This concerns the three years of Christ’s ministry when he showed such courage, not just at the cross but every day. He was watched, interrogated, threatened, and ridiculed and although his main focus was turning men and women to God - healing the sick and helping those on the edge of society was a big part of his day. He didn’t shy away from confrontation, and this became his downfall eventually. Today let’s look at His attitude to women in his patriarchal society and show the complete kindness and the depth of the man. It’s really about how Jesus overturned convention. Most people who have some knowledge about Jesus and his life on earth accept he was a good man but those who don’t believe in his divinity consider he was harmless but deluded - if he’s given a thought at all at Christmas it’s only as a baby in a manger and Easter, well that’s a long weekend off work, chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies. Those who do believe in Him should marvel at his insight and his understanding of human nature. He is a man for all seasons and all generations, and I don’t think today we realise what a quiet revolutionary Jesus was, particularly in the case of women. Apparently even in today’s world Orthodox Jews’ morning prayers include: “Praised be to God that He has not created me a woman,” but to be fair modern Jews do want this eliminated from morning prayers, but it is still happening. Women in Jesus’ time had limited rights, little access to education and were mostly confined to home. Similar in Countries we know about today. When we read Jesus’ addresses a woman as Woman it sounds quite harsh and rude, but it wasn’t in those days. It was a respectful and polite way to speak, he uses this term to his mother at the wedding in Canaan, to his mother at the cross and to Mary Magdalene at the tomb. The genealogy of Jesus recorded in Matthew is significant as it includes women: Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba, and a mention of Mary - that’s not earth shattering to us but in ancient times it was extraordinary- a sign that something different and unsettling was happening. Three women 1. Rahab, a woman of the Old Testament. 2. the woman who was healed of long-term bleeding and 3. the woman taken in adultery- in Jewish, probably all Middle Eastern culture, all these women were considered unclean. Taking Rahab first: A bit out of context as she didn’t have any contact with Jesus, being born 1500 years before him, but she was his ancestor and one wonders if his compassionate dealings with the woman taken in adultery might have been coloured by knowing his great grandmother many times removed was Rahab the harlot. Perhaps we feel sorry for Rahab as she is always known as Rahab the harlot even after she was blessed by God. At first glance, all we know of her is that she was a prostitute and an innkeeper, maybe the two were entwined but she wasn’t such a depraved woman - she kept abreast of events and realised that God seemed to have Israel in his heart, she’d heard how He had dried up the Red Sea, and delivered the land of Canaan into the hands of Israel. Why she was running this inn (brothel) we don’t know, possibly the family knew extreme poverty, she was an outsider, a Canaanite living in Jericho with her family and maybe she was driven to provide for the family in that life. We know how the spies sheltered in her house and how Rahab, a survivor, makes a deal with them. If they protect her and her family she will hide them - even to the extent of deceiving the king of Jericho. We know how it played out, Jericho was destroyed but Rahab and family were saved, although she was considered to be the lowest in society she acted with bravery, faith and self-preservation and she became the great grandmother of King David and ultimately the ancestor of the son of God. In Corinthians it says “God chose the weak in the world to shame the strong: God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce things that are. Did anyone suit this description more than Rahab? We know Jesus would be aware of her story as he knew all the scriptures, and he is always aware of the backstory to every individual. His brother James mentions her in his epistle saying she was justified by faith - still calls her Rahab the prostitute though. 2.The woman taken in adultery. John 7:53 onward In the National Gallery there’s a painting by Rembrandt of Jesus on the steps of the temple with this woman and there’s a crowd surrounding them, those accusing priests & levites, soldiers and onlookers - the woman is weeping understandably. They say this was a contrived incident to test Jesus’s acceptance or not of the law of Moses. The stakes were high for Jesus. It’s incredible to imagine this group of men being there at the time of the sex act with the missing man but perhaps the man was part of the plan - there’s no sign of him nor talk of him being under arrest. Can a woman commit adultery by herself? Did the men who dragged her before Jesus carry stones with them eager to carry out the law of Moses and is that why Jesus who had said very little said to them, “let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” That must have spoken volumes. But he’s saying in effect “if you want to use the Law or Moses, then let’s do the whole thing by the book” And there’s something missing in their accusations, according to the law that is so precious to them, both parties had to be punished and at least 2 witnesses have to agree, one thing Jews have is a sense of humour - there’s an old Jewish story about a woman accused of adultery under a tree but she was acquitted because the two witnesses couldn’t agree on the size of the leaves! Jesus took his time. Was Jesus writing the men’s names down in order of age. Or He could have been writing down the name of her partner in crime, that would worry the conspirators! We do know that Jesus treated her with compassion but didn’t overlook the reason she was there before Him, he acknowledged the sin and I’m sure His words, would stay with her, never mind the fact her life had been saved. When equity is the standard, perhaps stones are rarely thrown. I wonder if the Pharisees and rabbis slunk off home after this public defeat or were they more determined than ever to get rid of him. 3. The woman in the crowd. Luke 8:43-48. The life she must have been living would have been difficult, as she was continually bleeding, she was unclean and she would have had so many limitations on family life, religious worship and mixing socially. And she knew that she should have no physical contact with anyone because she would contaminate them causing them to be unclean. And she must have looked and felt unwell. But then the one day, having heard stories about this young Rabbi from Nazareth who was said to heal all sorts of illnesses she made her last stand. Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’s young daughter with the usual crowd surrounding him when He suddenly stopped, He had felt a touch on his robe, and He asked his disciples, “who touched me.” His disciples thought He was joking! When He stopped the woman felt her heart had almost stopped, she was so scared and it was only desperation that had brought out of her home, that and the hope she had that this man could heal her, she’d hoped to be anonymous and invisible. When He stopped was He going to shame her in public, she fell at His feet, but the expected rebuke didn’t come. Instead, she heard Him say “Daughter.” This outcast woman who felt shunned by everyone, who had spent all her money on remedies must have been in shock. There is no other record in the bible of Jesus calling any woman “Daughter.” She had got up that day as a social leper but gone home as the daughter of the Messiah - I hope she had family to celebrate with her. He didn’t do Himself any favours, He noticed in the temple a woman bent double, unable to straighten up and he put His hands on her and she was healed and able to stand up straight - His sin was to do this on the sabbath and in his defence He said that this daughter of Abraham deserved to be released from her pain - another nail in his coffin as the religious leaders believed you could use the phrase “son” of Abraham but not daughter. To Jesus men and women are equal heirs to the promises to Abraham. All of these women were unclean in their own way and received grace despite their circumstances. There is no sin beyond His compassion and understanding but He’s not totally a soft touch, He might not condemn the sinner, but He does condemn the sin. There are so many women involved in His life, and possibly it was not by chance it was a woman who first witnessed his resurrection.
