Jesus is depicted as a radical thinker in scripture, whose words and actions challenge his disciples, his enemies, and the crowd that follows him everywhere. For example, by healing on the Sabbath, he places the value of human life above any rituals. He points out that the disposition of the heart is much more important than the satisfaction of the eye (Mark 7:15). His interaction with people calls into question arrogant relationships between the rich and the poor, the superiors and subordinates, and between men and women. His presence and teaching mark the arrival of the kingdom of God. The generations of his followers began to implement Jesus’ teaching in life but even today not everyone is guided by the principles set up by Jesus. His progressive views on women especially are sometimes overlooked by modern readers. Let us turn to the Gospels to see if there is evidence that Jesus changes the view on women’s status in society.

But first let us recall how women were treated in the ancient world. The fate of women is described variously throughout Greco-Roman history, ranging from the view that they were to be oppressed and despised to acknowledging a degree of their influence when they were wealthy or held a high status. Generally, however, a woman’s position is inferior to a man, and even compared to a slave. It must be noted though that Greeks and Romans did not specifically write about women but their various and at times unintentional references to wives, daughters, slaves and courtesans lift the curtain on a complex and not easy life of women and mixed attitudes toward them.

In the OT we read about some women who because of their special gifting and trust in God reached acknowledged positions in society (Deborah, Meriam, Esther, and Huldah) or influence their families’ role in society (Sarah, Rebekah, and Abigail). Some mostly poor, seemingly unimportant, unknown women changed the course of history by their simple, obedient lives and made it into genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah [Bathsheba]). Predominantly, though, a woman is depicted in relation to a male authority.

Jesus seems to elevate the status of women in several ways. First of all, the number of women involved in Jesus’ life and ministry is truly enormous. The Gospels writers lavish us with examples of women praying for and blessing Jesus’ birth (Mary, Elizabeth) and supporting Jesus throughout his ministry (Luke 8:2,3). All the Gospels present women as the first eyewitnesses to Jesus’ empty tomb and, as such, the first preachers of the gospel. In fact, they are told to go and tell the story to the disciples about Jesus’ resurrection (Mark 16:7). Although their testimonies were not admissible in judicial hearings of that day, the truth that they testified to, became the ground for Christian belief, and their credentials as well as full dignity were radically affirmed alongside the story of the resurrected Messiah.

Moreover, Jesus’ whole life and ministry demonstrates his service to women, even if it means to be countercultural. He speaks to women (John 4:27), and on their behalf (Mark 12:40). He breaks the Sabbath on behalf of a sick woman (Luke 13:10ff) and motivates another woman to become an evangelist in her village despite her background (John 4:7-42). In the story with a Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30; Math 15:21-28) Jesus receives a lesson or at least is being reminded by a woman that that the ministry of God is not limited to particular groups and persons but belongs to all who have faith. Jesus listens to her and cures her daughter.

But why are there no women disciples? Does this evidence diminish the position of women as ministers with Christ? In the male dominated society of that time where women were defined in their relationship to the male authority, it was not unexpected that only male disciples were elected to accompany Jesus, symbolically representing the restoration of Israel (twelve disciples as twelve tribes of Israel). However, thinking that only these twelve contribute to the portrait of discipleship would be erroneous. Early on in his ministry Jesus defines those who truly belong to him, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). Later he reaffirms, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). And many women whom Jesus interacts with throughout his ministry (for example, Mark 1:29-31; 5:24-34; 7:24-30; 14:3-9; 15:40-41, 47; 16:1-8) are described as those who believe him, recognise his power and authority, serve him, convey their faithfulness to him, and, thus, complete the gospel’s vision of discipleship. Those who truly do the will of God and belong to Jesus are not only men but also women who embody a faithful allegiance to the crucified and resurrected Jesus and participate in the transformative reality of God’s kingdom. (Jeffrey W. Aernie, Narrative Discipleship: Portraits of Women in the Gospel of Mark (Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2018), 5.)

