When the world woke up that day, Hope had come alive.
And the dead rock was pushed away,
the heavy weight lifted like a feather with the resurrection’s power.
“He is risen!” sighed the breeze He breathed again.
No more grieving—the women, first fearful, now knew
the Son of Man went before them
in death to life.
Don’t look for the Living among the dead.
~~~
” We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:4
TBD {To be determined} 
Hi Kelly, and Happy Easter! I reread the story last night–John’s rendition. The woman, Mary Magdalen, appears to have been far less afraid than the men. It was she who went, she who obeyed, she who returned, and spoke with the risen One. It was she who was entrusted first. Too often, we have ignored the great and liberating force the gospel is for women, and the absolute full, respectful, loving, and equal relationships Jesus had with his women disciples. Sorry if this seems a bit reactive to the word “fearful”. I’m sure the truth is that everyone was totally freaked out and afraid. It’s just that Mary overcame hers to reach toward the Lord. Peace and joy to you, this day and every day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/on-easter-mary-magdalene-will-be-maligned-as-a-prostitute-except-she-wasnt/2017/04/13/4e5d502a-2067-11e7-be2a-3a1fb24d4671_story.html?utm_term=.ab68d736d4b4&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure how long the fear lasted, but I do think the Bible indicates they were at first afraid. In Luke 24 it says “they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground.” In Mark 16, the women “were alarmed.” Matthew 28 tells us that there was a great earthquake, which caused the guards to fall down, and though it doesn’t specify whether the women would have felt the earthquake, the angel does tell them “Do not be afraid.” I’m not a Bible expert, so I’m not sure how exactly how the account in John 20 goes together with the other resurrection accounts, but I know they do. 🙂
I definitely agree that it is amazing that women were entrusted as the first witnesses to the resurrection since a woman’s testimony was not really trusted in that day. Surely, if the writers of the Bible were creating a myth, they would have made the characters men to be more socially acceptable.
As far as Mary Magdalene goes, she definitely was a devoted follower of Jesus. Factually, I thought she was a prostitute before that, though I’ll have to do more research, I guess. I think sometimes people emphasize she had been a prostitute (similarly calling attention to how Matthew had been a tax collector) because they want others to know that Jesus didn’t call the perfect ones. He made them perfect. It’s important for people to know that you don’t have to have “made it” to start trusting in Jesus.