New Testament's Attitude toward Women

We have seen in my previous message that the Old Testament's attitude toward women failed to get back to God's creation order. It was less than God's best because it fell short of God's original order. It is interesting to discover what happened when Jesus and the early Church came into the picture.

Jesus' attitude toward women

When Jesus came it is very obvious that for someone who is called a Rabbi (Mark 9:5; John 1:38) He had an extraordinary attitude toward women. In the days of Jesus no rabbi would teach a woman anything. In fact even to this day this still spplies. The Jewish rabbi considers women beneath teaching. That is why in the synagogue women are being segregated. They usually sit at the gallery area because it is the men who are addressed by the rabbi.

Jesus broke all that culture and He addressed in teaching, equally to men and women. When He told a parable He told one for the men and one for the women.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Jesus said, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it" (Luke 15:4, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Parable of the Lost Coin

Jesus said, "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it" (Luke 15:8, emphasis added).

Jesus allowed women to minister to Him

You will find throughout His life Jesus gave as much attention to women as to men. Furthermore when He traveled to the country side He took women with Him as well as men.

"Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities - Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance" (Luke 8:1 - 3, emphasis added).

Jesus allowed women to minister to Him which no rabbi had ever done. In fact Joanna and Mary Magdalene were two of the women who witnessed the empty tomb and announced Christ's resurrection to the unbelieving apostles (Luke 24:1 - 10).

When Jesus' disciples found Him spending hours in the heat of the day talking about theology with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well they could not believe it (John 4). Jesus did not think it strange that Mary sat at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple. In fact He suggested to Martha that she should do likewise (Luke 10:38 - 42).

Therefore, Genesis 1 is clearly applied in Jesus' Ministry that men and women are of equal value. Jesus, the Son of God, could have chosen to come straight from heaven at the age of 30 but He did not choose to do that. Instead He chose to be born of a woman. He was the only Person who ever chose to be born! At the other end of His life, it was Jesus' choice that women should be the first to know that He has risen from the dead. That is totally against all the Jewish culture of His days.

Amazing encounters of Jesus and women

The Gospels are full of amazing encounters of Jesus and women in which He gave them nothing less than utter repect. Let us look at just one incidence.

When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery Jesus handled the situation with utter wisdom (John 8). The Law of Moses said you have to stone the woman, but it also said you have to stone the man too. But they did not bring the man which was typical of unfairness. They caught the woman in the very act of adultery so they must have caught the man too. When Jesus saw that shameful injustice He could not even look at them. He simply scribbled on the ground with His fingers.

He said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).

He did not mean, "He who is without any sin". Otherwise no judge could ever operate because there was no human judge who was not a sinner in some area. He was referring to the sin they wanted to condemn the woman for because they were of the same mind which the world usually was to blame the woman and not the man - not knowing it is the man's reponsibility to protect the woman. It is interesting to note that the older men left first. I believe the older men knew the truth about themselves better than the younger men. But even the younger men finally admitted their injustice and left.

Women owed so much to Jesus who came with a different attitude. Nobody has a higher view of women than Jesus and no woman had ever come to Jesus and felt He could not understand her.

Jesus maintained the teaching of Genesis 2

Having said the above, Jesus also maintaned the teaching of Genesis 2 by making sure that men took the reponsibility and not the women. Jesus chose 12 men to start His Church. He was not under cultural pressure to choose 12 men. He had only one reason - He was founding the new poeple of God on the same basis of the old. The old was founded on the 12 sons of Jacob, and the new was founded on the 12 men. When you get to the New Creation and see the New Jerusalem you will find 24 names engraved on the gates and on the walls. They are all Jewish men, 12 from the old and 12 from the new (Rev. 21:12 - 14). The names of the 12 sons of Jacob will be engraved on the gates of the New City. The names of the 12 apostles will be engraved on the walls with 12 foundations.

The male leadership responsibility was practiced by Jesus in choosing 12 men to lay the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ today. At the same time Jesus showed utter respect for every woman He met. He did it because it is God's will that His people, at anytime and dispensation, follow the teaching of Genesis 2.

Jesus would not allow a woman to tell Him what to do

Though Jesus gave such respect and such time and such love for women He always reacted strongly against a woman telling Him what to do. Let us look at two examples:

1. The wedding at Cana (John 2)

Almost immediately after His baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit, Jesus and His disciples and His mother were invited to a family wedding at Cana. His mother tried to get Him involved.

