The first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ were some of his female disciples. Mary Magdalene witnessed the empty tomb and was the first to encounter the risen Savior. Additionally, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other unnamed women, who had come to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, saw the empty tomb and reported it to the apostles. In this episode, Professor Gaye Strathearn explores the profound impact of the Easter events through the experiences of the women who witnessed the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. She explains how Luke’s narrative, with support from the other Gospels, connects these women to Jesus’s ministry in Galilee and portrays them as dedicated disciples who ministered to Jesus and followed him to Jerusalem. Further, the discussion underscores the women’s loyalty and sacrifice, emphasizing their presence at the Crucifixion and their discovery of the empty tomb. In exploring these narratives, we can increase our knowledge of the enduring hope and faith that the Easter events inspire and add our own witness that “he is risen” (Mark 16:6).

Publications:

• “Women Witnesses of the Easter Events” in He Was Seen: Witnessing the Risen Christ, David M. Calabro and George A. Pierce, ed., Religious Studies Center, 2024.
• "The Chosen's Amplification of Women's Voices in Scripture," in Watching The Chosen: History, Faith, and Biblical Interpretation, Robert K. Gtarcia, Paul Gondreau, Patrick Gray, and Douglas F. Huffman, ed., Eerdmans, 2025.
• “Experiencing the Doctrine of Christ,” Religious Educator, 25.3, 2024.
• Sacred Time: The Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant, Religious Studies Center, 2023.
• “Discipleship in the Olivet Discourse in Mark’s Gospel,” in “Behold the Lamb of God”: An Easter Celebration, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Frank F. Judd Jr. , and Thomas A. Wayment, ed., Religious Studies Center, 2008.
• “‘Holiness to the Lord’ and Personal Temple Worship,” Religious Educator, 23.1, 2022.

Click here to learn more about Gaye Strathearn

According to the earliest gospel accounts, on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus dined with his disciples to observe the feast of the Passover and institute what would later become the Christian eucharist (or sacrament). What would it have looked like to sit down with them that night? In this episode, Professor Matthew Grey reassesses the New Testament narratives of the Last Supper, especially its physical setting and manner of dining, by examining modern research on early Jewish dining customs with archaeological data. He challenges traditional views of Jesus and his disciples dining in an affluent upper room with a Roman triclinium (banquet hall), as the event is often depicted in art. Instead, he argues that the meal likely took place in a modest, non-elite home and reflected the lower-class dining practices of the time: sitting on reed mats, sharing cooking pots in clusters of 3—4 individuals, dipping their hands or bread into the shared vessels, and passing around a shared cup of wine. Professor Grey details how examining these new perspectives might help us envision and experience a more accurate understanding of the Last Supper’s historical and social setting as described in the synoptic gospels.

Publications:

• “‘Where May I Eat the Passover with My Disciples?’: Reassessing the Urban Setting, Furnished Room, and Dining Practices of Jesus’s Last Supper,” in Pushing Sacred Boundaries in Early Judaism and the Ancient Mediterranean, Brill, 2023
• A Place Called Gethsemane: Seeing the New Testament Story and Site in its First-Century Context with Richard Holzapfel, Deseret Book, 2025
• “Simon Peter in Capernaum: An Archaeological Survey of the First-Century Village,” in The Ministry of Peter, the Chief Apostle, Religious Studies Center, 2014

Click here to learn more about Matthew Grey