Follow Me - The Women - Mother's Day

First I want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all mothers this morning.

Last week we looked at how Jesus called the disciples and what it looked like to follow of Him.

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to explore the importance of women in the New Testament and how they contributed to the Gospel being taken to all nations.

Our anchor verse is John 15:16 - You did not chose me, I chose you.

Beginning prayer.

I want to spend a few minutes looking at how Jewish women were viewed and how they interacted in society around the time of Jesus.

A 2nd century Rabbi Yehuda ben Ilai - taught that each morning every (Jewish) man is obligated to recite three blessings daily. These express gratitude for ones station in life through the negative statements: thank God that I am not a gentile, a woman, or a slave. - Tosefta Berakhot 6:18

Galations 3:28 says - There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

In Acts 16:11-40, Luke talks about 3 converts, Lydia a wealthy businesswoman, a slave girl, and a Roman gentile jailer. All three were given a new life in Christ Jesus. Jesus showed that all were equal which was quite controversial during the 1st century.

Although Jewish women did play important roles in society, there was one instance where their testimony would not be valid. In Jewish Law, women are not considered valid witnesses. The Mishnah states: "The oath of testimony is conducted with men and not women." The Mishnah is the written collection of Jewish oral traditions. This is what Wikipedia says: According to Rabbinic Jewish tradition, the Oral Torah was passed down orally in an unbroken chain from generation to generation until its contents were finally committed to writing following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, when Jewish civilization was faced with an existential threat, by virtue of the dispersion of the Jewish people. The Jewish Encyclopedia says this about the oral law: God gave orally to Moses other laws and maxims, as well as verbal explanations of the written law, enjoining him not to record these teachings, but to deliver them to the people by word of mouth. Luke 24: 1-12 tells the story of how Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary mother of James found the empty tomb and ran back to tell the other Apostles what they found. starting in verse 11 - "But the apostles thought that what the women said was nonsense, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; he bent down and saw the linen wrappings but nothing else. Then he went back home amazed at what had happened." The culture at the time did not allow women to testify about what they witnessed. The women gave the resurrection credibility. It was no accident they were the ones who found the empty tomb.

Another place we find women being used to provide credibility is in the genealogy account in Matthew. Typically, genealogies would trace the ancestry through the father and would include only men. Matthew, however, mentions 4 women; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and wife of Uriah (Bathsheba). Like the disciples chosen by Jesus, most of us would have not included them to be a part of the story of Jesus. By putting the non-Israelite women with questionable reputations into Jesus' genealogy, Matthew was telling the Jews he was writing to, this promised Savior was here to save all nations. I believe Matthew was also setting the stage to show that women would play important roles in teaching and spreading of the Good News.

The Bible doesn't offer many details on how women lived and worked. There are some other sources that tell us what the lives of women were like back then. Married woman would maintain the home, bear, and raise children. She would rise early, typically before the rest of the family, and light the fires for the day. She would cook and serve the meals, take care of clothing needs, she would also help tend to the family's livestock and help her husband during the harvest. Being a mother was her primary role if she had children. Mothers were more likely to name their children than fathers.

To quote from the book Backgrounds of Christianity pages 77-79

“Jewish women were not as restricted in public appearance as Greek women but did not have the freedom of first-century Roman women. The Jewish woman was the mistress of the home, but was not qualified to appear as a witness in court and was exempt from fulfilling religious duties that had to be performed at stated times (because her first duties were to her children and the home, and she might not be in the required state of ritual purity) ... The woman's influence in the home was considered greater than the man's.”

Jesus and later Paul showed that women are valuable to the growth of the church. Luke 8:1-3 says - Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. They are also valuable to the health of the church, and they are valuable to the life of the church. Women are made in the image of God. He chose them. He equipped them with gifts and called them to participate in the earthly ministry to grow the kingdom. Jesus truly loved the women he encountered. We see this when he met the woman at the well (John chapter 4). The woman was a Samaritan getting water during the middle of the day. John tells us it was about the sixth hour. Why would she come to the well at the hottest part of the day? We learn that she was married 5 times and currently living with a man. This would make her an outcast in her town. She came there during that time when she wouldn't be talked about or ridiculed by other women. Can you imagine as she's approaching the well, she sees this Jewish man sitting there. Jews despised Samaritans. (The Samaritans were a group of people who lived in Samaria - an area north of Jerusalem. They were half-Jew and half-Gentile. The Samaritans had their own unique copy of the Torah - first five books of OT as well as their own unique system of worship) She was probably hoping He wouldn't say anything to her. She was an outcast in her town, and she was probably feeling like an outcast at the well. Then He asked her for a drink. Let's see how she replied starting in verse 7- "A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” During His conversation with her, He claims to be the Messiah. Let's look at verse 28 - "So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, (here's an invitation) see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him." We see this woman go from an outcast to a proclaimer of good news. In verse 39 we read "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” Jesus loved the woman and treated to her like a child of God, not an outcast.

There's a beautiful song called The Woman at the Well. I want to read a few lyrics that I feel sum up her encounter with Jesus.

'Cause tonight I feel just like

The woman at the well

Wondering how someone could love me

When I can't love myself

But You want me as I am and that sounds crazy

I guess maybe that's why grace is so amazing

Throughout the New Testament we see women helping fund the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, being disciples, teaching, leading house churches, and going out on missions.

