Bible Study series: Luke 10:38-42. Mary and Martha have two different responses to Jesus’s visit. Do you see yourself in one of them?
Jesus Visits Mary and Martha
Reply
Category Archives: Women in Bible
Jesus Praises a Widow’s Offering
Bible Study series: Mark 12:41-44. She challenges us to be generous.
Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven
Bible Study series: Matthew 13:31-33. The kingdom of God expands slowly, as it rescues people from the kingdom of darkness. Each redeemed life represents kingdom expansion.
Gentiles’ Positive Response and Jewish Opposition to Paul and Barnabas
Bible Study series: Acts 13:42-52 At the end of the discourse, Paul and Barnabas were run out of town, though many had been saved.
The Mother and Brothers of Jesus
Bible Study series: Matthew 12:46-50: The title reflects the natural reading. He really did have brothers.
An Angel Helps Peter Escape from Prison
Bible Study series: Acts 12:6-19. He went to Mary’s house and knocked, and the servant girl Rhoda answered the door. She told those in the house praying for Peter that he was outside, but they did not believe her.
Jesus Ministers to Woman with Issue of Blood and Jairus’s Daughter
Bible Study series: Luke 8:40-56. Two females needed help. The daughter needed to be raised from the dead.
Mary Anoints Jesus’s Feet
Bible Study series: John 12:1-8. She was moved to be in Jesus’s presence. And she was preparing him for burial.
The Mother and Brothers of Jesus
Bible Study series: Luke 8:19-21. The natural reading is that these are his full brothers, not step-brothers.
Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead
Bible Study series: John 11:38-44. This is the culmination of the story.
Jesus Weeps and Comforts Mary and Martha
Bible Study series. John 11:28-37. Jesus was preparing to raise Lazarus from the dead. Would his two sisters believe it?
‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life’
Bible Study series: John 11:17-27. Jesus teaches before he performs his miracle. Are we listening? Or do we only love the miracles?
Women Travel and Financially Support Men
Bible Study series: Luke 8:1-3. Women were important for the earliest Jesus Movement before his resurrection, and afterwards.
Lazarus Gets Sick and Dies; Jesus Had Delayed Coming to Heal Him
Bible Study series: John 11:1-16. Why did Jesus delay when Lazarus was sick? Then he died. Is it too late now?
A Sinful Woman Is Forgiven
Bible Study series: Luke 7:36-50. Jesus set her free from her past.
Peter Raises Tabitha (Dorcas) from the Dead
Bible Study series: Acts 9:36-43. Peter prayed first to hear from the Spirit. He then spoke to her and a miracle happened.
Jesus Resurrects a Ruler’s Daughter and Heals Woman with Issue of Blood
Bible Study series: Matthew 9:18-26. Two females in need, and he helps both of them. Wonderful.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Only Son from the Dead
Bible Study series: Luke 7:11-17. This shows that Jesus is the Messiah, true, but it also demonstrates that he loves people who hurt.
Irony Alert! Saul Is on Mission to Arrest Christians but Risen Jesus Arrests Him
Bible Study series: Acts 9:1-9. God arrested Saul while he is on his mission to arrest Jewish believers in Jesus.
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
Bible Study series: Mark 7:24-30. Jesus lifts her faith by putting her off at first, just to bring out the faith he saw in her.
A Woman Caught in Adultery
Bible Study series: John 8:1-11 Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Herod Executes John the Baptist
Bible Study series: Mark 6:14-29. Let’s do a deep dive into John’s life.
Jesus Raises Up Jairus’s Daughter, Part Two
Bible Study series: Mark 5:35-43. Jesus performs the greatest miracle– a resurrection. He is putting things right. The final accomplishment of this will happen in a twinkling of an eye, at his Second Coming.
Jesus Heals Woman with Issue of Blood
Bible Study series: Mark 5:24b-34. Power went out from him because she reached out in faith, which rose above her desperation.
Jesus Raises Up Jairus’s Daughter, Part One
Bible Study series: Mark 5:21-24a. Jesus is heading towards a house where he will perform a wonderful miracle.
Jesus Rebukes the Fever Attacking Peter’s Mother-in-Law
Bible Study series: Luke 4:38-39. God gives us authority to rebuke diseases.
Early Church Takes Care of Widows by Appointing Spirit-Filled Servants
Bible Study series Acts 6:1-7. The early church was learning as it went. It never lost sight of power of the Spirit to qualify servants for special missions.
Nazarenes Accept and Then Reject Jesus
Bible Study series: Luke 4:21-30. What changed their minds? He had a miraculous escape.
Apostles Work Powerful Signs and Wonders in Public
Bible Study series. Acts 5:12-16. By God’s sovereignty, Peter healed them by his shadow.
Who Are Jesus’s Brothers and Mother?
Bible Study series: Mark 3:31-35: True disciples belong to his new kingdom family.
Jesus and a Woman of Samaria
Bible Study Series: John 4:1-42. This is the most remarkable dialogue in all of Scripture. Lots to learn here.
