Have you ever heard anyone say, “You can make the Bible say anything you want it to. It is all a matter of interpretation?” One of the obstacles to people embracing Christianity is the idea that Christians can make the Bible mean anything they want it to mean because of all the different interpretations of the Bible. In other words, Christianity is reduced to opinions and preferences about the Bible without a clear set of beliefs.

Let’s respond to this objection. The premise of this article is that God has made “the main things the plain things,” in the Bible. On these areas where God has made his truth clear, Christians do not take different interpretations. Let’s look at two ways God has made the teaching of the Bible clear and then see how we can understand the differences.

Surprise! Surprise!

The first thing to point out is that among Christians (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox) there is a surprising amount of agreement on what the Bible teaches. In fact, there is far more that unites them than divides them regarding the Bible’s teaching. Jude expressed it as the “faith that was once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

Jude 1:3

The truth of the Christian faith, which was entrusted to the church, has been passed down and clarified faithfully through the centuries. Here are a list a twenty truths which all Christians agree:

1. The Bible is God’s revealed Word.
2. God is the Creator of the heavens and earth.
3. God is Triune (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
4. God is the Lord over history.
5. Mankind fell into sin and is incapable of escaping from it or its consequences.
6. God chose Israel out from among the nations of the world to be a light to the nations around it.
7. God used Israel to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus.
8. Jesus was born of a virgin.
9. Jesus took on human nature as the incarnate second person of the Trinity.
10. Jesus lived a sinless life of perfect obedience to the will of the Father.
11. Jesus died on a cross as the sacrifice for sinners in order to provide forgiveness for our sins.
12. Jesus rose physically from the dead.
13. Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father.
14. Jesus rules supremely over all of history.
15. Salvation is based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
16. Salvation is by grace and through faith in what Christ has accomplished.
17. The Holy Spirit started the church on Pentecost.
18. The church is the fellowship of God’s believers living in obedience to Christ.
19. Jesus Christ will return personally and physically to bring his kingdom to earth.
20. All humanity will stand before God to be judged.

The writers of scripture makes clear that certain truths stand out in importance. For example, Paul speaking of the resurrection of Jesus emphasizes the centrality of the belief:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

1 Corinthians 15:17-20

John gives another example of the importance of holding to a central belief as seen in the incarnation of Jesus:

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. 

1 John 4:1-3

Many more examples could be given. What is noteworthy to consider is that billions of Christians have held these beliefs in common for over the last 2000 years. We should be rather amazed by this startling level of unity. This faith that has been “once and for all entrusted” has and will continue to hold. This is a testament to the Bible’s clarity because the key truths of the Bible are all evident.

The Overarching Story of the Bible

SIX ACTS

Second, all believers in Christ agree on the story or plot line of the Bible. It can be broken up into six acts with Jesus Christ as the central character. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years (1400 BC to 100 AD) with more than 40 writers, under many different empires, cultures and circumstances. As you move from book to book, you will detect differences in style, emphases and content. Yet, with all these contributing factors, it tells ONE STORY.

Act 1: The World’s Beginnings  God created humanity in a world with flourishing beauty and life-giving abundance without anything to spoil it. 

Act 2: Humanity’s Rebellion  People rebelled from this original divine artistry and purpose. They traded life-giving abundance for a world governed by self-centered brokenness.  The world descended into a moral fall in which it was impossible for humanity to recover alone.

Act 3: Israel’s Quest  God stepped in to save his story and set in motion a plan to restore the world from this place of brokenness by taking one nation, Israel (from the descendants of Abraham), and setting them apart to be a light and guide to other nations. This was the dawn of restoration from brokenness. 

Act 4: Christ’s Arrival At the height of this story, God sent Jesus to the earth: truly God and truly man who lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on the cross, and rose to vanquish sin and the darkness of evil. He was the very standard of understanding how God viewed humanity; and how we should treat one another, and what true justice looks like. Through Jesus’ life and ministry, God’s restoration was breaking into our human experience.

Act 5: Christ’s Kingdom After Jesus had completed his work of demonstrating the power of love over all the brokenness caused by the world’s rebellion and evil, his followers are launched on a mission to expand this life-giving freedom and dignity to every corner of humanity, one conversation, one act of love, one wrong turned right at a time.

