Harmony Discussion Post 1. In your opinion, how did the way Jesus

Harmony Discussion Post

1. In your opinion, how did the way Jesus lived His life on earth impact the status of women in society? 

The way He lived His life impacted the culture of women today in how society functions. As a man, He respected and noticed the women in the bible. He honored, noticed, and even sought out women who other people might have looked down upon. I am reminded of the woman at the well who had five husbands and Jesus took time to go meet her and talk to her even though He must have been tired from traveling (by foot) with His followers. 

Discussed in John Chapter 4, some of the disciples didn’t understand why He was speaking to a Samaritan woman, but Jesus sought her out. 

2. How do the teachings of Jesus impact the status of women in society?

In this way, Jesus left an example of how men should treat women in society regardless of their “status,” what they have done, or where they come from. This makes me ponder about how Jesus sees the women today in our culture that some people look down upon, like the women who might not have it all together or who have been through a lot in their lives. The impression I get from John Chapter 4 is that Jesus did not think he was too good to speak to any women because His love was far too deeper than that for her. And the same is true with the women in our culture today. He doesn’t think less of a woman just because of her past or what she has been through. 

Rosana Discussion Post

As a ready the “the attitude of Jesus toward women” (Beck, 2005, p. 34) where two scholars, Bishop Lightfoot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Lightfoot, 2022) and James Donaldson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Donaldson_(classical_scholar)) have an opposite interpretation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sadly, the Bible does not clearly state the position of women in the Bible, which permit theologians such as Donaldson to speak of women as less an objective to be used and recycled as needed.

The author nicely states, “the Gospels picture Christ as having an attitude of appreciating the distinct capabilities of women as personalities in their own right.” (Beck, 2005, p. 34), yet the Bible shows how little women are part of the big picture and how much is opened for discussions among leaders in the church. I am sure there are many untold stories of the participation of women during Jesus’ ministry. 

The fact Jesus had women following him gives us the impression his personality and teaching attracted them, and they felt safe with him.

Jesus lived his life honoring humanity by commandment, not gender. Matthew 12:50 NLT: Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” (male or female). I don’t think the fact women were following Jesus made any impact in society, and nowadays, it is still up to debate with no strong argument to persuade the other side to make a relevant change. The fact that 12 men disciples showed us that women were not elevated to leadership as we believe they should. I think Jesus loved women equally as he did men; Charles Ryrie did a poor job giving examples not related to leadership. I agree that Jesus gave both men and women equal spiritual privilege, but not enough to be considered a revolution. 

We will never know why Jesus did not put the effort to bring men and women to the leadership table as equals. Do we need to know? According to Jesus: no! Not really!!!! I know one thing: He loves me unconditionally, and I do not require the approval of men to fulfill my destiny.