Jesus’s Family Misunderstands Him
Bible Study Series: Mark 3:20-21. Yes, even his mother Mary thought her son was out of his mind.
The Boy Jesus Is in His Father’s House
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:41-52. Jesus had a sense of mission at a young age.
The Family Returns to Nazareth
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:39-40. “The child grew and got stronger, being filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was on him.”
Elderly Prophetess Anna Blesses the Baby
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:36-38. She was in touch with the Spirit and active for God, even at her age.
Simeon Blesses the Child and Prophesies
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:25-35. Jesus will make many fall and rise, in the Great Reversal.
Baby Jesus Is Presented at the Temple
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:22-24. Joseph and Mary were following the law after the birth of their child.
Angels Celebrate Birth of Jesus and Shepherds Are in Awe
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:8-21. The incarnation (Jesus becoming a human) is a time of celebration and awe. It has been called the greatest miracle.
Jesus Turns Water into Wine
Bible Study Series: John 2:1-12. There is a spiritual significance to this miracle.
The Birth of Jesus
Bible Study Series: Luke 2:1-7. Now God’s ultimate and highest rescue mission to save humanity is set in motion for real.
Peter Explains the Outpouring of the Spirit
Bible Study Series: Acts 2:14-21. God wants to give you gifts of inspired speech, to help and bless people. Are you open?
John Is Born
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:57-66. This is John the Baptist. What a calling he will have: a prophet.
Joseph and Family Leave Egypt and Return to Israel
Bible Study series: Matthew 2:19-23. Joseph obeys God. How are we in obedience to God?
Mary Celebrates with a Poem
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:46-56. Mary’s song fits within the flow of OT biblical salvation. It reviews OT themes and major themes of Luke’s Gospel.
The End of Judas
Bible Study Series: Acts 1:15-20. How do you minister to really distressed people? What about yourself? How do you back away from your distress?
Mary Visits Elizabeth
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:39-45. On hearing Mary’s voice, Elizabeth celebrates, and John (the future Baptist), will leap for joy in his mother’s womb. Good poetry, too
Joseph Is Told to Flee to Egypt
Bible Study Series: Matthew 2:13-15. How do we interpret dreams from God?
Earliest Disciples in Prayer
Bible Study Series: Acts 1:12-14. The resurrected Jesus rocked their world, so they prayed in unity and devotedly. I wonder how our prayer life is.
The Birth of Jesus Is Foretold
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:26-38. “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you.” Mary was puzzled by Gabriel’s announcement, but she responded with obedience. She surrendered herself to God’s will, no matter how strange it seemed at first.
Zechariah Is Mute And Elizabeth Gets Pregnant
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:21-25. After Zechariah was extra-skeptical, he was struck mute. But the good news: his wife gets pregnant. Trial and blessings often go together.
The Visit of the Magi
Bible Study series: Matthew 2:1-12. Like Pharoah indirectly attacked baby Moses, Herod attacks baby Jesus.
Gabriel’s Good News, Zechariah’s Doubts
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:11-20. Would you doubt God’s promise even if an angel delivered it?
Betrothal of Mary, Joseph and Birth of Jesus
Bible Study series: Matthew 1:18-25. Mary and Joseph get engaged–betrothed is a better word.
Zechariah and Elizabeth Are Childless
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:5-10. It is a great thing when God works a miracle in such a sensitive area of a marriage.
Women in Matthew’s Genealogy: Application
Bible Study series. Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17. This post is for your personal Bible study or your small group. How do we apply this section of Scripture to our lives?
Parable of the Persistent Widow
Luke 18:1-8: We are challenged to pray and not give up, until we get an answer.
Muslim-Christian Marriage: Friendly Advice to Christians
Should you take the plunge? I remember hearing an interview on the radio with a Muslim, a few years ago.
3. Torah and Slavery: Impoverished Father Sells His Daughter to Be a ‘Secondary Wife’
Scripture: Exod. 21:7-11. In a culture of arranged marriage and widespread poverty, fathers in the ancient Near East did this long before the Torah existed. Now the Torah has to intervene and tell the men what the daughter’s legal rights were. This post also looks at polygamy.
5. Torah and Slavery: Protecting Slave Women from Injustice
Scripture: Lev. 19:20-22. One OT scholar says that this law protected a slave woman when she was caught in the middle between three men.
Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
What kind of disciple are you? Wise or foolish? Are you prepared for the Second Coming?
7. Torah and Slavery: Marrying Captives of War
I updated this post. Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:10-14. I knew a kid named Carl at elementary school, my contemporary. He was half European-American and half Japanese. His dad had married a Japanese girl after WWII and brought her over here.
Does Torah Really Order Girl to Marry Her Rapist against Her Father’s Will?
Scripture: Deuteronomy 22:28-29 and Exodus 22:16-17. Is the titled question true? Or are there circumstances that clarify what was really going on? A parallel case in colonial Philadelphia is also included here.
Jairus’s Daughter in Three Gospels: Do the Differences ‘DESTROY’ the Truth of the Story?
There are definitely differences in the three accounts of Jairus’s daughter being raised from the dead, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But do these differences blind us to the central truth of the story?