Act 6:  Homecoming  The final act tells us Jesus returns and restores what was not fixed and overthrows that which resists love and wholeness. This is the monumental ending to the story as well as the beginning of a new one which never ends in eternity.

JESUS IS the CENTER

The fulfillment and center of this story is Jesus. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he appears to the men walking on the road to Emmaus. Though they were not aware of who was walking with them, the Savior opens their eyes to the reality of how the entire Bible points to his coming. As they were bewildered by recent events, Jesus gave this explanation.

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Luke 24:25-27

The writer of Hebrews would emphasize the very same centrality that all of the Bible points to and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

Hebrews 1:1-2

What About the Disagreements?

There is a lot that can be said as to what are the areas of disagreement and why we have them. Let’s list some important ones.

1. Christians may agree on the meaning of passages but differ on how to apply them. One example may be the timing (when it should occur) and mode (how it should be done) of baptism. Yet, all followers of Jesus agree on the importance and need to practice baptism. Honestly, much of the difference does not come from interpretations of the Bible but traditions which have been practiced over time.
2. Some may be more influenced by past tradition than what the Bible teaches. Those in this category will read past traditions into the passage. An instance of this is how some have grown up with an “altar call” at the end of the service, and when they see the word or idea of “altar” (e.g. Romans 12:1) in the Bible, they read their experience into it.
3. Others may be guided by prejudices (not necessarily racial) and read those into the text. Someone may see a prohibition against tattoos in Leviticus. (Leviticus 19:28) Ignoring that this was a stipulation for the Old Testament Israel, the verse is still cited to confirm a prior dislike of tattoos, when really the Bible is silent on the topic.
4. Not all scripture is equally clear. Some passages are harder to understand. The apostle Peter said this regarding some of Paul’s writings.

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

2 Peter 3:15-16

As Peter states, some people will not take time to study at a deeper and more thorough level the difficult passages in the scripture. These people remain “ignorant” of what is being taught and then “distort” the truth.

There are more reasons we can provide. This is what is important to sum up. All scripture is inspired and important. Yet, not all the Bible has the same relevance. Isaiah 53 as the prophecy of Christ’s suffering has a lot more relevance than the genealogies of Israel in 1 Chronicles 1-8. What God has wanted to make undeniably clear, the scriptures speak with certainty. What is not as clear, followers of Jesus have the privilege to look deeper into God’s Word to mine the wonderful insights which God’s Word holds in store. Because God has made “the main things the plain things,” we can have confidence in the essential and life-giving truths of the Bible.

Some boys on a school playground were bragging. A boy named Johnny said, “My dad has a list of all the men he can beat up—and all your dads are on his list!” Later that afternoon a knock came on Johnny’s house and his dad answered the door. A big angry man said, “Are you Johnny’s dad?” He said, “I am.” “Well Johnny told my son that you have a list of men you think you can beat up, and my name is on it.” Johnny’s dad said, “That’s right.” The big guy started rolling up his sleeves and said, “Well, I don’t think you can beat me up.  What are you going to do about it?” Johnny’s dad said, “I’ll mark you off my list.”

Jesus makes a big claim in John 14:6:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“

In this article, we want to see how Jesus backed up this claim. Further, we want to look at the objections people make that this assertion leads to bigotry and intolerance. Rather, the case will be made that Jesus’ pronouncement is foundational for universal love and tolerance. It is a claim which establishes worth, dignity and redemption for all, none excluded. Let’s look at the heart of the Savior’s claim and respond to three challenging questions regarding it.

Jesus’ Big Claim

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, he spoke these words to his closest friends:  

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 

John 14:1

The disciples were overwhelmed with troubled hearts.  The Savior had just dropped several emotional bombshells on them.

• He had just revealed that he was going to be betrayed by one of the Twelve, Judas.
• He also told them that Simon Peter, regarded as the ringleader of the disciples, would deny him.
• He gave the worst possible news of all: he was going to leave them.

