Daily Devotional For Monday, March 23, 2026
Good day Southside! Our devotional reading for today comes from Matthew 27:57-61:
“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. (58) This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. (59) And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. (61) And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave” (NASB).
I know we looked at this some yesterday but for today I want to return to this and all of us look at the last part of this Scripture. In the first century, women were considered property of their husbands and/or fathers. A woman’s testimony was inadmissible and unacceptable in the first century. It was common for Jewish men to pray, “Lord, thank You that I am not a Gentile dog nor a woman.” These Jewish men were serious in their prayers with this and so it is remarkable that Matthew lists women and their names in his text knowing how in his day this would be frowned upon.
But we must give credit where credit is due for this – the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So we should take God for this. Women have come a long way in their position in society, especially in America since the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Though men and women are equal before God (Gal. 3:28), they do have clearly defined roles and functions in Scripture (1 Tim. 2:12; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-7; 1 Peter 5:1-2). While some view this as being sexist and prejudicial, it is God’s standard. Yet, Matthew chose to list the names of women due to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and I am so glad that he does.
What can we say about these women? First, there were many of them according to Matthew 27:55. While the women were at the cross for Jesus, the disciples fled. It was not the men who were there, but the women. New Testament scholar D.A. Carson says the women were there in "timidity and modesty” (Source: D.A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 652).
We know also that the “mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Matt. 27:56) was there, whose sons Jesus called “the sons of thunder.” It is interesting that the mother of the “sons of thunder” is there but not the “sons of thunder.” She was the one who had asked Jesus to allow her two sons to sit on His right and left after He established His earthly kingdom as a sign of kingdom greatness. If she had not learned how God defines greatness, perhaps seeing Jesus on the cross helped her experience what greatness really was and is. Mary Magdalen is there. She is the woman that Jesus cast out 7 demons possessing her (Luke 8:2). Matthew describes these women as “ministering to Jesus” while He was on the cross (Matthew 27:55).
Second, this reminds us all as New Testament scholar Kent Hughes writes “the X chromosome matters” (Source: Kent Hughes, Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth, p. 888).Ever since Eve sinned, (and let's not forget Adam was with her and he sinned along with Eve), women have been blamed for sin coming into the world. When God came walking in the cool of evening in Genesis 3, it is Adam that God addresses primarily and first (Gen. 3:9), not the woman. Why? God had commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of evil before Eve was ever created (Gen. 2:15-17). In the Gospels, it’s the women who are seen as heroic and faithful, not the men or disciples.
It’s the women who experience the Resurrection first. In our text, many women are at the cross and two women are at the tomb. Not a large funeral but enough to meet the Old Testament Law’s requirement about accepting the testimony of witnesses – 2 were the minimum (Deut. 19:15). Think about this for a moment. It was the women who were the first eyewitnesses to the greatest historical event ever in the history of the world – the Resurrection.
It was not the remaining 11 disciples. In fact, upon hearing the testimony of the women and the 2 followers of Jesus on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24, the 11 disciples did not believe even their testimony. In the Bible, and especially the Gospels, women are the heroes while the men at times are seen as the zeros. Courageous brave men fled from Jesus; humble and timid women fled to the cross and the Tomb. Matthew took a great risk of including this knowing how women were seen and accepted in his day. To me, this reaffirms the inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit who was not threatened by cultural prejudices.
Reflection Assignment: Who would you say was or is a hero in you coming to Christ? Are there certain Christians you have a prejudice or bias against either due to their gender, their status, their nationality, their socio-economic standing, their education or their background who have been a part of your life? If you were to write your testimony, would you include these or exclude them? Why? Who is the “lesser of these” that you need to affirm and encourage?
Scripture To Meditate On: Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to love everyone free of prejudice and bias. Help me to see people as You see them. Help me to internalize that “apart from the grace of God,” I would still be lost in my sin. I want to love as You love others. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly