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by Ann Mary Clement
Focus 17 ( 1997) pp. 255
- 260
Published on our website with the necessary permissioon
This study of women in the NT makes us aware of the many women who followed
Jesus and served him and his disciples. They were truly disciples who were
followers of Jesus and were witnesses of his death and resurrection. The author
teaches Scripture at the Pastoral Institute, Multan.
All
the faithful who are joined to Christ are called his disciples. Through baptism
they become one with his body, the Church. The differences of gender, race and
social status which usually divide us are all transcended as we are one in
Christ (Gal 3:27-28).
In
the parish, all without any distinction, are called together to be one
community in which man and woman have to play equally an active role. This
makes us think about the role of woman in the Church and society which is a
current issue of our day and a question for Christians to know its basis in
Scripture. Returning to our biblical roots is always a source of renewal for
the Church. Often the questions which draw us to the scriptures do not get
answers because we cannot find the exact material we want. The Bible speaks
about the particular in a particular way, not in an individual or limited
sense, but broadly.
Therefore to research from the Bible a particular issue one needs to recast and
reform the question in order to reflect on its meaning. The New Testament
especially speaks of many aspects of a woman’s life and role but the
subject ‘woman’ is not a conscious concern of any of the New
Testament writers, neither do they speak about the theological nature of man or
woman, with the exception of the theological saying of Paul in Gal 3:27-28,
that all natural distinctions including that of sex are transcended by the
unity of the baptised in Christ. Besides this there are a few Pauline and other
Pastoral Letters (1 Cor 11:1-16, 14:34-35, I Tim 2:11-12) in which there
are disciplinary instructions whose relevance is limited to the culture, time,
place and people for whom they are formulated. Otherwise the New Testament does
not pay regard to age, sex, race or any socio-religious status of believers.
Everything in the New Testament that refers to ‘disciples’ is for man
and woman equally.
The
Gospels are the most important source on the question of women in Jesus’
movement. We see Jesus announce his ministry programme in the synagogue of
Nazareth (Is 61:1-2), which is fulfilled in him (Lk 4.18) serving
the poor’ the sick, outcasts and women.
Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, broke through restrictions and rejected
categories; he offered freedom and strength to overcome oppressive rules and
limiting roles. He empowers the powerless and strengthened his disciples with
this spirit that his and their mission is not to lord it over others but to
serve them (Mk 9:35, 10:43-45, Mt 20.26-27, 27:55, Lk 22.24-27, Jn13:12-15).
Jesus
uses the verb ‘to serve’’ diakonein’ to identify his
mission, and to describe what he expects of his followers (Lk 12.37, 17:X,
22:26-27). In his life he served many people but besides Jesus only angels
and women are listed as the subject to this verb, and angels and women minister
to Jesus himself (Mk 1:13: Lk 22.43, 8:3; Mt 8:15). Jesus asked for and
accepted services in public from women although it was not allowed
traditionally for a Jewish man in his day (Jn 4:17). Certain women
followed Jesus, looked after him, assisted him and his followers out of their
own resources, (Lk 8:3). Jesus not only accepted this service from women
but performed miraculous healings which enabled women ‘to serve’ him
(Mt 8:14-15; Lk 4:38-39; Mk 1:29-31).
Women
as well as the apostles accompanied Jesus, going with him on the eventful
journey from Galilce to Jerusalem (Lk 8:1-3, 24:10. Mk 15:40-41, 16:9; Mt
27:55-56; Jn 19:25). , The road to Jerusalem, the death-point; was the way
of suffering, and those who were with Jesus on this way were his followers. In
the gospel of Mark where the term is used to describe a group temporarily
following Jesus (Mk 3:7, 5.24. 11:9), the context indicates the actual
relationship to Jesus.
The
term ‘to follow’ connotes following Jesus as a disciple. In Mk
15:40-41 the women who followed Jesus from Galilee would have a continuous
relationship of discipleship and companionship to Jesus although neither in
Mark nor in the other gospels is a woman explicitly described as a disciple of
‘Jesus.’
The
great lesson of discipleship is the cross. If anyone would come after me let
one deny oneself, take up thc cross and follow me (Mt 16:24-25, Mk 8:34, Lk
9:23-24). In fact the response of the women who accepted the invitation to
follow Jesus, to be with him ‘on the way’ and in his suffering, is a
relief from the otherwise consistent emphasis on the failure of the disciple.
How difficult must have been this gospel challenge to the women after the
disciples had left Jesus alone Mk 14:50-5I ).
In
the gospel of Mark women are first identified explicitly as followers of Jesus
in the context of the crucifixion, yet at the same time their relationship with
Jesus is described as serving him (Mk 15:41-42). They stood firm
witnessing to the crucifixion (Jn 18:15-18, 25-27, 19:25-27; Mt 27:55-56; Mk
15: 40-41; Lk 23:49). They watched Jesus’ burial (Mt 27:61; Mk
15:47; Lk 23:55).
The
significance of women as disciples holds true in connection with the burial of
Jesus, especially with Jesus’ resurrection (Mk 15:47, 16:1: Mt 28:7-10;
Lk 24:5-10; Jn 20:11-18) particularly as the first witnesses to the
resurrection (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1-11, Jn 20:1-8). The early
Church verbalised a criteria for witness of Jesus: those who have accompanied
Jesus during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us (Acts
1:21-22). Women fulfilled this requirement for they accompanied Jesus and
his disciples on that decisive last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem (Mk
15:40-41).
