Let’s talk about some women in the Bible. Most times when studying women in the Bible, we tend to put our focus mainly on the most famous ones like Mary the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth her cousin, or maybe you’ll look at other women like Eve, the first woman created, or Sarah who had a baby at 90 years old without an epidural.
Today, however, I would like to shift your focus to look at the women in the Bible that are not usually talked about. Some are not even mentioned specifically by name. Let’s start with the women that financed the ministry of Jesus. Joanna, whose husband Chusa was Herod’s administrator; Susanna; and many other women. They provided financial support for Jesus and his disciples. (Luke 8:3)
Isn’t it just amazing to know, from the Bible, that the ministry of the Messiah on Earth was financed by women! Let that sink in. Women are powerful. Women are strong. Women are industrious, resourceful and resilient. Women are kind and generous. Women are nurturers. Women are givers. The women mentioned in Luke 8:3 are giving some serious boss lady vibes. But in a humble and sanctified way, of course. I’m surprised that this information is only revealed via one verse in the Bible. I would have wanted it to be chapters upon chapters explaining how these amazing women did it. What was their trade? I want to know how they did what they did and learn from them. However, since all those specific details are not spelt out, I will put my focus on what is actually mentioned; the fact that they “ministered unto Jesus of their substance.” For them it was material wealth, for you it could be time and hospitality. To quote God in the book of Exodus, what do you have in your hands? Just because only one Bible verse mentions these women and that they financed the ministry of Jesus doesn’t mean it is not weighty. This one verse speaks volumes.
Another group of women that is seldom spoken about is the women in Rome during the time of Paul’s ministry. These women worked with Paul. Almost half of the people whom Paul greats in his letters are women. And what’s more, most of them were leaders that evidently held great positions in the Church. For example, there is Phoebe who is mentioned in Romans 16:1-2. She is a deacon and a benefactor. The term benefactor means she is financing the work of the Gospel. Benefactors were very important figures in the Roman society. She freely gave of her wealth to finance and spread the new faith in Jesus Christ.
Then we have Priscilla and her husband who actually taught Paul more about Jesus. They heard him speaking and invited him to their home, where they proceeded to explain to Paul more about the Gospel of Jesus. Paul ends up working with Priscilla and her husband Aquila, showing us that these were busy people. I mean they were tent makers but they also held Church in the house which meant risking their lives given the times they were in where followers of Jesus were under great physical persecution.
Another woman in God’s ministry mentioned in the Bible that was a very interesting for me to find out about was Junia.
Romans 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
I have read the book of Romans many times before so how come it didn’t dawn on me that Junia is a woman!? And not just any woman, but one who was first of all in Christ as a follower of Jesus before Paul was, and one who was in prison for her faith along with Paul! Wow! Kudos to her because prison in general is rough, but prison in the Biblical times was another thing all together. It was dreadful. We see in the Bible passage above that Paul calls her an outstanding apostle. There you have it people! Do not let anyone ever tell you that there are no female apostles mentioned in the Bible. Not only is Junia the only female Apostle mentioned in the Bible, but she is also called outstanding among the apostles. Isn’t that just amazing? Considering that this point in time in Rome and all the world basically, was a male dominated society, so the women in the Church of Rome really stand out. They are Church leaders, they are benefactors that are financing the ministry of Jesus Christ, they are risking their lives by holding Church in their homes, even to the point of imprisonment.
We can really learn a lot from these women in the Bible. I personally am so encouraged by them. As they juggle the responsibilities of raising children, home keeping, having Church in their homes while they were also involved in businesses like making/selling cloth and building tents so they could finance the Gospel of Jesus Chris. They did all this, and were exceptional at it, because of the love they had for Jesus and the determination to have the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ to be spread abroad.
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