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Were Women Confined to the Margins of Jesus’ Story?
To many readers of the New Testament, the world of the Gospels appears unmistakably male. The twelve apostles are men; the public teachers of the synagogue are men; the formal religious authorities are overwhelmingly male. Yet when we read the Gospels carefully, something striking emerges. Again and again Jesus steps across the social boundaries of his time and deliberately draws women into the centre of his mission.
In the first-century Mediterranean world, women’s public roles were typically limited. In Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts alike, women were rarely educated in formal theological settings and were often excluded from public religious conversation. Their voices were rarely recorded in historical texts. Against this background, the Gospels present a series of encounters that feel almost startling in their boldness. Jesus does not merely show kindness to women; he recognises their intellect, honours their devotion, and welcomes their participation in the work of God’s kingdom.
A Woman as a Theological Disciple
One of the most illuminating scenes occurs in the home of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38–42. The narrative begins with a familiar domestic scene: Martha busily organising hospitality while her sister Mary sits listening to Jesus. At first glance it may appear to be a story about personalities or about the importance of contemplation over busyness. Yet beneath the surface lies something far more radical.
Luke tells us that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” In Jewish tradition, to sit at the feet of a rabbi was the posture of a disciple who would go on to become a rabbi themself. The apostle Paul uses the same language to describe his own training under Gamaliel. In other words, Mary is not simply listening politely; she has assumed the place of a theological student.
Martha’s frustration reflects far more than the pressure of hosting. Social expectation would normally forbid Mary from adopting the posture of a role reserved exclusively for men. Yet when Martha appeals to Jesus to correct her sister, Jesus responds in a surprising way. Rather than sending Mary back to the kitchen, he affirms her choice: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
In that moment Jesus publicly legitimises Mary and by extension all women’s places as being worthy of a Rabbi’s instruction and the future that would open up for them. Mary is welcomed into the intellectual and spiritual life of the kingdom. In a world where women were rarely encouraged to study theology, Jesus affirms a woman’s right to learn as an apprentice who will go on to lead in what she has learned.
Devotion that Recognises the Messiah
Another powerful example appears in the story of a woman who anoints Jesus. Luke records one version in Luke 7:36–50, while the Gospel of John recounts a related event involving Mary of Bethany in John 12:1–8.
In Luke’s account, a woman known for her sinful reputation enters a Pharisee’s house carrying a jar of perfume. She weeps at Jesus’ feet, wipes them with her hair, and pours the perfume over them. The text describes her only as a “woman in that town who lived a sinful life,” in Greek the phrase is hamartōlos, meaning “sinner” – this meant someone morally compromised, or someone regarded as of outside respectable religious society. Yet over centuries she has frequently been labelled a prostitute. This identification reflects later tradition which can be attributed to Pope Gregory I in the sixth century, rather than Luke’s narrative. In a sermon this pope merged several different Gospel women into a single figure: The “sinful woman” in Luke 7, Mary Magdalene in Luke 8:2, Mary of Bethany in John 12. This confusion has been adopted widely and has attached as a moniker onto Mary Magdalene but has no basis in scripture.
The cultural context makes prostitution unlikely. The scene takes place at a dinner hosted by Simon the Pharisee. In elite Greco-Roman and Jewish settings, meals could be semi-public events where people from the town might observe or stand around the edges of the gathering. If she had been a known prostitute, her actions—touching Jesus, loosening her hair, and wiping his feet—would likely have provoked far stronger condemnation in the narrative than Luke records. Instead, the emphasis falls on Simon’s moral judgment and Jesus’ challenge to that judgment.
The narrative is structured around a contrast between Simon the Pharisee’s lack of hospitality and the woman’s extravagant devotion. Jesus tells the parable of the two debtors to explain the scene: the one who is forgiven more loves more. The woman’s actions—tears, perfume, wiping Jesus’ feet—express gratitude for forgiveness already experienced. The story’s point is not the nature of her previous sin but the depth of her response to grace. In other words, Luke deliberately leaves her specific wrongdoing undefined because it is irrelevant to the theological message of the story. This is underscored by the public vindication Jesus gives the woman. In the presence of Simon and the other guests, Jesus says: “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48–50) In the honour-shame culture of the ancient Mediterranean world, such a statement does more than pronounce forgiveness—it restores her social dignity. In Luke’s story, the expected roles are reversed: the respected religious leader fails to recognise God’s work while the socially marginal woman demonstrates profound faith and devotion.
