Jesus: He Gets Us | Plan 1Sample

Day 3 - He Gets Us: Jesus welcomed women.

To be a woman in Jesus’ day meant you were invisible.

Outside your home, no man was allowed to talk to you. In the temple, you could observe holy happenings, but never participate. Your witness didn’t count in court, you couldn’t receive an inheritance, you were never taught to read. Your opinion didn’t matter.

Jesus broke the chains that held women in bondage. He taught anyone who would listen and even welcomed women to walk with him as followers (scandalous). Some of his closest friends were women (unprecedented). He never flirted with them, mansplained, or patronized them. Jesus refused to treat women as inferior in any way but took their questions seriously and respected their needs.

Nobody did that for women in the first century and rarely in centuries since.

Every time Jesus mentioned, touched, taught, or talked to a woman, he raised the cultural tide. He applauded both Jewish and Gentile women for their grit. He noticed the quiet, faithful things women did—even an elderly widow putting pennies in the collection plate. He praised women for wanting to learn. He engaged them in stunning conversations about important matters. He pushed back cultural restraints and invited women to thrive.

Even more intensely personal, look at who Jesus helped. The woman who had been with another woman’s husband, dragged to stand almost naked in a crowd of accusers. The prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. The woman living with a man, after five other husbands. People whispered (loudly) about these women’s reputations, focusing on their sexual indiscretions, but Jesus looked deeper and saw their souls. He offered them forgiveness, wholeness, and peace with his kind words and gentle touch.

Brave women, all of them. Call it intuition or insight, they just knew Jesus was everything he promised and they let him help them out of the messes and heartbreak they found themselves in.

Likely, they had their share of funny and touching behind-the-scenes stories to tell. They loved Jesus because he first loved them. They showed up in the places and times when it mattered most—especially at his death when the other followers hid in fear.

And just like he sees you and knows you, these women meant a great deal to Jesus who notoriously redefined the rules to give them dignity and welcome. He called them out of the shadows and into lives of influence and impact.

He must have meant the world to them.