He said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4).

Notice Jesus would not call her "mother" but call her "woman" reminding her of her sex and indicating it was not her place to get Him involved. And then, having said that, and put her very firmly in her place, He then had compassion on His relatives and turned the water into wine.

2. Jesus' encounter with a Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7:24 - 30)

A Syro-Phoenician woman came to Jesus asking Him to cast out the demon from her daughter. This gentile woman was telling Jesus what to do.

Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (Mark 7:27).

Jesus was obviously rude to her - what an insult to be called a dog! Jesus put her firmly in her place first and watched her reaction. That clever woman said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs" (Verse 28).

Jesus must have smiled and granted the desire of her heart because of her faith.

So we see it is important to note that Jesus would not let women tell Him what to do. He talked to them, ministered to them and loved them, but He would not allow them to have authority in His life. Jesus not only chose men as the base of His people, but He also would not let women take any position of authority over men. We shall see the teaching of the apostles is totally in line with Jesus' own teaching and attitude.

The Early Church

We find the threat of Genesis 1 and 2 continued into the early Church. On the one hand it is quite obvious that in the early Chapters of Acts, women were of equal value, and worth and status as men. They joined together in prayer in an upper room for the coming of Pentecost - for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Women were there with the men praying together. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was praying with the others when the Pentecost came. The Holy Spirit was given without distinction of class, age or sex.

The Scripture says that "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4, NKJV, emphasis added). Therefore Mary, the mother of Jesus also spoke in other tongues. Notice that Mary was not mentioned again after this - indicating she had completed her ministry. And now the Church took over. The Church was to carry the Christ to the world. The Church was to embody the Christ. Mary's work was completed. But she was an outstanding example of a charismatic believer. She was willing to let the Holy Spirit to do anything with her regardless of social consequences.

Right through the early Chapters of Acts, men and women were equally filled with the Holy Spirit, equally in prayer; they were together in the Church taking a full and active part. Also women were disciplined as well as men in the Church. Ananias and his wife Sapphira were both condemned to death because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1 - 11).

So, the early Chruch was totally in line with the teaching of Genesis 1 (the vertical relationship). This means men and women were created equal; they were all called disciples, they were all treated as able to receive the Holy Spirit in fullness and receive His gifts. For example, the four daughters of Philips were prophetess (Acts 21:9).

The Early Church maintained the teaching of Genesis 2

Just like the Ministry of Jesus, the early Church maintained the teaching of Genesis 2 by making sure that men took responsibility in the Church. Here are some examples:

1. A replacement for Judas (Acts 1:15 - 26)

When Judas went to his own place (committed suicide) they replaced him with a man and not a woman. That was the first indication that the Church is going to carry on with the dual strength of teaching right from Genesis 1 and 2, through the Old Testament, right through the Ministry of Jesus - they just carry the pattern set out by God in total consistency.

2. Feeding the widows (Acts 6:1 - 7)

When a crisis arose over the widows they were feeding, they chose "seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" (Verse 3) to be in charge of catering. I think we should do likewise. But the contemporary Church is likely to choose women.

3. Planting of new Churches and Christian communities (Acts 13, 14)

When they sent out pioneering teams to plant new Chruches and Christian communities they always sent out two men with the team. A good example is Paul and Barnabas. The last thing they would do, unlike what modern society often do, is to send woman out to plant Chruches. This practice is against the Word of the Lord, against creation order and it is going to distort the Church from the very foundation of it!

4. Doctrinal dispute (Acts 15)

When they had a doctrinal dispute; when there was an argument over the teaching, it was settled by men. A classic example is found in Acts 15. The main issue was whether Gentile believers need to be circumcised in order to be saved. They settled rightly by gathering the whole Church together and listened to all the points of view. The apostles and the elders settled this issue and reported back to the whole Church their discussion and that pleased the whole Church. When the men had setted the doctrinal dispute they sent out 2 men to carry their decision to other Churches and shared it. The men took resposibility not only to settling it, but for spreading the result of their judgment. This is in line with the teaching of Genesis 2.

Since the elders' tasks in the New Testament Church primarily concerns with doctrine and discipline, the responsiblity for eldership is always given to the men. Every Church needs a group of men who are able and willing to see that the standard of belief and behavior are properly upheld. Women should never have to carry that responsibility.

You will find that in a Church where the elders were mixed men and women, they will not discipline the Church correctly. That is why a woman cannot be a Pastor or an elder of a Church.