By the time Jesus arrives on the scene, the role of women had degenerated at the hands of men who began ignoring God’s laws and principles. One Jewish rabbi is known to have prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not a Gentile or a woman.”
But Jesus changed that. Jesus elevated women back to the level and role that God had designed for them from the beginning, a helper suitable for man. That elevation is visible in so many ways in the New Testament. Jesus said that if a woman had an adulterous husband, then she could divorce him (Mark 10:11-12; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11). We do not support or endorse divorce and remarriage for any reason except what Jesus authorizes; yet it is empowering to women to know that they do not have to tolerate a man who is consistently unfaithful.
One of the most well-known portraits of the elevated stature of women in the New Testament is when Jesus talked to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well in John 4:27. Jesus, of course, had many women disciples among His followers although He chose not to name women among the leadership roles. Mary and Martha are two of the most well-known but Luke 8:3 lists several.
This new (really, old) view of the role of women persists into Christianity. There were women among the 120 disciples waiting for the establishment of the church in Acts 1:14. The promise of the Holy Spirit was for women as well as men (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). A woman and her role in the church is spotlighted in Acts 9:36ff. Mary, the mother of John Mark, hosted the church in her home (Acts 12:12). The conversion of a woman, Lydia, is showcased in Acts 16:14-15. Women are mentioned periodically throughout the book of Acts showing that they were embraced by the church as God had intended.
When we come to Acts 18:26, we are introduced to a husband-wife team, Aquila and Priscilla and because Priscilla is generally mentioned first, it is easy to believe that she took the leading role in teaching others.
In the letter of Romans, when Paul writes his greetings at the end of the letter, he specifically mentions at least nine women. Phoebe is mentioned specifically as a servant of the church of Christ in Cenchrea (16:1). We do not know specifically what she did but she served the church as she served the Lord – that’s what is important.
Joel prophesied that the Holy Spirit would come over women just as well as men and we see that in the book of Acts where Philip, the deacon who became a preacher, had four daughters who prophesied (21:9). There were women who prophesied in the church of Christ in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:5). Some Jewish rabbis thought it was pointless to teach your daughters the Old Testament and that doing so was equivalent to prostitution. Yet the New Testament teaches Christians to teach women the Bible so that they can, in turn, teach others also (Titus 2:3-4).
Yes, women have a very important role to serve in the church of Christ. Jesus has placed them back to the side, rather than under foot, as God had intended from the beginning. The key verse relative to the theology of this equality is Galatians 3:28 where Paul writes: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” A woman does not need a man to have a relationship with Christ. It is entirely possible for a woman to serve God as a single woman in many different roles.
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE FIRST FOUR CENTURIES:
We all know that Christianity grew from that 120 disciples meeting in the upper room in Jerusalem in Acts 1 until it conquered the Roman Empire by the end of the fifth century, replacing paganism as the dominant religion. How did Christianity grow like that? Dr. Rodney Stark argues that one reason Christianity grew was because Christianity respected women as opposed to the pagan view and attitude toward women. In what ways?
1. Christians rejected female infanticide.
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2. Christians restricted the practice of divorce.
3. Christians rejected the practice of incest.
4. Christians demanded men be faithful to their wives.
5. Christians condemned polygamy.
6. Christians expected men to live up to the same moral standards as women.
7. Christians supported widows.
8. Christians expected men to be virgins at marriage just as they did women.
9. Christians rejected teen marriage. Pagan teenage girls were generally married by the time they were 14. The marriageable age among Christians during this time period was 18.
Yes, Christianity has motivated Americans to raise the role of women, as de Tocqueville observed, back to the state where God had placed her in the Garden of Eden. But, as with so many other aspects, when mankind has done well, he has decided that he can begin ignoring God’s commands and limitations – biting the hand that feeds him, so to speak. That has also happened when it comes to the woman’s role in the church and home. Just as men at the time of Jesus had rejected God’s original status of women, today women are rejecting their God-given roles also. We’ll examine that tomorrow…
–Paul Holland
