Bible – Bible Society of Zimbabwe

How does the Bible view women? At face value, some of its messages and examples can seem oppressive or devaluing. But when you learn more about how Jesus responded to the Bible’s historical and cultural context, you may rethink your first impressions. Christ entered into a specific time and culture that had assumptions very different from ours. How can understanding the biblical context inform our reading? How can the context help us to better understand who Jesus is—what he values, loves, and expects of his followers? Take a look, traveling all the way back to the culture Jesus entered.

How the Greeks Viewed Women

Let’s begin with the philosophers. Writers and thinkers often infuse a culture with certain beliefs—and this was especially so in the Greco-Roman world. When examined closely, some of their ideas may seem surprisingly antiquated to the modern reader.

For example, the revered philosopher Plato believed that women should be confined to the home while men tended to the business of state and commerce. Aristotle went even further, teaching that women were inferior to men, incapable of abstract thought, and emotionally volatile. Thus husbands and fathers were to rule over their wives and daughters. This thinking reflects the basic attitude toward women during the classical period.

How did these attitudes affect a woman’s life? The picture is not a pretty one. A young Greek girl is routinely married off to an older man. Her husband is free to take a concubine, and romantic love is not expected within marriage. Her role is to bear and raise children and run the household. She will rarely leave the house. Her education is limited to learning domestic tasks. She is not permitted to vote or hold property. Why would she be? As Euripides the playwright notes, “A woman is handicapped by intellect.” Thucydides helps him along by writing, “The name of a decent woman, like her person, should be shut up in the house.”

How the Jews Viewed Women

By Jesus’s time Greek ideas—including these ideas about women—had gradually crept into Jewish culture, despite Old Testament writings to the contrary. In the creation account in Genesis, God creates human beings as both male and female, giving them co-equal stewardship over the earth (Genesis 1:26-30). Throughout the Old Testament, women are given equal access to God’s law and held equally responsible to keep it.

The Old Testament record is replete with women whose great courage often surpasses that of the men around them. The stories of Miriam, Rahab, Ruth, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, and Esther are prime examples of women whose insight and fortitude greatly influence the biblical narrative and the way God’s people understood themselves.

The Jewish understanding of women was so affected by exile, conquest, and trade that by Jesus’s time women were discouraged from studying Torah, God’s law, and encouraged to stay home to fulfill household duties. They attended synagogue assemblies seated separately from the men. The Greek-educated Jewish philosopher Philo, a contemporary of Jesus, saw women as having weak judgment and considered them unfit to learn the law. Some rabbis even went so far as to encourage men to limit their conversations with their own wives. What was the point of talking to someone with little knowledge of the law?

How Jesus Viewed Women

Into this distortion of God’s original intent for women comes a new teacher, the rabbi called Jesus of Nazareth. What do we know about Jesus’s relationships with women? Did he hold the same opinions as his culture? Let’s take a look at a few of his encounters with women.

Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman in public (John 4:4-30)

Jesus shocks the woman at the well by asking her for a drink. Thus he steamrolls over cultural taboos against men speaking to women as well as Jewish prejudice against Samaritans. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

Jesus then reveals himself to her as the Messiah and the giver of the living water for which she longs.

Jesus teaches a woman one-on-one (Luke 10:38-42)

Women were not expected to study Torah, yet this renegade rabbi singles out one woman and opens Scripture to her. Mary “sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching.” This position was that of the traditional rabbinic student.

When her sister complains about needing help, Jesus tells her that “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus comforts a widow and confronts death (Luke 7:11-17)

“Don’t cry,” Jesus says to a grieving widow whose son lies dead in his coffin. He touches the coffin, defying ceremonial law. Jaws drop in amazement as the young man sits up and begins to speak. Jesus gives the widow’s son back to her, alive and well.

Jesus touches an “unclean” woman (Luke 8:43-48)

Ceremonially unclean due to a chronic hemorrhage, a woman touches the hem of Jesus’ cloak. “Daughter,” Jesus speaks tenderly. “Your faith has healed you. Shalom.”

Jesus touches an infirm woman (Luke 13:10-16)

The religious leaders object to Jesus’s laying his healing hands on a crippled woman on the Sabbath.

“You hypocrites!” Jesus does not mince words. “Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath.Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years; should she not be released on the Sabbath?”

Jesus deals with a woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)

The woman’s accusers are silenced by Jesus’s words, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.” But he is gentle in his conversation with her.

Jesus allows Mary to anoint him (John 12:1-8)

When people are horrified at Mary’s extravagant outpouring of love, Jesus silences them all. Rather than rebuking her for touching him in this intimate way, he lavishes high praise on her. “Leave her alone; she’s anointing me for burial. This story will be told wherever the Gospel is preached.”

Jesus appears first to a woman after his Resurrection (John 20:11-18)

Although women were considered to be unreliable witnesses in court, Jesus assigns Mary Magdalene the task of being the first witness to the Resurrection.

Scripture’s Good News for Women

So what did Jesus really think of women? Did he touch them? Did he talk with them? Did he teach them? Did he give equal moral standing with men? Did he value them?

The record speaks for itself. First-century women in Palestine were second-class citizens. Sadly, some church leaders have still viewed and treated women in this way. But Jesus turned the tables on his culture, and his example calls us to do the same. Again and again, Jesus affirmed women’s value and dignity.

As the apostle Paul affirms in Galatians 3:26-28 (NIV): “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

1 In the meane time, there gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, so that they trode one another: and he began to say vnto his disciples first, Take heede to your selues of the leauen of the Pharises, which is hypocrisie. 2 For there is nothing couered, that shall not bee reueiled: neither hidde, that shall not be knowen. 3 Wherefore whatsoeuer yee haue spoken in darkenesse, it shall be heard in the light: and that which ye haue spoken in the eare, in secret places, shall be preached on the houses. 4 And I say vnto you, my friendes, be not afraide of them that kill the bodie, and after that are not able to doe any more. 5 But I wil forewarne you, who ye shall feare: feare him which after hee hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say vnto you, him feare. 6 Are not fiue sparowes bought for two farthings, and yet not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 Yea, and all the heares of your head are nombred: feare not therefore: yee are more of value then many sparowes. 8 Also I say vnto you, Whosoeuer shall confesse mee before men, him shall the Sonne of man confesse also before the Angels of God. 9 But hee that shall denie mee before men, shall be denied before the Angels of God. 10 And whosoeuer shall speake a woorde against the Sonne of man, it shall be forgiuen him: but vnto him, that shall blaspheme ye holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiuen. 11 And when they shall bring you vnto the Synagogues, and vnto the rulers and Princes, take no thought howe, or what thing ye shall answere, or what yee shall speake. 12 For the holy Ghost shall teache you in the same houre, what yee ought to say. 13 And one of the companie said vnto him, Master, bidde my brother deuide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said vnto him, Man, who made me a iudge, or a deuider ouer you? 15 Wherefore he said vnto them, Take heede, and beware of couetousnesse: for though a man haue abundance, yet his life standeth not in his riches. 16 And he put foorth a parable vnto them, saying, The grounde of a certaine riche man brought foorth fruites plenteously. 17 Therefore he thought with himselfe, saying, What shall I doe, because I haue no roume, where I may lay vp my fruites? 18 And he said, This wil I do, I wil pul downe my barnes, and builde greater, and therein will I gather all my fruites, and my goods. 19 And I wil say to my soule, Soule, thou hast much goods laide vp for many yeeres: liue at ease, eate, drinke and take thy pastime. 20 But God said vnto him, O foole, this night wil they fetch away thy soule from thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast prouided? 21 So is he that gathereth riches to himselfe, and is not riche in God. 22 And he spake vnto his disciples, Therefore I say vnto you, Take no thought for your life, what yee shall eate: neither for your body, what yee shall put on. 23 The life is more then meate: and the body more then the raiment. 24 Consider the rauens: for they neither sowe nor reape: which neither haue storehouse nor barne, and yet God feedeth them: how much more are yee better then foules? 25 And which of you with taking thought, can adde to his stature one cubite? 26 If yee then bee not able to doe the least thing, why take yee thought for the remnant? 27 Consider the lilies howe they growe: they labour not, neither spin they: yet I say vnto you, that Salomon himselfe in all his royaltie was not clothed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grasse which is to day in the field, and to morowe is cast into the ouen, howe much more will he clothe you, O yee of litle faith? 29 Therefore aske not what yee shall eate, or what ye shall drinke, neither hag you in suspense. 30 For all such things the people of the world seeke for: and your Father knoweth that ye haue neede of these things. 31 But rather seeke ye after the kingdome of God, and all these things shalbe cast vpon you. 32 Feare not, litle flocke: for it is your Fathers pleasure, to giue you the kingdome. 33 Sell that ye haue, and giue almes: make you bagges, which waxe not old, a treasure that can neuer faile in heauen, where no theefe commeth, neither mothe corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also. 35 Let your loynes be gird about and your lights burning, 36 And ye your selues like vnto men that waite for their master, when he will returne from the wedding, that when he commeth and knocketh, they may open vnto him immediatly. 37 Blessed are those seruants, whom the Lord when he commeth shall finde waking: verely I say vnto you, he will girde himselfe about, and make them to sit downe at table, and will come forth, and serue them. 38 And if he come in the seconde watch, or come in the third watch, and shall finde them so, blessed are those seruants. 39 Nowe vnderstand this, that if the good man of the house had knowen at what houre the theefe would haue come, he would haue watched, and would not haue suffered his house to be digged through. 40 Be ye also prepared therefore: for the Sonne of man will come at an houre when ye thinke not. 41 Then Peter saide vnto him, Master, tellest thou this parable vnto vs, or euen to all? 42 And the Lord saide, Who is a faithfull steward and wise, whom the master shall make ruler ouer his householde, to giue them their portion of meate in season? 43 Blessed is that seruant, whom his master when he commeth, shall finde so doing. 44 Of a trueth I say vnto you, that he wil make him ruler ouer all that he hath. 45 But if that seruant say in his heart, My master doeth deferre his comming, and ginne to smite the seruants, and maydens, and to eate, and drinke, and to be drunken, 46 The master of that seruant will come in a day when he thinketh not, and at an houre when he is not ware of, and will cut him off, and giue him his portion with the vnbeleeuers. 47 And that seruant that knewe his masters will, and prepared not himselfe, neither did according to his will, shalbe beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knewe it not, and yet did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with fewe stripes: for vnto whomsoeuer much is giuen, of him shalbe much required, and to whom men much commit, the more of him will they aske. 49 I am come to put fire on the earth, and what is my desire, if it be already kindled? 50 Notwithstanding I must be baptized with a baptisme, and how am I grieued, till it be ended? 51 Thinke ye that I am come to giue peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather debate. 52 For from hencefoorth there shall be fiue in one house deuided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shalbe deuided against ye sonne, and the sonne against the father: the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother: the mother in lawe against her daughter in lawe, and the daughter in lawe against her mother in lawe. 54 Then said he to the people, When ye see a cloude rise out of the West, straightway ye say, A shower commeth: and so it is. 55 And when ye see the South winde blowe, ye say, that it wilbe hoate: and it commeth to passe. 56 Hypocrites, ye can discerne the face of the earth, and of the skie: but why discerne ye not this time? 57 Yea, and why iudge ye not of your selues what is right? 58 While thou goest with thine aduersarie to the ruler, as thou art in the way, giue diligence in the way, that thou mayest be deliuered from him, least he drawe thee to the iudge, and the iudge deliuer thee to the iayler, and the iayler cast thee into prison. 59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast payed the vtmost mite.

