When I read the Gospels, I see a Jesus who treated women in a radical, counter-cultural way. Jesus was born into a society where women were not much more than property, but Jesus treated women differently. He treated them like real human beings who mattered and were worthy enough to follow Him and to be taught by Him. Here are some examples of how Jesus treated women, and how women were at the forefront of the main highlights of His gospel story.
The Samaritan Woman
In John 4, the first person to whom Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah was a Samaritan woman. Not Peter, not John, not even a fellow Jew. Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another. They were racist, so much so that Jews would walk around the entire area of Samaria (and make a longer trip) so they wouldn’t have to come into contact with a Samaritan. It was also physically dangerous to travel through each other’s towns. Not only was he talking to a Samaritan, but also to a woman. Typically in this culture, men didn’t talk to women, especially women they didn’t know. This is why the disciples were surprised when they saw Jesus doing this.
Additionally, Jesus did not choose a righteous woman who followed all the laws and all the rules. He chose a woman who was unwed and living with her boyfriend, after having quite a few different husbands. She was an outcast, getting water in the middle of the day, when the heat would be most intense. Probably to avoid the other women looking down on her. Jesus chose a woman and a sinner, a repeat offender. He chose a woman who was an outcast of society, scorned by her community. But the person he chose was hungry. Hungry for truth and honest with herself about her past.
Women Disciples
In a culture where women didn’t go to school and didn’t learn from rabbis, Jesus had women followers (Luke 8:1-3) and they traveled with Him. This was significant — and unheard of — during those times. Jesus opened up His ministry to women, and they followed Him. These women also helped to finance his ministry. Jesus was not too prideful to accept their help.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to learn His teachings. And, “…this would not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42). Typically, only a rabbi’s male students would have this honor. Nevertheless, Mary was allowed to learn from Jesus and was excused from doing the domestic work that was expected of women. These were the tasks that Martha was busy doing, and that is why she wanted Mary’s help.
Jesus and the early church uplifted women from their current status. The simple fact that women are there in the Gospel narrative is a testament to itself.
Women at the Cross
Women were with Jesus until the very end of His death on the cross. When the disciples were hiding, scared, and denying that they even knew Jesus (Matthew 26:56, 69-75), the women were right there until the very end at the foot of the cross. They did not abandon him. The women did not show the same fear the other disciples did. (The disciples locked themselves in a room afterward, probably to avoid being arrested, and having the same death doled out to themselves. Additionally, they didn’t get Jesus’ body to bury him, an honor that John the Baptist’s disciples did not forget to do).
Jesus’ women followers were a brave example to the men, as it may have even been dangerous for them to be there. The fact that the women were more virtuous and the men, would be embarrassing for the disciples to admit. But for them to write it down it must have been true.
Women First at the Resurrection
Women were first at the Resurrection, before Peter, before the other disciples. In a culture where a woman’s testimony meant nothing in court, this is a significant historic detail. Jesus showed Himself to the women first, not his disciples. The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others (Luke 24:10). It must have been true for the authors to write it. If they were being dishonest, they would have more to gain by saying that Jesus first saw a man, as a man’s testimony was valid, especially for witnessing something as suspicious as a Resurrection from the dead! For his disciples, this would have been another embarrassing thing to write down and admit.
- A Samaritan woman was the first person to whom He revealed Himself as the Messiah
- Jesus had women disciples
- Women were with Jesus at His death
- Women were the first ones to see Jesus at the Resurrection
Jesus was so different from the rest, he was radically counter-culture but in a positive and inclusive way. He gracefully shared the truth with those who were poor and oppressed, beyond women, this included lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes, the disabled, and those who were otherwise despised.
“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man – there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unself-conscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything ‘funny’ about woman’s nature.” Dorothy Sayers
If you enjoyed reading about the Radical, Counter-Cultural Way Jesus Treated Women, check out The Problem of Evil: Why Does God Allow Suffering and Pain?