Even after three years of being with Jesus, they did not understand that he came to this earth with the express purpose of going to the cross, dying for the sins of the world and then rising from the dead. They thought he was going to establish an earthly empire which would overthrow the Roman Empire. When the unfolding of events turned out radically different, it caused the twelve unimaginable grief and confusion. For Jesus to command the disciples not to have troubled hearts was a VERY BIG ASK. Yet, Jesus said that it was possible for them not give way to troubling grief because they could believe in God and believe in him. (Jesus makes belief in him equal to belief in God.) Jesus gave several credentials as to why he could be trusted. Look at each of these statements:

• “I am going there [heaven] to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2)
• “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
• “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9)
• “I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me” (John 14:10)
• “I am going to the Father” (John 14:12)

These are ALL very big claims. It is important to keep in mind that as Jesus speaks these words, similar scenes of messianic liberators had been played out repeatedly over the last hundred years in Palestine. The Jewish people were desperate for an emancipator from the Roman oppression. For instance, historians Josephus and Tacitus record a charismatic leader, Simon of Perea, who convinced a large group of Jews that he was the new King of the Jews and God’s messiah. He led a revolt which caused a lot of material destruction. Roman authorities received word of what Simon was doing and dispatched a military unit to capture him, and he ended up beheaded. Another would-be messiah Josephus documents Anthronges who raised a band of guerillas and created chaos throughout Palestine. He and two thousand of his followers were crucified. In the book of Acts, when the Jewish leaders discuss what to do with the apostles, a leader by the name of Gamaliel urges caution from rash action, citing that these messianic flare ups had been occurring and always died out. (Acts 5:34-39)

So, when Jesus was arrested, convicted, executed and buried, what do you think his followers thought? They thought they were following another wrong guy, no different than the others. Jesus was as sincere but as deluded as the many who came before him. They hid in fear for their lives because of their association with this “criminal” Jesus. But something remarkable happened. The same people who watched Jesus die in apparent abject failure began to risk everything to proclaim him to be the promised messiah. How did they go from the place of cowering in total fear to unstoppable boldness? The tomb of Jesus was empty, and they had seen him, talked with him, touched him, and ate with him after his resurrection.

For this reason Jesus commanded his followers to “not let your hearts be troubled.” He knew who he was and what he came to do and what the outcome would be. He went on to say:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

John 14:2-6

Though this is an astonishing claim that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life,” the claim Jesus makes offers the ground of hope and worth to all of humanity. Embedded in this pronouncement is the reality that we all have acceptance with God no matter who we are, what we have done or where we have come from. There is no obstacle to our acceptance with God except our own unwillingness to be accepted. Race is not an issue. Social status has no importance. Ability is irrelevant. Further, no matter how sinful your past or unworthiness in the present, the offer is just as freely open. A criminal record, social shame, labels which have brought inferiority, actions committed by you or committed against you are rendered powerless against the claim of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” The offering to be in a relationship with God is universal; it is open to anyone without restriction. One need only to accept by faith the gift that Jesus Christ offers.

Tough Questions?

Why does Jesus ALONE offer salvation?

If sin is the problem, then Jesus is the unique solution. Any adequate solution must solve the problem that needs to be solved, and singular problems need singular solutions. Some antidotes are one-of-a-kind cures for one-of- kind ailments. Sometimes only one medicine will do the job, as much as we may like it be otherwise. For example:

• Increasing the air pressure in your tires will not fix an oil leak.
• Aspirin will not dissolve a tumor.
• Cutting up credit cards will not wipe out debt that is owed.
• If your water pipes are leaking, you call a plumber, not an oncologist. 
• The flu vaccine will not cure Covid-19. 

I cannot fix my sinful heart. The only solution is offered through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Other religions do not offer this.

• In Buddhism, you save yourself by ceasing all desire.
• In Hinduism, you save yourself by detaching from your separated ego and living in unity with the Universe.
• In Islam, you save yourself by living a life of good deeds.
• In Confucianism, you save yourself through education, reflection, self-cultivation, and moral living.     
• In Orthodox Judaism, you save yourself through repentance and prayer and by working hard to obey God’s laws and being a good person.   
• In the New Age, you save yourself through seeing yourself as part of the divine oneness and seeking to live in harmony as part of the One.

Isn’t sincerity of our faith and belief enough, no matter what we believe?

