If the Apostles had fabricated the Easter account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, they wouldn’t have done this: the Gospels say that women were the first to discover the empty tomb of Christ, and to encounter him in his now glorified body. In fact, each of the four Gospels presents Mary Magdalene as the first person to inform the disciples that Jesus was alive (the reason she is often called the “Apostle to the Apostles”). Why are we sure things actually happened this way? Women, unfortunately, were not considered reliable witnesses in first-century Judaism at the time of Jesus. Consider these quotes:
Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women (Talmud, Sotah 19a).
But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex…since it is probable that they may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of punishment (Josephus, Antiquities 4.8.15).
Any evidence which a woman (gives) is not valid (to offer)…This is equivalent to saying that one who is Rabbinically accounted a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman (Talmud, Rosh Hashannah 1.8).
(All references quoted in Habermas and Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, p. 72)
This sheds light on the Gospel passages that inform us that the Apostles initially thought the message of Jesus’ resurrection was a “tall tale”:
Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it (Mark 16:9-11).
Thankfully, the Catholic Church has done much to promote the dignity of women since then! It’s safe to say that, if he Apostles wanted to convince their fellow Jews that Jesus is the Messiah, they likely would have said that Peter, or even Joseph of Arimathea, had discovered the empty tomb. The fact that all of the Gospels list the potentially embarrassing detail that women were the primary witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection greatly adds to the credibility of their accounts.