Jesus and Women

Matthew 20:17 - While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside and privately said to them on the way,

The fact that Jesus takes them aside reminds us that there were more than just the twelve who traveled with Jesus. It wasn't just men; women and children were there as well. Thus, the need for privacy with those he considered his intimate partners. So, the question that jumps out at me is, "were there any women privy to this conversation?" If not, why not?

We'll get into what he told them soon, but for now I want to consider this question on its own. Were there women there and Matthew chose not to credit them? What would it mean to have women there or to keep them out? Whatever he is telling them, it must be important because he pulls them out of the crowd. Excluding women from such important knowledge is radically unjust and unfair, then and now. They've been with him since the beginning and provided for him and his male disciples. I believe they were there.

However, it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't. Jesus is often called a feminist because he treated women as people with agency rather than possessions of some man. After Martha complained that her sister Mary was not helping get the meal ready, Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the better part. He spoke with the woman at the well alone and treated her as a person as well. Finally, he also treated the woman with the alabaster jar as a person with agency, praising her actions. If Jesus was a feminist, the gospel writers left most of the evidence out - perhaps they included what they thought they could get away with.

The society was patriarchal and that has had terrible consequences for women ever since. Of course, one consequence is that they were kept ignorant of politics and societal matters, not to mention uneducated. Sure, some were able to rise above those limitations, yet they were exceptional and had lots of male support. A case in point for this ignorance is VP Pence, who famously said he would not be alone in a room with a woman who was not his wife. I'm not sure how true that is, but it tells us a lot about Pence, none of them at all flattering. there are many implications for women's equality, one of which is keeping women from advancing in their careers.

This policy effectively shuts out women from important time with their boss, mentoring opportunities, and access to positions of power. It limits access to the corporate ladder to men. Maybe that's a feature not a bug. Pence thinks this makes him look like a good Christian man, yet this policy is sexist and misogynist. Evangelical Christians might praise this policy but the rest of us can see through his "piety" and think that he needs help if he has trouble being alone with a woman. Sounds like a personal problem. Even Jesus had private conversations with woman and managed to treat them like people.

So, I choose the think Christ had women in this meeting - Mary Magdala, Mary sister of Lazarus, Martha. Jesus may not have been a feminist, yet he respected women. It's time our society took our cue and followed suit. More on that tomorrow.
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