The fact is that the object of your faith is more important than the sincerity of your faith.  As we reflect on the story above (John 14), from the disciples’ point of view, things were falling apart.  They were barely holding on with their faith. From Jesus’ point of view, everything was falling into place. What was vital for the disciples was the object (Jesus) of their faith as opposed to looking at the sincerity of their faith. When you step outside of the spiritual world, can you think of any scenario where sincerity of belief is of greater value than the object which is believed? I would rather have weak faith in a competent surgeon than strong faith in a quack. It would be better to invest your money in a company that you don’t have high expectations for growth but grows rather than contribute money to a company you feel has a lot of promise but actually tanks in value. It would be better to have shaky faith walking across a sturdy bridge than feel great confidence walking across one whose structure is decaying and vulnerable. This would especially be the case with the matter of where one will spend their eternal life.

Doesn’t this claim of Jesus being the only Savior lead to bigotry?

Truth claims by their very nature are exclusive. To claim that something is true means that its competing claim is not. This is not bigotry. Jesus is not the only one who made truth claims. Muslims assert that Judaism and Christianity are corruptions of the prophets of the Old Testament and the teachings and life of Jesus. They believe Jesus was raised to heaven without death on a cross. This is a counter claim. They hold that the Koran is the only complete and true revelation of God (Allah). In addition, they insist that any translation of the Koran desacralizes it. The only true picture of the Koran can be seen in its original Arabic language. It’s not just a basic understanding of Arabic but a sophisticated knowledge of the language.

Buddhism was born when Gautama Buddha rejected two fundamental beliefs of Hinduism-the ultimate authority of the Vedas (Hindu scriptures), and the caste system which enshrines social stratification (wealthy and poor) among its adherents. Even with this truth challenge, Hinduism remains very uncompromising on its caste system. Sikhism came as a challenge to both Hinduism and Buddhism.

Then there are the atheists who reject the viewpoints of anyone who believes in God, some claiming that all religion poisons society. These are all very different belief systems which lead to very different outcomes. They all hold to truth claims which are either correct or incorrect.

Christianity insists in the strongest way possible that everyone be given full love, dignity and human rights. Jesus wants us to love our Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and atheist’s neighbors. The gospel is against any form of bigotry which marginalizes or hurts others because of beliefs based on narrow-minded preferences. This is wrong! But thanks be to God those who follow Jesus are liberated from this! Christ’s claim should not lead to pride but humility and service to others.

Conclusion

Toyoika Gagauya, a great Japanese leader of a couple of generations ago tells the story of his conversion to Christ:

I am grateful for Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism.  I owe much to these faiths.  Yet they could not meet me at the moment of my heart’s deepest needs.  I was a pilgrim journeying on a road that had no turning. I was weary.  I was footsore.  I wandered through a dark and dismal world where tragedies were thick.  Buddhism teaches great compassion.  But since the beginning of time who has ever said this is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

If sin and guilt is the problem then Christ is the solution which is freely open to everyone.  In fact, through trust in Jesus the broken pieces can be turned into masterpieces.

 

 

 

A police officer pulled a driver aside and asked for his license and registration. “What’s wrong, officer,” the driver asked. “I didn’t go through any red lights, and I certainly wasn’t speeding.” “No, you weren’t,” said the officer, “but I saw you waving your fist as you swerved around the lady driving in the left lane, and I further observed your flushed and angry face as you shouted at the driver of the Toyota Camry who cut you off, and how you pounded your steering wheel when the traffic came to a stop near the bridge.” “Is that a crime, officer?” “No, but when I saw the ‘Jesus loves you and so do I’ bumper sticker on the car, I figured this car had to be stolen.”

Unfortunately, one obstacle for some to the acceptance of Christianity is provided by Christians themselves (or those who claim to be Christian). It goes like this, “How can I believe Christianity if the church is full of hypocrites?” In other words, if Christianity is really supposed to change people for the better, then why do people who profess to believe in Jesus live so counter to what they claim?

This article will answer the hypocrisy objection to Christianity. But first, let’s explore the definition of hypocrisy and then provide three answers to the question.

What’s a Hypocrite?

Hypocrisy has been described as “the gap between public persona and private character.” The hypocrite is the person who uses the veneer of public virtue to cover their private vice. Jesus reserved his harshest words for the hypocrites of his own day:

You’re nothing but show-offs. You’re like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth.