Jesus
journeyed through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the Good News of
the kingdom of God. The apostles accompanied him and also some women, Mary
Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others (Lk 8:1-3). There is no
example of unfaithfulness of these women in the gospels where as often apostles
failed to follow Jesus. They denied and betrayed him although they were
personally chosen by Jesus. These twelve ‘men’ represent the twelve
tribes which symbolise the new Israel (Rev 21:12-14). In spite of Jewish
non-acceptance of women’s witness all four evangelists have recorded
Jesus’ choice of women.
In
various gospel stories women are seen to fulfill the requirements of a true
disciple since discipleship is the primary relationship to Jesus—it is to
learn from Jesus, observe his teaching into a life pattern and teach others.
Mary of Bethany
Mary
of Bethany joined herself as a disciple to Jesus. She sat at the Lord’s
feet and listened to his teaching (Lk 10:39), in the attitude of a
Torah scholar with a rabbi. She won approval from Jesus in the act of
repudiating a woman’s role (Lk 10:40-42) Jn 12:3 describes her
action of anointing the feet of Jesus with costly perfume and wiping them with
her hair, representing her as a disciple of Jesus the teacher—a role
generally forbidden to Jewish women. To wash the feet of one’s master was
an act of serving by a disciple. Jesus at the last supper performed for his
disciples an act that normally would have been performed by a devoted disciple
for his teacher. It is also the act which Jesus commanded his disciples to
perform in imitation of himself (Jn 13 :4-15). Her act is connected by
Jesus himself to his burial and his imminent departure (Jn 12:7).
Martha
Martha must be counted a disciple of the Lord for she proclaimed the primacy of
faith since her confession of faith, ‘Yes Lord! I believe that you are the
Christ the son of God.’ Jn 11:20-27 is a response to the word of
Jesus revealing himself as the resurrection and thc life, a role analogous to
Peter as representative of apostolic faith. She also shared with Jesus his
precious dialogue on the resurrection of the dead. Jesus challenges her with
the word which must finally be accepted by anyone who wishes to belong to Jesus
(11:25-26) that he is the resurrection and life.
The Samaritan Woman
This
woman disciple presented within the life-time of Jesus, reflects the life of
the Johannine Community. By speaking and learning from Jesus in a public place
she broke the Jewish tradition (Jn 4:7). Jesus taught her the gift of
inner life which led her to a state of conversion and declared him the
Messiah (Jn 4:25-26), which is the content of Christian - faith .
(20:31). She believed in him, leaving all things to hear effective apostolic
witness to him among the Samaritans (4:28-29): she becomes a self
appointed apostle blessed by the Lord. Many Samaritans from that city believed
in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony (4:39). This woman
apostle acted out of her belief in Jesus’self revelatory word and whose
own witnessing word brought others to believe in him. Her apostleship is truly
effective as indicated in Jn:41-42, according to which the Samaritans
come to full faith in Jesus as Saviour of the world.
Mary Magdalene
Jesus
appeared first to Mary Magdalene according to Lk 24:10; Jn 20:14-17; Mt
28.1. 9-10): and the Markan appendix (16:9-11).This is a primitive
and authentic tradition. The early Church regarded the protophany as the
manifestalion of the primacy of apostolic witness which is the foundation of
the Church’s faith. The western church liturgy celebrates Mary Magdalene
as ‘apostle to the apostles.’ The commission that Jesus gives to Mary
is ‘go to my brothers, and say to them, I ascend to my Father, who is now
your Father, to my God who is now your God’
(Jn 20:17). The message is addressed to Jesus’ brothers and sisters
whom Mary understands to mean ‘the disciples’ (20. 18). Thus
she is, without any doubt the disciple whose place in the paschal mystery is
most certainly attested by all four gospels. Her claim to apostleship is equal
in every respect to both Peter and Paul’s apostleship and we know more
about her exercise of her vocation than we do about most of ‘the members
of the twelve. Unlike Peter she was not unfaithful to Jesus during the passion
and unlike Paul she never persecuted Christ in his members, but like both she
saw the risen Lord. received directly from him the commission to preach the
gospel and carried out that commission faithfully and effectively (Mt
28:8-10).
Certainly women were sent on the most important mission of all. They were
commissioned by Jesus ‘to go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and
there they will see me’ (Mt 28. 10). The women remembered and
conveyed his words (28:19). The origin of the announcement of the
resurrection is linked to women since they were the first to find thc tomh
empty and to have thc resurrection revealed (Mt 28:5-7). This
resurrection tradition differs from that of I Cor 15:5-8 in which
apparently only ‘men’ are cited as witnesses of Jesus’
resurrection.
Mark
publicly acknowledged that women had already belonged to the Jesus’
movement in Galilee (MK 15:40-41) and first mentions them in connection
with the crucifixion. He establishes the authenticity of these traditions
(16:1-8) primitive tradition which could not have been disregarded. and
transmits a
Jesus
gives no hint of a repudiation of women as unable to hear or understand or
remember his word. He testified to the discipleship of his own mother when he
complemented her role of physical motherhood by universalising her relationship
among those ‘who hear the word of God and do it’ (Lk 8:21, Mk
3.31-35).
We
have seen that the women who appear in the gospels are mostly individual and
original. They relate to Jesus directly without mediation, whose place is
wherever Jesus calls them and whose role is whatever their love for him
suggests. Their ministry to Jesus and to others in his name requires no
approval of anyone. They are remarkable for their initiative and decisive
action.
If
leadership is the function of creative initiative and decisive action, the
gospel women qualify well for the role which is made for all ages.
The
word of God given to us in the New Testament is a word of liberation intended
not only for first century Christians but for each succeeding generation of
believers who will faithfully and creatively address new questions to the text
in the wellfounded expectation that his word is indeed living and active. If we
place the witness of women in the gospels at the service of our contemporary
church it will help liberate both men and women who are called by Jesus to full
discipleship and ministry in the Christian community.
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