"There He goes again, rescuing a woman from the clutches of another religious leader. Jesus defended a woman who obviously broke protocol by inviting herself to the dinner party of a powerful leader. As if that were not bad enough, instead of quietly blending into the crowd, she makes a huge scene and becomes the center of attention. What does it look like when a woman of ill repute is hanging all over Jesus, kissing His feet and wiping them with her hair? Why does He let her do it when He should be protecting His reputation? After all, He is supposed to be the righteous Son of God who will die for the sins of the world. Why not make a clear statement to the religious community that nothing is going on between Him and these women? And maybe the most profound question is, why are these women attracted to Jesus? What is the draw? Why all the fanfare?"
Gee, I don't know Kris. Maybe because He was the Son of God? Maybe because they saw the miracles too? Maybe because they realized He was the coming Messiah? Does any of this matter to you at all or has the cause of selling your Christo-feminism book blinded you to everything the bible actually does say?
"I have to admit that before I wrote this book, I never understood the radical message of gender equality that the gospel writers were trying to convey through the life of Jesus. Yes, I knew that Jesus hated religion. I was aware that He was a countercultural radical who overturned the deceptive tables of hypocrisy and drove the money changers out of the Temple. Having read the Bible every day for thirty-plus years, I understood that quite a few women hung around Jesus. Yet because I did not have a real grasp on the oppressive culture of first-century Judaism and the massive mistreatment of women during the days of Christ, I totally missed one of the most profound messages of the gospels--that Jesus championed the equality of women."
The other Bethel boogeyman is religion. They claim anyone who insists on biblical accuracy is too "religious" and they reinvent scripture to pretend that Jesus believed this when He clearly did not. The issue with the Pharisees was not a hatred towards religion but rather an utter disdain for false teaching. The Gospel writers did not write one jot or tittle about gender equality. Jesus did not hate religion! He established Christianity! He did not overturn the "deceptive tables of hypocrisy!" Those were the moneychanger tables who were price gouging visitors to the temple and robbing people in the house of God! You should know plenty abut that Kris! You claim to have read the bible every day for thirty plus years and your big takeaway is that Jesus championed the equality of women without mentioning it once? Ugh.
"Look at what is happening here. A Samaritan, a woman who has been married five times and is now living with her boyfriend, whom the religious world would not even allow to step foot in the synagogue, just became the first evangelist in history. This woman, who would never qualify as an elder in anyone's church, has just turned a Samaritan city upside down after one encounter with her Messiah. I am telling you that disqualifying women from leadership is costing us our cities!"
Dear Lord. She was not the first evangelist in history! She naturally went and told her people what had happened. That does not make her an evangelist. There is also no record that her doing so turned her city upside down. That is Kris just trying to usurp a quote attributed to the male disciples evangelism work. Insisting that women be obedient to scripture is not costing any cities.
This entire incident flies in the face of the kind of thinking that says the Church should universally apply Paul's exhortation to Timothy: "A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet" (1 Timothy 2:11--12). It is ridiculous to argue that Mary (a woman) did not instruct and influence the Son of God. This quick peek into the life of Jesus and His mother is a clear indication of the way in which He allowed Mary to influence His life.
Kris is basing this on the fact that Mary instructed the men at the wedding to listen to whatever Jesus told them regarding the wine running out. No consideration for respecting ones mother and father, you know, one of the Ten Commandments. Nope, instead it proves in his abased mind that because Mary instructed her Son that women can now instruct men in the church, despite the bible strictly forbidding it.
