10 things they never told me about Jesus|| Feminine Faces

So, again, I find myself fairly progressive in the midst of reading this book. An entire chapter devoted to the fact that women played a huge role in the life and teachings of Jesus. I conclude yet again that this book points out "radical" things that we just haven't thought about before. Nonetheless, women are important.

\\

Bell did an exercise with a group of people. He divided the room in half... had one side name the 12 disciples and three things about them.... had the other side do the same with the women in the gospels. The group attempting the disciples found it difficult while the group figuring out women determined much about all the women they could find. I could go through and list all the women they talked about, but you could also dig deeper into the gospels and figure it out yourself :) Or look on pages 76-77 of this book to get a list. There are about 20 women who in some way either admired Jesus or followed Jesus. Somehow, we get caught up in male activity of the gospels and fail to see the richness of femininity.

\\

Here are four things you may not have realized about Jesus and women:

1. Jesus never tells a woman off nor does he ever speak to her as an inferior (c.f. Matthew 16:23- he does it to men)

2. It is more common in women than in men that he found examples of faithful living (c.f. Matthew 8:5-10)

3. Jesus talkes illustrations from women's experience (c.f. Matthew 9:16-17, 13:31-33, Luke 15:4-10)

4. Jesus' compassion for women is often contrasted with the disdain of other men (c.f. Mark 12:41-44, Mark 10:13-15, Luke 13:10-17).

\\

So, Jesus respected women. John Bell suggests that if Jesus was here today, perhaps he would have even pulled statistics in order to stand up for women, saying: "Women make up half the world's population, do two-thirds of the world's productive work, own ten percent of the world's wealth, and one percent of the world's land" (81). It was important for Jesus to recognize women in a world where men were seen as superior and dominant. Oh wait, they still are...

\\

This means, then that it is all of our jobs to realize and make known the importance of women in the gospel and in the world. Most of the time the disciples didn't get what Jesus was trying to say, but women, for the most part, understood and went beyond the surface of what Jesus was trying to say... He commended them for their faithfulness while condemning the disciples for their thoughtlessness.

\\

Women, stand up and be heard.

You are strong beyond your belief.

You are loved and are a beloved child of God.

Be empowered and encouraged for you are powerful.