Chapter 1: The Women Who Didn't Make the (Apostle) Cut
This is the first chapter of an ongoing series about strong women in the Bible.
Did you know that Jesus had female disciples? Of course you did, you just never hear as much about them as you do the men. Why is that?
Semantics plays a big role. The words “disciple” and “apostle” are often used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings. A “disciple” is a student; so anyone who was learning from Jesus would have been His disciple. An “apostle” is a messenger; the apostles were sent on a mission to spread the Word of God.
By referring to the “12 apostles” as the “12 disciples,” we get the sense that Jesus only had 12 people — all men — following him. In fact, He had many groupies, many of them women. Collectively, they are the unsung heroes of early Christianity, and they continue to inspire women today.
Still, we return to the question: Why were the 12 apostles all men? Was it sexist? Did Jesus have female apostles but the early Church chose to hide them? Was this the greatest disservice to women of all time?
In my research, the most logical answer to why Jesus chose 12 men as his apostles was to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy. In Jewish tradition, the number 12 represents the 12 tribes of Israel upon which God established His kingdom. The 12 tribes extended from the 12 sons of Jacob.
Jesus could have thrown in a woman or two as His apostles, but that would not have correctly followed Jewish history. What He did do was give women the opportunity to be a part of His team by sharing His story as only a woman could - through acts of charity and humility. While Peter, Stephen and other apostles spoke to crowds and wrote letters to people in far-off lands, female disciples built close-knit communities that fostered the commandments Jesus proclaimed.
A few women in the Bible stand out as excellent examples of female discipleship. More exist, of course, and we will try to explore those in upcoming chapters.
Mary Magdalene
Everyone knows Mary Magdalene. She’s the woman who followed Jesus after he relieved her of seven demons. She was not a prostitute, as many stories throughout the centuries alleged. In fact, there’s no evidence for that in the Bible. Mary Magdalene had a lot of issues, but prostitution was not one of them.
She was a devoted friend and disciple of Jesus who stuck with Him until the end. She stayed by the cross during the Crucifixion and was one of the first people to find the tomb empty three days after Jesus was buried.
And then the most awesome thing of all happened: The risen Christ revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene before anyone else.
“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”
You can say that Mary Magdalene gets short shrift in the New Testament. She doesn’t get the keys to heaven like Peter. But guess what? She was chosen to be the first disciple to spread the Good News.
Isn’t it just like a woman to make things happen without a lot of fanfare? Get that Christianity movement going, Mary Magdalene. Then carry on with everything else that you’re doing. Mary Magdalene was the ultimate multi-tasker.
Isn’t it just like a woman to make things happen without a lot of fanfare?
Martha and Mary, Sisters of Lazarus
Just to confuse matters, some biblical scholars believe that Mary Magdalene and Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus were the same person. Enough doubt exists that we will treat them as two different people.
Martha and Mary were likely long-time friends of Jesus, but they treated their friendships with Him very differently. In one Bible scene, Martha slaves over a hot stove, making Jesus’ favorite foods, while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, clinging to His every word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
How many of us can relate to Martha? She cooks. She cleans. She makes sure her guests have plenty to eat and drink. She doesn’t want credit for everything she does, but it would be nice if someone took these tasks as seriously as she does.
To Martha, Mary is a lazy slug. Look at her just staring up at Jesus with those doe eyes. She’s not even asking if she can do anything to help Martha. Certainly, Jesus, who is all about caring for others, sees this and is going to tell Mary to get up and help her sister.
Instead, He says this:
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Imagine her shock at being told that she chose to cook and clean, while Mary chose to listen to Jesus. Neither was wrong. They were serving in different ways. Mary had no guilt about not helping Martha; she was soaking in all of the information she would need for the rest of her life. Martha was doing what was necessary at the time; she just needed to let herself enjoy the moment.
Mary Magdalen, Martha and Mary—three different women, each of them uniquely resilient. If these disciples teach us anything it’s that women can make a positive mark in the world in various ways. This is as true today as it was then.
RESOURCES:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-mary-magdalene-119565482/
https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/jesuss-female-disciplesand-why-they-werent-among-twelve/
https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/04/st-mary-magdalene-first-woman-mystic.html
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020%3A11-18&version=NKJV