Perhaps, one of the most striking examples where Jesus reinforces the position of a women as a disciple equal to men but subversive to the cultural norms of his time comes from Luke 10:38-42. This is the story of hospitality of two women extended to Jesus and his disciples. Martha is the main hostess of the house. As it was a custom for women in those days Martha runs the household but gets distracted by many tasks. Mary, on the other hand, sits with the men at Jesus’ feet and listens to him. Most likely, this matter irritates Martha at least on two levels. First, Mary is not in the kitchen where her place as a woman should be. Second, while Jewish people were advised to open their houses as a meeting point for the sages like Jesus, the interaction with women had to be minimised (Mishnah Avot 1.4-5). It seems that Martha expects to reinforce a proper customary behaviour on Mary and approaches Jesus to help her with that. Jesus’ response, however, affirms Mary’s desire to be different, to step outside of her conventional zones and to learn from Jesus, i.e., to be his disciple. He promises that her chosen path will not be taken away from her – a big opportunity for transformation in the life of this woman and evidence of Jesus’ true desire to restore not only men but also women in position to serve in the kingdom of God!

Earlier in the Gospel Luke announces that in Spirit Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of the needy and oppressed and to proclaim the season of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19). And this is exactly what Jesus does throughout his ministry. He liberates and invites all people, independent of their status, gender or ethnicity to follow him and engage in the mission of love, compassion and justice. Jesus starts a chain reaction of establishing God’s kingdom on earth, but he leaves it to his followers to implement it further. The question is to what extent do we participate in building God’s kingdom today, treating all men and women equally with dignity helping them to be transformed for service? And are we progressive in our contexts as Jesus was in his?

Revd. Dr. Svetlana Khobnya is a Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Languages at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK. She also teaches for European Nazarene Bible College and has previously co-pastored a church in Volgograd, Russia, with her husband Andrey.

 

Further reading on women in the Gospels:

Aernie, Jeffrey W. Narrative Discipleship: Portraits of Women in the Gospel of Mark. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2018.

Bauckham, Richard. Gospel Women: Studies of The Named Women in The Gospels. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Binz, Stephen J. Women of the Gospels (Ancient-Future Bible Study): Friends and Disciples of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2011.

Matthews, Susan Dehn. No Longer Silent: The Empowerment of the Women in the Gospels. Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2011.

Puerto, Mercedes Navarro & Marinella Perroni, eds. Gospels: Narrative and History. Atlanta: SBL, 2015.

Surekha Nelavala, “Smart Syrophoenician Woman: A Dalit Feminist Reading of Mark 7:24-31,” The Expository Times 118 (2006).

Further on women in the NT and women in ministry:

Cohick, Lynn. Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009.

Gaventa, Beverly Roberts. Our Mother Saint Paul. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2007.

Khobnya, Svetlana. “Preparing Women for Ministry in 1 Cor 14:34-35 and 1 Tim 2:8-15,” in Didache, February (2020). http://didache.nazarene.org

Lopez, Davina C. Apostle to the Conquered: Reimagining Paul’s Mission, Paul in Critical Contexts. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.

Marchal, Joseph A. The Politics of Heaven: Women, Gender, and Empire in the Study of Paul, Paul in Critical Contexts. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.

Meyers, Carol, Toni Craven and Ross Shepard Kraeme. Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books and the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.

Osiek, Carolyn and Macdonald, Margaret. A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Early Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.

Peppiatt, Lucy. Unveiling Paul’s Women: Making Sense of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2018.

Sunberg, Carla, ed. Faithful to the Call: Women in Ministry. Kansas City: The Foundry Publishing, 2022.

Westfall, Cynthia Long. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ. Grand Rapids: Baker Academics, 2016.

[1] Jeffrey W. Aernie, Narrative Discipleship: Portraits of Women in the Gospel of Mark (Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2018), 5.