Is Jesus a Feminist? Part 2

Jesus’ perspective on being the head

English Standard Version Chapter 20

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

But

Making the connection to the husband being the head (of his wife)

The Bible says that the husband is the “head” of the wife (the “first” in the two-party relationship) just a Christ is the head of the Church. The Bible says that wives are to “submit” to their husbands “as to the Lord.”

Some read this as husbands are in charge, the husband calls the shots and his wife should sit there quietly and look pretty. Let’s examine what the Bible REALLY says about this by the husband as head doing what Jesus as head is doing.

Jesus clearly says that “lording it over his wife” (25) is not to be done among followers of Jesus (26). The husband who wants to fulfill the role of being the head, the first in the relationship, “must be his wife’s slave” (27). Just as Jesus came to serve and not be served so the husband must serve his wife, giving up his wants, his needs, his life, in order to serve the best interest of his wife (28).

The husband’s authority begins and ends in serving the best interest of his wife. She definitely does not have to submit to abuse, be treated as second-class or inferior. God made THEM male and female, equally in the image of God. The current use of the Bible, by some, to subjugate wives, is heresy.

The wife’s responsibility is to respect her husband, not because he deserves it, but because he NEEDS it to even function. Her submission to her husband is, in fact, her submitting to him giving her what is in her best interest. And if there is a track record of the husband sacrificially serving his wife’s best interest, she will gladly submit.