Crucifixion: The Witness of the Women
The tradition that the women followers of Jesus were present during the crucifixion was probably inserted to give a guarantee to the authenticity of the events described. But the artificial nature of this insertion can be seen from the fact that all four gospels simply couldn't agree as to just exactly who was present during the crucifixion. Given below is who each evangelists say was there:
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Mark 15:40-41 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses and Salome...Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. |
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Matthew 27:55-56 Many women were there watching from a distance...Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. |
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Luke 23:49 the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things. |
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John 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. |
As an interesting note, the only person all three gospels (Mark, Matthew and John) agree was there was Mary Magdalene. We know of this Mary from Luke:
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Luke 8:1-2 Soon afterward he [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Mag'dalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, |
The lack of agreement as to who the women were makes any appeal to the presence of the women at the crucifixion as the authenticating factor dubious.
To conclude what we know of the crucifixion, I quote Guignebert again:
| As a matter of fact, early tradition, with or without the guarantee of the women, was not in a position to do more than assert the essential facts: Jesus was arrested, tried, condemned and executed. Of that alone we are certain. [1] |
References
| 1. | Guignebert, Jesus: p489 |
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