Having
looked at length at some of the excuses women might have for not fulfilling
their role in the Church and in missions, we will next begin to look at
examples of women in Scripture who did fulfil their particular calling in their
own time and we will begin by looking at some women who met Jesus and whose
lives were changed because of it. One of the things we might need to mention
first of all is that Jesus ministered in a nation during a time when the role
of the woman was very limited because, according to Jewish Tradition, a woman
was not to be taught the Scriptures. One example is that of Rabbi
Eliezer who has said:
“Rather
should the words of the Torah, the Old Testament, be burned than entrusted to a
woman.”[1] In fact, not only were women separated and silenced in the Synagogue and Temple,
they were separated and silenced in their homes as well, not eating meals with
their husbands when guests were present. Some Rabbis carried this even further
by saying:
“A
man must not be served by a woman.”[2] One Jewish prayer, which is still being prayed today, is as follows:“Praise
be to God that He has not created me a Gentile.
Praise be to God that He has not created me a woman.
Praise be to God that He has not created me an ignorant man.”[3]
With this background in mind we will now look at how Jesus treated women.
We will do this by studying some of the encounters that Jesus had with either
an individual woman or a group of women as related to us in the Gospels.
Mary, Martha’s Sister The first passage we’ll look at can be found in Luke 10:38-42 and is the story of Mary, the sister of Martha.
As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” “Martha, Martha”, the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”
This is really a remarkable story for it draws a picture of a scene, which at the time of Jesus was unknown. No respectable Rabbi would ever allow a woman to “sit at his feet”, meaning to be taught by him, to be a disciple of him. But this is exactly what Jesus allowed Mary, a woman, to do. Not only did He allow her to do so, He openly affirmed her choice saying she had made the best choice, which would never be taken from her. He thereby recognised that she, as a woman, had the capacity and the right to choose wisely. This was completely contradictory to centuries of male domination and religious Tradition. Furthermore, Mary’s sitting at the feet of Jesus caused her to have an understanding of Jesus’ role possibly beyond any other disciple, including the Twelve. We can see that in John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of My burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.”
We see here Mary risking her very reputation by loosening her hair, for a woman’s hair was never to be worn loose in public. However, Mary was so focused on serving her Lord that she no longer cared about her dignity. All she could think of was giving Jesus, the One who was about to die for her, her very best. By this action she prepared Jesus for His burial, an act Jesus fully understood at that time, while Mary very likely at least had some understanding of it due to the teachings she had received at His feet.
The Adulterous Woman
We will next look at John 8:3-11, the
story of the woman caught in adultery
The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Jesus, this
woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone
such women. Now what do You
say?” They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis to
accuse Him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on
the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He
straightened up and said to them,”If any one of you is without sin let him be
the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground
with His finger. At this, those who heard began to go away one
at a time, the older ones first, until Jesus was left, with the woman still
standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman,
where are they, has no-one condemned you?” “No-one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life
of sin.”
It is interesting to note that her partner in crime was not there to be accused
since in fact both the man and the woman caught in adultery were to be stoned
according to the Law of Moses. Jesus, full of compassion, did not treat the woman
as a man’s property which had been trespassed upon. At the same time He made it
clear that she was personally responsible for sin in her life.
The Samaritan Woman
We will now look at John 4:4-42, the
story of the Samaritan woman.
Now He had to go through Samaria.
So He came to a town called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to
his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. And Jesus tired as He was from the
journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When the Samaritan
woman came down to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give Me a drink?”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to
Him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a
drink?” For Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered, “If you
knew the gift of God and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would
have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” “Sir”, the
woman said, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you
get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the
well and drank from it himself as did his sons and his flocks and herds?” Jesus
answered, “Every one who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever
drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to
Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming
here to draw water.” He told her, “Go call your husband and come back.” “I
have no husband”, she replied. Jesus said to her, “you are right when you say
you have no husband. The fact is you have had five husbands, and the one you
now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir”,
the woman said, “I can see You are a Prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this
mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is Jerusalem.” Jesus
declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know, we worship what we do know for
salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for they are the kind
of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit and His worshippers must worship
in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, "I know that Messiah, called
Christ, is coming. When He comes He will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus
said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” Just then the disciples returned and
were surprised to find Him talking to a woman. But no-one asked, “What do You
want, or why are You talking with her?” Then leaving her water jar, the woman
went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me
everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ? “ They came out of the town
and made their way towards him. Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat
something.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing
about.” Then His disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought Him
food?” “My food”, said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent Me and
to finish His work. Do you not say, “Four months more and then the harvest”? I
tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest.
Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal
life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying
“One sows and another reaps” is true. I sent you to reap what you have not
worked for; others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of
their labour.” Many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the woman’s
testimony : “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans
came to him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. And
because of His words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no
longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this Man really is the Saviour of the world.”
