I have seen the Lord!
So said Mary Magdalene to the disciples after she ran to tell them about the empty tomb. It was resurrection day and
Jesus had appeared to Mary. She was the first of all of His followers to see Him. Later that evening Jesus would appear to a gathering of the disciples who would also rejoice that He was alive.
Jesus would present “Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Jesus would then tell His followers, men and women, to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. They would be empowered to go and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Over the last few weeks we have shared the stories of women who interacted with the Lord. All of these women could exclaim with Mary Magdalene, I have seen the Lord!” Unfortunately, in many pulpits in America, the stories of women are neglected. These last four months I have tried to show that Jesus not only interacted with many women, but that He also modeled the way that society should treat women.
Jesus did not try to change the culture by preaching about gender issues. Jesus simply modeled the way as He went about treating women like equal human beings. He shocked His disciples on many occasions, but He expected them to learn from Him. He expected them to see that in His kingdom women as well as men were to serve. He did not hand out specific job descriptions; He meant for women to follow Him in whatever way they were called. For most women this would still mean being a good wife and mother. Other women were single or widowed and Jesus affirmed them in their callings as well.
Not only did Jesus treat women with respect and kindness, He made no differentiation as to social class.
– Some women were really poor – Mary His own mother, and Mary the mother of James.
– Other women were very wealthy – Joanna, the wife of Chuza who was a steward in King Herod’s household, Susanna, and Jairus’ daughter.
– Some women had relative freedom and responsibility – such as Martha and Mary of Bethany, who were landowners.
– Others were castoffs due to illness or demon possession – such as the hemorrhaging woman, the woman bent double, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna.
– Some women were prominent – Joanna, and Jairus’ wife.
– Other women were considered lowly because they were prostitutes – The Samaritan woman, the “sinful” woman, and an unnamed anointing woman.
– Many women were widowed – Mary, the mother of Jesus, Anna, the widow of Nain, and the widow with the two mites.
One thing all of these women had in common was that they had sadness or troubles in their lives. Even one as wealthy as Joanna had been demon possessed and needed Jesus’ help. Jesus saved all of these women not only spiritually, but also physically and socially. Women who were sick were considered unclean and were social outcasts. Single women were not given the same respect as married women. Impoverished widows were neglected and were in danger of starvation and illness. Prostitutes were socially unacceptable anywhere.
When Jesus met the needs of these women He gave them new life – physically, socially, and spiritually.
Jesus also restored these women to the position they had before the fall. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve went about working in the garden as equal stewards. There was no conflict between men and women until sin entered the world. Then the temptation to be selfish would affect all people. That is the essence of sin – I want my own way, especially if it means I can boss you around. Jesus changed all of this when He taught that we are to think of others before ourselves. Now, as we love and serve Jesus we will love and serve others. We can live the way we were meant to when God created us.
Neither Jesus nor Paul nor any other New Testament writer directly attacked the patriarchal structure of the society in their day. On the other hand, they did not deny the differences between men and women as some liberal feminists do in our day.
What Jesus did was to show that in His kingdom men and women would be, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you 
out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (I Peter 2:9). Women would be part of this newly formed priesthood. When Jesus allowed Mary of Bethany to learn at His feet instead of sending her to the kitchen to help Martha, He was telling us that women should learn from Him. Women need to also be ready to share the good news of the Gospel with everyone. Yes, women need to follow their callings and commitments in marriage and motherhood, but they should make it a priority to study God’s Word and be, “readyto make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (I Peter 3:15).
My sisters, let us keep a biblical view of womanhood. This means that we must study how Jesus treated women and how women responded. My prayer is that more preachers would also take time to read, especially Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts, and examine their own presuppositions concerning what work that women would be allowed to do in the Church. I pray that they would not be fearful of extremes, but would seek Biblical answers. I pray that men would be more like Jesus as they allow women to follow their callings.
What Jesus inaugurated, the Church would extend. In the next few postings, we will look at women in the early church.
