Was Jesus a feminist?

 The answer to that question may depend on how you define the term. The women’s movement in America has gone through some remarkable changes through the years…

•  Classical feminism worked for basic equal rights in the early 20^th century – like the right for women to vote, laws addressing domestic violence, and other necessary reforms. Many of these efforts were spawned in Christian churches – and are overwhelmingly appreciated today by the American people.
   

• Feminism evolved into another stage with the 1963 publication of Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, which raised concerns about limited options for women in society, and the psychological toll it was taking. This movement pursued greater opportunities for women in the American workforce – including leadership positions, advancements in the corporate world, government, academia, and religious vocations.
  
  While the benefits are almost indisputable, we must remember that both feminists and non-feminists gave similar criticisms. Non-feminists accused it of trying to make women become just like men – pointing to gender differences in the created order. And feminists criticized these efforts as mere workings to advance women in patriarchal institutions. They said that women instead needed to define their own sense of self and vocation – apart from the male-dominated institutions.
   

• This led to a more radical brand of feminism. Modern feminism has at times suggested that there is a superior sense of feminine in the divine – one that has been suppressed by patriarchal authorities and needs to be rediscovered. The radical feminists have called for the creation of new female-based institutions in society, which will (in their opinion) be superior to those of men. At its worst, some of their rhetoric has devolved into a bunch of man-hating diatribe (although the pejorative term “feminazi” probably goes too far).

 I’m really not much of a feminist. There’s too much baggage attached to the modern version of it.

But I am challenged by the example of Jesus, and how He worked to empower the women around Him in creative ways. The resurrection is the best example (and the easiest to think of this time of year). Jesus commissioned women as the first witnesses of the event, even though their testimony wasn’t considered reliable in the culture (Matthew 28:1-10). Jesus also resisted trends that tended to view women as sex objects (John 8:1-11, Luke 7:36-50), promoted intellectual development for women (Luke 10:38-42), promoted the dignity of women in marriage (Luke 16:14-18, Mark 10:2-12), and broke cultural taboos against associating with women (John 4:5-27, Matthew 9:20-22).

 From this, I am challenged to pursue the spirit which led Paul to say that there is “neither male nor female” when we are in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). None of the spiritual gifts that he listed are restricted to men (Romans 12:6-8, I Corinthians 12:27-31). In fact, there are prophetic roles for women in both the Old and New Testaments (Judges 4-5, Acts 21:9). I have to wonder – am I really loving my neighbor as myself if I am restricting a woman from using her gifts and talents to the fullest extent possible? 

 It is clear that Jesus challenged many of the sexist assumptions of His time. A question for modern believers is this: Are we Christ-like enough to do likewise?

  God bless you,
Andrew McHenry
Pastor – Maple Hill Community Congregational Church