This Samaritan woman had not one thing against her, not two, but in fact had
three things working against her; she was of the wrong race, she was of the
wrong gender and she was living in sin. No Jewish Rabbi would have looked at
such a woman and of course would have never spoken to such a woman but we see
here the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rabbi of rabbis doing what no Teacher of the
Law would ever consider doing; He talked to this woman who was considered an
outcast in her own society and as such would have been avoided by anyone else
of the town as we can see from the fact that she came to the well at mid-day,
instead of later in the day when all the other women of the town would be there
to collect water. Moreover, in His conversation with her He revealed things
about Himself He did not generally disclose the main issue that He was the
Messiah they were looking for. This means that He must have believed that she
as a woman, who was not even of the chosen Jewish race and who lived a sinful
life, was able to grasp the meaning of what He taught her. He thereby entrusted
to her a powerful message, which He no doubt intended for her to share with
others. This was in such stark contrast to whatever this woman would have known
through the Traditions she had grown up with and would have liberated her to
such an extent that she did indeed dare tell her story with amazing results.
For as we have already read, the woman, having completely forgotten why she had
come to the well, as we know from the words “leaving her jar at the well”, went
back to the town and preached her very first sermon to the people of her town
about her encounter with Jesus. As a result, John says, the people believed.
Afterwards, her words were confirmed by Jesus Himself.
Mary Magdalene We will next look at
John 20:1-18, the story of Mary Magdalene
Early, on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So
she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and
said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they
have put Him.” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were
running but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent
over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw
the strips of linen lying there as well the burial cloth that had been around
Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Finally the other disciple who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He
saw and believed. They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had
to rise from the dead.
Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood outside the tomb
crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and saw two angels in
white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the
foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my
Lord away”, she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” At this she
turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was
Jesus.
”Woman”, He said, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking He
was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where
you have put Him and I will get Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary” She turned
towards Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni”, which means “Teacher” Jesus
said, “Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go
instead to My brothers and tell them, “I am returning to My Father and your
Father, to My God and your God.” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the
news: “I have seen the Lord," she said. And she told them that He had said
these things to her.
We do not know too much about Mary Magdalene but we know that she was a
follower of Jesus. Luke gives us some details of her in Luke 8:1-3
“After this time Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another,
proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom
of God. The Twelve were
with Him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases:
Mary called Magdalene from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna, the wife of
Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna and many others. These women
were helping to support them out of their own means.
She is mentioned as well in Matthew 27:56
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus
from Galilee to care for His needs. Among them
were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of
Zebedee’s sons.
Because of what Jesus had done in her life, Mary Magdalene, no doubt, had
become a devoted follower of Jesus. She had received His teachings but more
than that she had received His personal care and attention when He delivered
her from a number of demons. It is obvious from the account in John 20 that she
was totally devoted to the Lord. So much so that when the tomb was found empty
and both Peter and John decided that there was no point in staying on, Mary
still stayed on. She had nowhere else to go. Her life was about her Teacher,
the One who had given her life, had given her hope, had given her dignity. And
she was well rewarded for her patient devotion for she was the only one of the
three whose eyes were opened to see the two angels. Most importantly of course
is the fact that she was the first person to see the Lord after His
Resurrection. This in itself speaks a clear message that God values women. The
story reveals to us that this woman, the moment she recognised her Lord’s
voice, had no difficulty in believing that the Lord, whose dead Body she had
seen hung on the Cross, had come back to life. She did not question whether He
really was the Lord. No, none of these things. She heard Him call her by her
own name, and she instantly knew that this was her Lord, her Saviour. Though
she did not know how He who had died, could have come back to life, there was
no doubt in her mind that this was so.The Lord then entrusted to her a most
important message; the message of His Resurrection. Please note that He did not
ask her to get anyone of the Twelve so that he could pass this message on to
him. No, He entrusted this message to her, a woman, fully confident that she
would be faithful to her assignment, which indeed she was.
The Crippled Woman
Another passage I would like for us to look at is the story of the crippled woman as in Luke 13:10-17
On a Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the Synagogue Ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.’ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing.
This is truly a wonderful story of God’s compassion and grace. I particularly want to focus on the fact that Jesus called this woman “a daughter of Abraham” which had never been said of a woman. According to the Traditions, only circumcised men were part of the covenant and, as such, “sons of Abraham”. Women could only indirectly be part of the covenant through a husband or other male relatives. Jesus, however, makes it very clear here that women were as much part of the Covenant in their own right and had an equal share in its promises and its blessings as men.[4]
From these accounts we can learn that Jesus valued women, gave them life, gave them hope, restored their dignity and sent them out to preach the Gospel.
The Woman Not Among the Twelve
It is true that Jesus did not include
women in His team of the Twelve. This is most likely because Jesus knew that,
though He had come as the Saviour of the world, His teaching and preaching
ministry would only be to the Jewish nation, a nation steeped in Traditions
beyond the Scriptures which, over time, had severely limited the role of women.
His choice of twelve men was very much with this nation in mind. I would like
to add that they were twelve Jewish men, for neither men of Gentile descent nor
women would have been accepted among the Jewish people, while the number twelve
reflects the number of tribes of Israel.[5] What
we see then is that Jesus was preparing the way for women to be fully engaged
in the work of God’s Kingdom expecting this to be continued and to be expanded
beyond what He Himself had already established. NOTES
THE WOMAN WHO MET
JESUS
1. Charles
Trombley. Who said woman can’t teach? (South
Plainfield, NJ 07080:Bridge Publishing, Inc., 1985),
p.7.
2. ibid.
3. ibid., p.
29.
4. ibid., p.
225.
5. J. Lee
Grady. 10 Lies the Church tells women. (Lake
Mary, Florida 32746:Charisma House, 2000), pp. 41-43.
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