-- [and they stayed there until the very end--] because they loved Him.
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