A Warning against Hypocrisy

(Matthew 10.26Matthew 27)

1 As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean their hypocrisy. 2 Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. 3 So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

Whom to Fear

(Matthew 10.28-31)

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterward do anything worse. 5 I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

6 “Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. 7 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

Confessing and Rejecting Christ

(Matthew 10.32Matthew 33Matthew 12.32Matthew 10.19Matthew 20)

8 “I assure you that those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same for them before the angels of God. 9 But those who reject me publicly, the Son of Man will also reject them before the angels of God.

10 “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

14 Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” 15 And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”

16 Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. 17 He began to think to himself, ‘I don't have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do? 18 This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods. 19 Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”

21 And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

Trust in God

(Matthew 6.25-34)

22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body. 23 Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important than clothes. 24 Look at the crows: they don't plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds! 25 Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? 26 If you can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things? 27 Look how the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. 28 It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!

29 “So don't be all upset, always concerned about what you will eat and drink. 30 (For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things. 31 Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these things.

Riches in Heaven

(Matthew 6.19-21)

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom. 33 Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them. 34 For your heart will always be where your riches are.

Watchful Servants

35 “Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, 36 like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once. 37 How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, have them sit down, and will wait on them. 38 How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later! 39 And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house. 40 And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant

(Matthew 24.45-51)

41 Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”

42 The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. 43 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! 44 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. 45 But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, 46 then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.

47 “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. 48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.

Jesus the Cause of Division

(Matthew 10.34-36)

49 “I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! 51 Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division. 52 From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.”

Understanding the Time

(Matthew 16.2Matthew 3)

54 Jesus said also to the people, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain—and it does. 55 And when you feel the south wind blowing, you say that it is going to get hot—and it does. 56 Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don't you know the meaning of this present time?

Settle with Your Opponent

(Matthew 5.25Matthew 26)

57 “Why do you not judge for yourselves the right thing to do? 58 If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, do your best to settle the dispute before you get to court. If you don't, you will be dragged before the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. 59 There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.”

Luke 12