Matthew 23:27

The sin of hypocrisy is not being more messed up than we appear. The hypocrite is not the Christian who struggles against sin, fails and yet keeps striving to do what is right. The sin of hypocrisy is in using the appearance of goodness for self-promotion. It is when you think that what others think matters a great deal more than whom God knows you to be. From the hypocrite will not come the selfless devotion to discipleship or a life of surrender to mission for the sake of others. There will be a “churchianity” to impress others rather than true Christianity which lives fully to God.

Jesus railed against it:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5

With these sharp words, Jesus causes his listeners to carefully examine their own lives. It is not that his true followers will not have their own faults or even greater faults, at times, than others. The issue is whether we will confront our own faults before we confront those of others. If we are unwilling to confront our own errors, and we seek to confront others, we are hypocrites.

Answering Christian Hypocrisy

Jesus was clearly against this hypocrisy. How, then, do we answer the charge? Let’s look at three ways.

Number 1: A concept like hypocrisy requires a standard of morality with which a person agrees but willfully and consistently chooses not to behave. Christ lived that standard out perfectly. At the end of his life he challenged those who had lived with him night and day, for over three years, to point out any hypocrisy in him.

Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 

John 8:46

They were silent because there was none. Since Christianity depends on Jesus, it is incorrect to try to invalidate the Christian faith by pointing to the bad behaviors of Jesus’ followers. Because some of Jesus self-proclaimed followers flaunt the moral standard does not invalidate the moral standard. We’ve all heard of medical quacks, but we’ve not stopped going to the doctor. Because there are bad practitioners of medicine does not invalidate the medical sciences or it benefits. If beef or chicken gets contaminated with E coli people do not give up McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken, altogether? There have been traitors to our country, but we are not going to leave the country because of them. Christianity does not stand or fall on the way Christians have acted throughout history or are acting today. Christianity stands or falls on the person of Jesus.

Yet, some have been hurt by hypocrites in the church. This is where it becomes very personal. As sensitive as we should be to those hurts, it does not invalidate the claims or truths of the Christian faith. When we go to the doctor’s office, for example, whether or not the doctor has a kind bedside manner does not change the facts of the test results that he shares or the medicine he prescribes. His accurate analysis and prescription does not excuse bad bedside manners, but neither does his bad behavior invalidate his evaluation and report.

Number 2: A distinction needs to be made between Christians who are struggling in areas of maturity and consistency and Christians who are outright hypocrites. No less a person than the apostle Paul confessed his struggle to live up to what he knew to be true:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 

Romans 7:15-18

Christianity isn’t about pretending to be good or even proclaiming to be better than others. The apostle John teaches we need to be open about our imperfections and confess them:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Jesus says he didn’t come for people who have everything sorted out; he came for people that are messed up. Addressing the brokenness of people because of sin, he declared,

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Mark 2:17

In an age of tolerance and acceptance, the message of Christianity truly does offer acceptance for people who have many imperfections and short comings while providing a path to overcome them. God loves us where we are at, but he loves us enough not to keep us there. The difference between the normal Christian who struggles and the hypocrite is one of honesty and continued work to change and improve by the power of God’s love. The Bible is filled with men and women who often failed but found growth through their failures. They are examples of God’s continued love.

Number 3: When people say the church is “full” of hypocrites, they are in most cases referring to a very small percentage of people who have turned them off. They take those hurts from the few and project them on to a whole group. The Bible makes clear the unfortunate reality that there will be hypocrites in the church. Paul writes:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 

1 Timothy 4:1-2

The bigger questions that really need to be answered are these: What do authentic Christians look like? What about all of the people who live lives of service and dedication for the good of others because of their faith in Jesus? What about all of the people who have experienced life-long radical change for the better because of their encounter with Jesus Christ? What about all of the good Christians have done in the world which have been motivated by selfless acts? (Medical missions being foremost among them.)

Conclusion

Let’s conclude with this analogy. Think of your favorite song, the one you sing along to in the shower or the one that makes you tap your foot whenever you hear it. Now imagine hearing a terrible cover version. It’s not the same. Rather than a smile you have a confused and puzzled look. It is in some ways like the original but still a far cry from the song you love. The cover version nearly always disappoints, the original doesn’t. What does this have to do with Christian hypocrisy? The church or Christians are the cover version of this analogy. They are the less adequate, less authentic version of the original. That original being Jesus Christ, God himself. It is this, look at the original before making your judgement based on the cover version. Why not read one of the accounts of the life of Jesus? Please don’t settle for anyone less than the authentic original for yourself.

