Chapter 5.20
Women in
the Church
Working in the background, opening their
homes;
giving of their means; the Many Marys’ of
Jesus time [1]
The Ladies[2]
Anna; an
84 year old prophetess who lived in the temple watched and prayed unceasingly
for the coming of the Messiah. The Priest Simeon had prayed that he would see the redeemer before he
died and uttered these famous words; “Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” That time had finally come for Anna and she was the first to declare that baby Jesus
was the Messiah; the Redeemer of the world.
Dorcas also called
Tabitha was a woman “full of good
works and alms deeds”, she not only gave money, but gave of herself;
she worked with her hands compassionately making clothes for the widows, the fatherless
and the poor. She died suddenly and
Peter prayed over her and said “Tabitha arise” and she came back to life.
Elizabeth old in years was the wife of the priest Zacharias and the mother of John the
Baptist the forerunner of Jesus Christ and was also the cousin of
Mary and the first to greet her as the mother of the Messiah. She wrote two poems; Mary Magnificat and Zacharias’ Benedictus.
Eunice and Lois; mother and grandmother of Timothy who they taught
as a small child that he should know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make
him wise into salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul loved Timothy as his own son; he
accompanied Paul and Silas on their journeys as they preached the Word.
Salome who seems to be Mary’s sister, was very wealthy
and had servants. She had two sons James
and John who were in the inner circle of three.
She supported “The Way” with proceeds from her husband
Zebedee’s fishing business. Her infamous
words to Jesus was “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy
right hand, and the other on thy left in thy kingdom.” Jesus responded; “Ye know not what ye
ask”.
Priscilla also known as Prisca was wife of Aquila, both tent
makers along with Paul; they were loyal friends and workers in the
faith and supported the Christian movement by opening their home for meetings. She was a teacher and expounded on the scriptures “the way of God
more perfectly” to Apollos and others she welcomed into her
home. Prisca’s name appears on monuments
in Rome and on a church “Titulus St. Prisca.” It is said “they laid down their own necks”
for Paul.
Luke
2:29-32 29 Sovereign Lord,
now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation, which
you have prepared for all people. He is a light to
reveal God to the nations
Luke
1:46-55 - Mary’s poem, song of Praise: THE MAGNIFICAT
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and
from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One
is holy, and has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy
from generation to generation to all who fear
him.
51 His
mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has
scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has
brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the
humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his
servant Israel and remembered to be
merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, to
Abraham and his children forever.” (NLT)
Luke
1:68-79 – Prophecy; ZACHARIAS’
BENEDICTUS
68 Praise the Lord, the God of
Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent
us a mighty Savior (Jesus) from the royal line of
his servant David, just as he promised through his prophets long ago.
71 Now we will
be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.
72 He has been
merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred
covenant
73 the covenant he
swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been
rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without
fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.
76 And you, (John)
my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell
his people how to find salvation through
forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of
God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is
about to break upon us,
79 to give
light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
(NLT)
The Marys’
Mary of Nazareth the mother of Jesus did not seem to accompany Jesus on his
journeys, but was present from time to time, possibly helping with income from
the carpentry business. She stands apart,
raceless, timeless and classless from all women in history in adoration, even
to unbelievers.
She embodies the greatest miracle of the Bible; the Virgin birth of Jesus the Christ. It is thought that she probable penned the
first two chapters of Luke since it is written seemingly in the first person
with details that only she could know.
She is present at the dedication and circumcision of Jesus, bringing Him
up in the Laws of Moses, bringing him to the Temple at the age of 12, seen
present at the
wedding where Jesus changed water
into wine. We see her at the foot of the
cross and present with the 120 in
the upper
room on the day of Pentecost.[3]
Mary of Magdala: Cured of seven demons by Jesus. She is not the sinful woman in Luke 7, other writings
indicate her family died and left her a great deal of wealth. She was always
present, working quietly in the background with devotion to Jesus’ life, His
death and His resurrection.
Her name is mentioned fourteen times in the scriptures; she was the
first to see the stone rolled away from the tomb and hear the first words
uttered at the tomb; “WOMAN”.[4] Mary’s devoted
spirit is so easy to fall in love with.
I would have picked her to marry Jesus, if He had the desire. (I do believe He loved her; no scripture
implied, just saying.)
