Feminist



Luke 8:1-3
1Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

There are those who might be insulted by the label of “feminist” in reference to Jesus, but I’m going to dare use it here. Our brief text for today is illustrative of Jesus attitude toward women throughout His time here on earth. He was as embracing of female followers as He was of male. Jesus doesn’t play favorites, even when a culture does.

Throughout the Gospel, we find women in places of prominence. John reports on the Samaritan Woman at the well of Jacob with whom Jesus had an extended conversation and who became instrumental in the Gospel being shared with the entire city of Sychar. That woman had three strikes against her; she was female, a likely prostitute, and a Samaritan. Jesus cared not about any of those designations. For Him, she was a person in need of salvation and He brought that to her and she boldly shared with everyone else. We also find that Jesus appears first to women upon His resurrection and places into their hands the very first steps in the spreading of the Gospel. And of course the women were the ones who stayed near to Jesus throughout His Passion and death while the disciples basically ran away.

In this text we find that the ministry of Jesus was supported to a large extent by women. Without their support, Jesus and the Disciples might have been in need of daily food and a place to stay.

The women supported and financed Jesus and the Twelve out of their own possessions over a long time. “Serve” does not mean only “wait on table,” but “help” or “assist” in more general ways. The mention and listing of the women in Jesus’ company is unique to Luke. Jesus included women in his ministry and honored them by making them witnesses of his death and resurrection. In fact, Luke reports here the news that some women put their possessions at the disposal of Jesus and the Twelve. Thus they helped make it possible, both financially and logistically, for Jesus to travel about with his disciples, teaching and performing miracles. Those named here in Luke 8 appear again prominently as witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 334). St. Louis, MO: CPH.

For centuries women have held a second place in the culture, but this is not a practice we find in the ministry of Jesus. There should never be a Christian woman who feels like a second class citizen because of her sex. That attitude is never played out by Jesus and with Him as our role model we too should simply see every person as someone in need of Savior who came willingly and graciously for all.

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