As debates about complementarianism rage on in the 21st century, so also do the viewpoints of popular bloggers, speakers, and pastors. Books debating the role of women in first-century Rome are plenty, and commentary on what–if any–role women should have in church ministry today continue to make headlines.
But perhaps no perspective should matter in the debate as much as that of Jesus and what He believed while He walked the earth. Since the Bible is often used as reference material to support varying opinions on the issue of women’s rights–and since the Bible is not silent as to the interaction Jesus had with women during His ministry–His example could and should be prominent in the conversation.
Here we find 3 undeniable observations:
Women have a prominent role in the story of Jesus on Earth
From the beginning of the life of Jesus, the Bible unapologetically explains Christ’s entrance into the world with the words, “born of a woman.” Certainly birth would seem to imply the presence of a female, but instead of glossing over Mary’s role, Scripture repeatedly draws attention to her significance.
Furthermore, Jesus repeatedly cares for His mother in simple and profound ways throughout His life. In what is arguably the most important biblical scene–where Jesus hangs on the Cross to atone for the sins of the world–He addresses his mother. “When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, ‘Dear woman, here is your son” (John 19:26).
In other, less emotionally gripping (though not less biblically significant) scenes, Jesus interacted in numerous ways with women. By God’s design, women were the first to see Jesus following His resurrection. In fact, Jesus sent women–not men–to go tell the disciples that He was alive.
Consequently, some scholars argue that when Jesus commissioned these women to go and proclaim His resurrection, He was placing His stamp of approval on women proclaiming Good News.
Women were never treated as subservient in the conversations of Jesus on Earth
Repeatedly and decisively Jesus demolished any concept of hierarchy in Christian relationships. In one notable example, He crossed social and cultural barriers to sit with the woman at the well. The conversation that ensued is one of the longest and most detailed discussions recorded in the Bible. In what cannot be denied as anything but “truth expressed in love,” Jesus graciously compelled this woman–who by all accounts was living in sin–to leave her water jar and go tell everyone in town what she had learned of Jesus. If any woman was ever to have felt the disdain or disapproval of Christ–as a second-class citizen in a culture that was not generally supportive of women–certainly it would have been a woman married 5 times and now sharing her bed with a 6th man who was not her husband.
In another brief example, the synoptic writers consistently recorded the interaction Jesus had with the woman complaining of a bleeding disorder. And in each instance, the writer used terms to indicate the kind, compassionate manner in which He addressed this “daughter of Abraham”–a term by definition indicating tender respect. This woman with an issue of blood would not have earned a tender response from the men of her era, and yet Jesus demonstrated compassion. Certainly this was a counter-cultural choice on His behalf.
Women were equal recipients of goodness and Truth in the ministry of Jesus on Earth
When Jesus spoke to the crowds–whether at the feeding of the 5,000 or when speaking to the crowds in Galilee–He never dismissed the women or limited His remarks to the men in the audience. In a supreme act of love, He held women as personally responsible for their sin as anyone else. When He addressed the woman in adultery (seen in John 8), or when the woman anointed His feet (see Luke 7), He confronted their sinful choices as dogmatically as He did the sinful actions of their male counterparts.
Jesus never rebuffed a woman who reached out to Him. He valued their friendship (as seen with Mary and Martha) and welcomed their witness.
Jesus’s regard for the women with whom He interacted–and the fact that God inspired the careful inclusion of these events in the Bible–establishes
Jesus as a revolutionary in His day. Indeed, His treatment of women was and remains as unique as any other aspect of His ministry.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