In John’s separate account there is another anointing, this time by Mary of Bethany, when this Mary pours expensive nard perfume over Jesus’ feet, while Judas protests that the gesture is wasteful. The Mary who sat at his feet and learned now steps into a prophetic role of witness. She has grasped something about the significance of his coming death and anoints him for his burial. In a gathering of male disciples who will struggle to understand the cross, it is a woman who recognises the moment and lovingly anoints the feet of the Lord Jesus for his sacrificial death. Her overflow of love signals her wonder at the one whose invitation to sit at his feet opens up new worlds of possibility for all women who are to come after her.
Women as Partners in Ministry
The Gospels present women more widely as disciples and active participants. Luke provides a remarkable glimpse of this in Luke 8:1–3.
Here Luke tells us that Jesus travelled from town to town proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Alongside the twelve disciples were several women, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. Luke adds an important detail: these women were helping to support Jesus and the disciples “out of their own means.”
Women were integral to the practical and financial support of Jesus’ mission. In a society where economic power was usually concentrated in male hands, these women used their resources to enable the proclamation of the kingdom. Their presence challenges the assumption that the story of Jesus was shaped only by male followers. The movement that grew around Jesus included women who travelled with him, supported his work, and shared in the unfolding mission of God.
Faith that Astonishes Jesus
Another extraordinary encounter occurs in the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21–28. A woman approaches Jesus pleading for the healing of her daughter. Her situation is doubly marginalised: she is both a woman and a Gentile. At first Jesus’ response appears puzzling. He speaks of being sent to the lost sheep of Israel and uses a metaphor about children’s bread and dogs. Yet the woman persists with remarkable courage and humility. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” she replies.
We need to be careful to pay attention here to the language and cultural context behind Jesus’ reference to “dogs.” In modern ears the phrase can sound harsh or insulting, but Cohick notes that the Greek word used (kynarion) refers not to wild scavenger dogs but to small household dogs or pets. The image is part of a metaphorical dialogue about the order of God’s mission rather than a personal insult. Jesus initially frames his ministry in terms of Israel—“the children”—receiving the bread first, reflecting the biblical pattern in which God’s covenant promises come first to Israel before extending to the nations. The woman’s response is remarkable: she accepts the metaphor yet turns it creatively, observing that even household dogs receive crumbs from the table. Far from dismissing her, Jesus praises her faith and grants her request, healing her daughter. In this exchange the narrative reveals both the historical priority of Israel in Jesus’ mission and the widening horizon of God’s mercy, as a Gentile woman becomes a model of faith and participates in the unfolding inclusion of the nations in the kingdom of God.
From the Margins to the Centre
Taken together, these stories paint a compelling picture. Women are not peripheral figures in the ministry of Jesus. They are disciples who learn, worshippers who recognise his identity, partners who sustain his mission, and believers whose faith becomes exemplary.
This pattern continues throughout the Gospels and so the assumptions of the ancient world are challenged. The kingdom Jesus announces does not simply mirror existing hierarchies; it reshapes them. The dignity and value of women are affirmed not through abstract theory but through lived encounter. Far from confining women to the edges of the story, Jesus repeatedly brings them into the heart of it. And in doing so he offers a glimpse of a new community—one in which every person, regardless of gender or status, is invited to bring their talents, gifts, faith, and devotion into the unfolding work of God.
Questions
- What do you make of Gregory I’s conflation of the sinful woman, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany?
- What other false assumptions about women in the Bible have been harmful that need to be challenged in our day?
About Amy
Amy Orr-Ewing (DPhil, University of Oxford) is an international speaker, theologian, and public advocate for the Christian faith. She is the author of many books and has spoken in the UK Parliament, the US Capitol, and the West Wing of the White House. She is also an honorary lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and a distinguished scholar at Wheaton College.