In Luke 10:38-42 we see Martha being a very hospitable woman. She is busy serving and taking care of guests and is upset that her sister Mary is not helping. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus being discipled, studying with the rabbi. He was teaching and she was listening and learning. Martha asks Jesus to make her sister get up and help her. Verse 41 and 42 says -"But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” The good portion is Mary desiring to learn what the rabbi was teaching. Charles Spurgeon in his "But One Thing Is Meaningful" sermon in 1871, he says, “But sitting at Jesus' feet implies, also, that having submitted and believed, we now desire to be his disciples. Discipleship is too often forgotten; it is as needful as faith. We are to go into all the world and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost. A man cannot be saved unless he has become a learner in the school of Christ, and a learner, too, in a practical sense, being willing to practice what he learns.”

Mary wasn't dismissing her duties or chores, she was putting Jesus first, and in doing so Jesus defended her right to sit at his feet.

Another woman who was called a disciple was Tabitha/Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42) – she was called a disciple, and she was full of good works and deeds. She made clothes and robes for the poor. After she died Peter raised her from the dead to show the power and glory of God.

We first met Priscilla/Prisca and her husband Aquilla in Acts chapter 18. They came to Corinth because Claudius commanded all Jews to leave Rome. When Paul came to Corinth, he stayed with them because they were fellow tent makers. It's interesting to note that Priscilla and Aquilla are mentioned 6 times in the New Testament. Of those 6 times, Priscilla is listed first four of those times. This was not the norm in the 1st century Jewish world. Acts 18:24-26 reads - Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Notice that Priscilla is listed first when they pulled Apollos aside to give him better more accurate understanding of God. Priscilla and her husband also had a house church. We learn this in Romans 16:3-5 - Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well (they were instrumental in growing the early church through missions). Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. I feel since Priscilla was mentioned first in that passage and in other passages, that she was head of the house church. I think of these two as a power couple in Christ. They were a completely devoted to doing the work of God, with Priscilla potentially leading the charge.

Another woman doing great things for the early church was Phoebe. We read about her in Romans 16:1-2. Here Paul refers to her as a” servant of the church in Cenchreae”. The word translated as servant can also mean minister or deacon. It seems she was a leader in her church, a minister, and a teacher. Paul also mentions that “she was a patron of many and of myself as well” That word patron can also be translated as “a woman set over others - a leader” and also as “caring for the affairs of others and abiding them with her resources.” We're not specifically told, but it does appear she financially supported Paul and others. Phoebe was in very high standing with the church and with Paul. "According to Bassler's Women in Scripture, page 134-35, Phoebe may have carried Paul’s letter addressed to the Romans to the Romans and throughout the Roman Empire. This would have constituted a very significant responsibility and also shows that women as well as men traveled extensively in the ancient world."

The Canaanite Mother

In Matthew 15:21-28 we read about a gentile woman who was following Jesus and His disciples begging for Him to heal her daughter who was oppressed by a demon. Her begging and pestering had gotten to the point that the Disciples were also begging Jesus to send her away. We see Jesus tell the disciples he was not here for the gentiles, but only the Jews. Here is where the exchange between Jesus and the woman becomes profound. staring in verse 25-27: Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jews referred to gentiles as dogs. it was a rude slur. It is almost like she is saying, "I know you are here for the Jews (children of Israel), but there are some who do not believe you are the Messiah, so I'm begging you for their portion. Then verse 28 says -Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Like most mothers, this woman was a bulldog, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She tracked down Jesus and she knew He was the only way. Her baby was hurting and she risked possibly her life to beg for healing. She had bigger faith than the most of the Apostles.

Mary Mother of Jesus

To Christians, Mary, mother of Jesus is the most famous mother in the Bible.

I want to look at 3 qualities of Mary.

1. Mary was faithful - In Luke chapter one, Mary is called "highly favored and blessed among women" by an Angel. When she heard this she thought what are you talking about? The Angel then tells her she will have a son and he will be called Jesus. Mary questions the Angel about how that could be, "she hasn't know a man". After the Angel explains it to her, she says "let it be to me according to your word" Once the Angel explained it to her, she had faith in God that His will be done.

2. Mary was virtuous - She followed and upheld the Law of Torah. Luke 2:22-24 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” She and Joseph also kept the commandments of God by going to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover.

3. Mary knew the text (old testament) - Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat is in Luke 1:46-55 - I really like what Bible teacher David Guzik says about Mary's song - This song (often called the Magnificat, after the Latin translation of the first few words) resembles Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, but it also has at least 12 other allusions to the Old Testament. This means that Mary was a woman who studied and knew God’s Word. The Scriptures were on her heart, and came out through her song. This is Mary's song:

And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Mary is the most famous mother that ever lived. She not only bore and raised the Son of God, but she also shows us the example of what a godly woman and mother look like. She was faithful to God, virtuous by keeping His commandments, and woman of the text. She loved God, loved Jesus, and lived in obedience to the will of God.

I want to share a few quotes before we say a blessing for the upcoming week:

As Dorothy L. Sayers, a 19th century English writer says, “It is no wonder that women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there never has been such another.”

Abraham Lincoln once said - "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."

There’s nothing stronger than a mother’s tears or a mother’s prayers.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

25The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

27“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Prayer -