Mary the mother of
James and Joses: also known as “The
Other Mary;” is mentioned
most often in service alongside of Mary Magdalene. She is thought to be the sister of Mary of Nazareth
and was an eye witness of the crucifixion and was present at the empty tomb
where she had brought spices to anoint Jesus along with Mary Magdalene.[5]
Mary the mother of
Mark was wealthy
and owned a large home with servants, which she put at the disposal of the
followers of Jesus where she sheltered them for prayer meetings. She is painted as a consecrated, beloved
blameless widow whose home was a well-known gathering place in the
community. She put herself and her home
at a great risk for supporting the movement of The Way.[6]
Mary and
Martha of
Bethany loyally providing a place for Jesus and the followers of The Way
to stay in their home. This was Jesus’
home base where He stopped often on His missions. This is the Mary that anointed Jesus with oil
and wiped His feet with her hair.
The home actually was Martha’s supposedly left to her by her late
husband. Mary the younger lived there
along with Lazarus their brother who Jesus raised from the dead. The whole family loved Jesus and treated Him
like He was just like part of their family, although fully knowing that He was
far more than that, He was the One that was to Come; the Messiah, the Son of God.[7]
Mary of Rome was a hard worker serving the Christian community, building
the early church at Rome. We know very little
about her, except for Paul’s commendation as he singled
her out for her very hard labor
for the sect known as the Way in Rome. [8]
The Take
Away
Women of antiquity efforts
were mostly overlooked with very little written about their labors and
contributions. There were about 316 women mentioned in the Bible despite the
Gnostic mindset that Women were inferior to their fathers, brothers and
husbands. This study looked at only a
few of the women that had an impact on the movement in history called The Way. Jesus had taught His followers that He alone was
the Way, the
Truth and the Life and that no man could come to the Father God
except through Him;[9]
Jesus
is THE WAY.
Women in the time of Jesus were not allowed in the Temple to be taught
the Torah
as the men were; their time was to be spent teaching their girls the
traditional ways of service in the home. With Jesus including women with the disciples in
His teachings and in the work of The Way, He elevated them to be equal to men
in the Kingdom
of God; Unintentionally, you could
say He started the Women’s Liberation Movement as well as the WOC; the Women of the Church that we
have serving today. You will find much
deeper insight into the women of antiquity in the books Who’s Who in the Bible by Paul D. Gardner and All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen; I encourage you as a student of the
Word, to get both of these invaluable books for your library.
[1] Mark 15:40-41 – Many
worked to provide care; Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome -- Luke
8:1-3 – Many women gave money to support the ministry, Mary Magdalene, Joanna
and Susanna
[2] Anna Luke 2:29-30 -- Dorcas also called
Tabitha Acts 9:36, Proverbs 31:13, 20, Acts 9:40 -- Elizabeth
Luke 1:46-55, Luke 1:68-79 Eunice and Lois 2 Timothy 1:5, 2 Timothy 3:15 -- Salome
Matthew 20:21-23, -- Priscilla also known as Prisca Romans 16:4, 1 Corenthians
16:19
[3] Luke
1:28 Gabriel appeared to MARY OF NAZARETH and said
Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” -- Luke 1:42-43 Elizabeth exclaimed to
Mary, “God has blessed you above all women,
and your child is blessed.
[4] Mark 16:9 – MARY MAGDALENE had seven demons cast out of her -- John 20:13 – WOMAN why are you weeping? -- John 20:18 – Jesus commissions Mary to go tell the Disciples;
she said I have seen the Lord
[5] Matthew 27:56 – MARY MOTHER OF JAMES AND
JOSES; a Godly woman serving THE WAY -- Mark 16:1 – Mary the
mother of James brought spices to anoint Jesus -- Matthew 28:1 – The OTHER MARY went to the tomb
[6] Acts 12:12 – MARY MOTHER OF JOHN MARK opened her home for prayer meetings -- Acts 12:13 –
Mary had servants and a large house
[7] Luke 10:38-39 – MARY AND MARTHA opened their home to Jesus and His disciples. -- John 11:27 - You
are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is to come
[8] Romans 16:6 - MARY OF ROME, worked hard for the
benefit of The Way
[9] John 14:6 - I
am THE WAY, the truth, and the life. No
one can come to the Father except through me
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