How did Jesus interact with women?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Jesus consistently treated women with dignity, respect, and equality, challenging the cultural norms of His time that often marginalized them (Luke 8:1-3; John 4:27). God revealed Jesus’ identity to women, beginning with Mary and later to Anna, showing their central role in His redemptive plan (Luke 1:30-31, 2:36-38). During His ministry, Jesus welcomed women as disciples, friends, and supporters, giving them a voice and roles of spiritual significance (Matthew 27:55-56; Luke 10:39). Jesus’ conversations with women broke social barriers and demonstrated His commitment to upholding the value of both men and women (Luke 7:37-39; John 4:7-9). Jesus’ teachings and relationships with women set a precedent for equal value and significance in the kingdom of God, which His apostles reinforced through teaching that men and women are co-heirs of God’s promises (Galatians 3:28; 1 Peter 3:7). Jesus’ interactions with women call us to uphold the dignity, worth, and equality of women.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The Old Testament doesn’t directly describe Jesus’ interactions with women, but it provides principles and examples that help us understand God’s view of women. God created men and women in His image (Genesis 1:27), so both are equal as image-bearers of God.
• God’s law included protections for women, particularly widows (e.g., Deuteronomy 10:18, 24:19–21; Exodus 22:22-24; Psalm 68:5).
• Women were often recipients of God’s promises or active participants in His work, such as Miriam and Huldah who were prophetesses (Exodus 15:20; 2 Kings 22:14) or Deborah as judge (Judges 4–5). This precedent helps us understand why Jesus engaged women in teaching, healing, and ministry, giving them roles of spiritual significance.
• Some Bible books are named after exemplary women who were instrumental in God’s plans. The book of Esther records the heroism of a Jewish woman who became a Persian queen and who played a part in saving the Jews during the fifth century B.C. The book of Ruth tells of a Moabite who placed her trust in God and is listed in the lineage of Jesus.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• God revealed Jesus' true identity to women before Jesus was even old enough to speak for Himself. God's redemption plan for the world began with a woman. He chose to announce the coming of the Messiah to a woman—Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26–38).
• After Jesus was born, when He was only eight days old, God revealed that Jesus was the Messiah both to a man to a woman, the prophetess Anna, at the temple (Luke 2:36–38).
• When Jesus was in His ministry years, He was supported by women, and they would come to listen to Him teach (Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:41; Luke 8:2–3).
• Jesus also had friends who were women (Luke 10:38–39; 24:10; John 11:5). Throughout the New Testament, names of women and their specific roles within the kingdom of God are mentioned, which was truly revolutionary.
• Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman about her life, which sounds simple enough but was actually quite a powerful social statement. Not only was she a woman, she had an immoral lifestyle, and she was a Samaritan. The Jews were prejudiced against Samaritans. In this conversation, Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to her. He used this conversation to bring healing and forgiveness to the Samaritan woman, and through this, she shared the news of the Messiah with her entire town (John 4:4-42).
• Women were the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb (Matthew 28:1-6; Luke 24:1-10; Mark 16:1-6). This is quite significant as women of that time were culturally not seen as reliable witnesses.
• Jesus' apostles continued this journey towards true equality for women, which we can see through Peter teaching on marriage and how women should be respected and cared for by their husbands for they are co-heirs to God's promises (1 Peter 3:7).
• Paul wrote about how we are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Women are valuable to God. They are made in His image, and Jesus’ interactions with women reveal their value in God’s eyes. Jesus spoke with women, cared for women and gave them a voice and a place in His kingdom. He shifted the cultural narrative for believers from not considering women at all to instead valuing them equally to men, showing that men and women are of equal worth and standing in God's kingdom.

Human cultures may discriminate, but the good news of the kingdom does not discriminate and neither does God. Jesus took the systems of the culture around Him and upended them, showing His followers—and that includes us—a better way of doing things. As followers of Jesus, when we are made aware of an inequality or injustice, we should similarly follow Jesus' example: "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 John 2:6; see also Ephesians 5:1; 1 Peter 2:21).

UNDERSTAND

• Jesus treated women with dignity, respect, and equality.
• Jesus broke social barriers by teaching, healing, and befriending marginalized women.
• Jesus’ example models for us what value and equality looks like in God’s kingdom.

REFLECT

• How do you view and treat the women in your life, and does it reflect the dignity and respect Jesus modeled?
• How can you follow Jesus’ example to break social or cultural barriers that marginalize women?
• How does recognizing women as co-heirs of God’s promises change how you view their value and role?

ENGAGE

• How did Jesus’ interactions with women challenge the cultural norms of His time, and what does that teach us of how we are to treat women regardless of cultural norms?
• How can we reflect the equality and value Jesus demonstrated toward women?
• How do Old and New Testament examples of women in God’s plan inspire us to value women today?