Some charge that the Bible is anti-female and oppressive to women. Does God really hate women? There is even a belief around that the Bible has been developed and used by the church to keep women down. Though it is important to remain sensitive to concerns felt and expressed, this claim is far from true. In fact, Christianity (as represented by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ) was the best thing to happen to women. Had Jesus and the Christian movement he started not appeared, the world would be an immeasurably darker place for women. In this article we’ll see that Jesus’ example, treatment and teaching provided the way for women to discover and grow up in full dignity which was unprecedented in this history of the world. This has had an extremely important impact through the centuries for gender rights, freedom, dignity and worth.

The Culture of Jesus’ Day

During the days of Jesus, the status of women was considerably low. Consider how women were treated from a Roman, Greek and Jewish perspective. For example, Roman law placed a wife under the absolute control of her husband. He had ownership of her and all her possessions. This involved the power of life and death over his wife. Divorce was an easy legal formality that could be taken advantage of as often as desired. Women were not allowed to speak in public. In Greek society the woman’s situation was even worse. Because concubines were common, a wife’s role was simply to bear legitimate children and to keep house. Demosthenes wrote:

We have courtesans for the sake of pleasure, we have concubines for the sake of daily cohabitation, and we have wives for the purpose of having children legitimately and being faithful guardians for our household affairs.

In the case of a respectable Greek woman, she was not allowed to leave the house unless accompanied by a trustworthy male escort. A wife was not permitted to eat or interact with male guests in her husband’s home; she had to retire to her woman’s quarters. Girls were not allowed to go to school, and when they grew up, they were not allowed to speak in public. Jewish women, as well, were barred from public speaking. The oral law prohibited women from reading the scriptures out loud. Many Jewish men prayed each morning, “God, I thank you that I am not a Gentile, slave, or a woman.” More will be said of the Jewish attitude toward women as we look at Jesus’ attitude and treatment of them.

The Countercultural Ways of Jesus

The low status that Greek, Roman, and Jewish women had for centuries was radically challenged with the appearance of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. His actions and teachings raised the status of women to new heights, even to the dismay of his friends and enemies. Nancy Hardesty and Leah Scanzoni, authors of All We’re Meant To Be, make the profound point: “Jesus came to earth not primarily as a male but as a person. He treated women not primarily as females but as human beings.” Disciples come in two sexes, male and female. Females were seen by Jesus, alongside of males, as genuine persons. James Hurly writes: “He did not perceive them primarily in terms of their sex, age, or marital status; he seems to have considered them in terms of their relation (or lack of one) to God.”

Let’s look at three countercultural ways Jesus elevated the dignity of women.

# 1: Jesus Taught Women

Jesus regularly addressed women directly while in public. This may seem like NO BIG DEAL. But in that culture (as described above) this was unusual for a man to do, especially one of prominence. The rabbinic oral law was quite explicit: “He who talks with a woman in public brings evil upon himself.” Another rabbinic teaching prominent in Jesus’ day taught, “One is not so much as to greet a woman.” For instance, the disciples were amazed to see Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. (John 4:7-26)

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. 

John 4:27

To interact with her required that he ignore the Jewish anti-Samaritan prejudices along with prevailing view that saw women as inferior. This did not stop him from starting a conversation with her in public. So, we can understand why his disciples were amazed to find him talking to a woman in public. Imagine how it must have stunned this woman for the Messiah to reach out to her and offer to quench the very thirst of her soul.

This example does not stand alone. Jesus also spoke freely with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10–11); the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12–13); the woman with the bleeding disorder (Luke 8:48, Matt. 9:22, Mark 5:34); a woman who called to him from a crowd (Luke 11:27–28); the woman bent over for eighteen years (Luke 13:10-17), and a group of women on the route to the cross (Luke 23:27-31). When Lazarus died, Jesus comforted Martha with this promise containing the heart of the Christian gospel:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?“

John 11:25-26

To teach a woman was unusual enough, but Jesus did more. He called for a verbal response from Martha.

Another important example is taken from a scene, again, while Jesus was with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, who entertained him at their home. (Luke 10:38-42) Martha assumed the traditional female role of preparing a meal for Jesus, her guest, while her sister Mary did what only men would do, namely, learn from Jesus’ teachings. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and engages in theological study, much to her sister’s chagrin. The clear implication is that Mary is worthy of a rabbi’s theological instruction. This again shows the countercultural contrast for the time as Jesus made a practice of revealing great theological truths to women. By doing this he violated another rabbinic law: “Let the words of the Law be burned rather than taught to women.”

# 2: Jesus Had Female Disciples

Besides these open discussions, he has female disciples. In a culture where the idea of women travelling around with a group of men or having the status of disciple was seriously questionable, Jesus has a number of women who are included in his circle.

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Luke 8:1-3

It is notable that the first evangelist to lead others to Jesus was the woman at Sychar. (John 4:39-42) In addition, the final words of Jesus on the cross were heard by women who were standing there with Jesus before his death. (Matthew 27:55-56) The first people Jesus chose to appear to after his resurrection were women; not only that, but he instructed them to tell his disciples that he was alive. (John 20:17) In a culture where a woman’s testimony was considered worthless, Jesus elevated the value of women to the highest level.

Further, Jesus did not gloss over sin in the lives of the women he met. He held women personally responsible for their own sin as seen in his challenge to the woman at the well (John 4:16–18), the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10–11), and the sinful woman who anointed his feet. (Luke 7:44–50) Their sin was not condoned but confronted. They were called to responsibility because they were called to discipleship.

# 3: Jesus Dignified Women

The full intrinsic value of women is seen in how he spoke to the women he addressed. Jesus addressed the woman with the bleeding disorder tenderly as “daughter” and referring to the bent woman as a “daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:16). Theologian Donald Bloesch explains that when “Jesus called the Jewish women ‘daughters of Abraham,’ thereby according them a spiritual status equal to that of men.” He further showed the value and dignity of women in his teachings by including female imagery. The parable of mending the garment, an everyday image from the female sphere, is coupled with the parable of making the wine, an everyday image from the male sphere (Luke 5.36-39). Jesus, in Luke 13:34, likens himself to a mother hen:

0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.

Luke 13.34

These are to name a few.

Author Dorothy Sayers, a friend of C.S. Lewis, gives a helpful summary:

Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there had never been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, who never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made…jokes about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously, who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no ax to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious.

She continues:

There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words of Jesus that there was anything ‘funny’ about woman’s nature.

It is because of the counterrevolutionary person and work of Jesus Christ; Paul would make this revolutionary declaration which stands alone in the ancient world:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

This is the golden declaration of gender equality: “YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.” It is a momentous and authoritative assertion of gender worth and equality which would go on to bring large political and social sea change.

Effects of Christianity on Culture

Dr. Alvin Schmidt asks a worthwhile thinking question: “What would be the status of women in the Western world today had Jesus Christ never entered the human arena?” One way to answer this question is to look at the status of women in the present-day world which has been without the influence of Christianity. In many of these places, women are still denied many rights that are available to men.

• When they appear in public, they must be veiled.
• They are barred from even driving an automobile.
• Men have the legal right to beat and sexually desert their wives.
• Child brides are required to marry older men.
• Education to women is forbidden.

In other words, it is much the same as it was before Christ came in the world.

As Christianity spread throughout the world, its redemptive effects elevated women and set them free in many ways. It was gradual and sometimes difficult to overturn long held mindsets and practices. The Christian ethic declared equal worth and value for both men and women. Husbands were commanded to love their wives and not be harsh with their children. These principles were in direct conflict with the social and legal norms which gave absolute power of life and death to the husband/father over his family. Over time, where Christian influence prevailed, women were granted basically the same control over their property as men, and mothers were allowed to be guardians of their children.

As a result of Jesus Christ and his teachings, women in much of the world today which has been influenced by the Bible, enjoy more privileges and rights than at any other time in history. It takes only a cursory trip to an Arab nation or to a Third World country to see how little freedom women have in countries where Christianity has had little or no presence.  It’s the best thing that ever happened to women.