Common Details in Matthew’s and Luke’s Birth Narratives
Did Matthew really believe that baby Jesus was never circumcised?
Parable of the Yeast
You must be born again to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). When you do, your life a radical turn for the better.
Families in Genesis + The Messiah’s Lineage
The Book of Genesis is the story of the families of earth, as the author narrows them down to one family in particular. This one major family, whose patriarch is declared righteous for his faith, will lead to the Messiah about 2000 to 1800 years later, about seventy years before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. Six tables of family charts are included here.
Are Women Allowed to Teach Men? A Close Look at 1 Timothy 2:11-15
Certain interpreters of those verses in the title have restricted women’s full participation in the teaching ministry. But are these restrictions truly biblical? Let’s take a deeper look at the verses. (I updated this post yet again.)
Are Older Women Restricted to Teaching (‘Only’?) Young Women? A Close Look at Titus 2:3-5
How restrictive are those verses in the title? Does the Greco-Roman household offer any guidance for reading them? What about other verses in the New Testament relating to women’s ministries? (I updated this post yet again!)
Paul Expels Demon from Slave Girl
Scripture: Acts 16:16-18. Paul expelled it in Jesus’s name, not by his own name.
Peter Raises Tabitha (Dorcas) from the Dead
Scripture: Acts 9:36-43. This section of Scripture also holds key lessons for those of us who believe in healing and raising the dead today and even seeing people get healed—and some Renewalists have seen the dead raised.
Widow’s Only Son Is Raised from Dead
Passage: Luke 7:11-17. Jesus issued a command, and the boy responded.
Jairus’ Daughter Is Raised from Dead
Passages: Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26; Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; Luke 8:40-42a, 49-56. Never forget that Jesus followed his Father in working miracles. He did not act presumptuously.
Who Is Mankind and Womankind?
What does the Bible say? It has the best revelation on the sexes, clearer and superior than any modern worldview. (I updated this post to answer the gender confusion.)
Yes, Junia Really Was a Female Apostle: A Close Look at Romans 16:7
The only reason this verse has become controversial and complicated is because complementarians (those who restrict women’s full participation in ministry) have made it controversial and complicated. But Romans 16:7 is straightforward and clear and easily translated. (I updated this post yet again.)
Jesus Expels Demon from Canaanite Woman’s Daughter from Distance
Scriptures: Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:21-30. It is possible to detect faith in someone. A wise teacher will bring it out of her.
Healing of Woman Bent Double
Passage Luke 13:10-17. Jesus heals this “daughter of Abraham,” proclaiming she is loosed.
Woman with Issue of Blood Is Healed
Passages: Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24b-34; Luke 8:42b-48. The power of God flowed from Jesus to the woman. Can we expect the same power to flow through us, as the Spirit distributes the gifts of healings (1 Cor. 12:4-11)?
Women Really Did Work as–and Were–Overseers, Elders, Pastors: A Close Look at 1 Timothy 5:9-10
This post has been thoroughly revised and updated. The verses we will look at describe male elders and overseers and pastors and elderly widows. Both men and women took care of the churches. Just like the men, the elderly women functioned as pastors, elders, and overseers throughout their redeemed lives, because they were those things. Scriptures: 1 Timothy 5:2, 9-10, 3:1-7, 11-13, 5:17; Titus 1:5-9; 2:3-5; 1 Peter 2:25, 5:1-5.
Jesus Rebukes Fever Attacking Peter’s Mother-in-Law
Passages: Matthew 8:14-15; Mark 1:30-31; Luke 4:38-39. We also look at Matthew 8:16-17, which says that the Messiah fulfills Isaiah 53:4, by taking their diseases and carrying their sicknesses.
The Biblical Norm for Marriage
In the current confusion in society, we need clarity. The Bible still has wisdom to teach us, if we listen.
Luke’s Birth Narrative: Pagan Myth or Sacred Story?
Many claim that the birth narratives in the Gospels–here the third Gospel–were merely reshaped copies of Greco-Roman myths. True?
Women in Ministry: Replies to Objections
Updated: Here are twenty-nine objections in a list that complementarians (restrictionists) raise. Replies are given to each one. Many important verses are discussed here, like Genesis 1-3, Galatians 2:28, Ephesians 5:22-24, 1 Timothy 2:11-15, 1 Peter 3:1-7, 1 Corinthians 7, 11:2-16, and Acts 6:5.
Healing Infertility in Genesis
In Genesis healing is about fertility. It is God’s promise to those who live by his commands. It is his blessing. And this first book of the Bible teaches us that God can answer prayers for fertility, to remove the sadness of infertility.
Romans 16
This chapter is full of information about church leaders. I look more carefully at the women leaders than the men, though everyone gets a comment.
Women, Men, and Five Ministry Gifts in Ephesians 4:11
Yes, women really did function in Christ’s five gifts to his church, his temple, to build it up: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers. Check out the evidence. (I updated this post.)
Should Women Not Speak One Word in Church? A Close Look at 1 Corinthians 14:34-36
One older commentator says the prohibition in those verses seems “absolute.” Yet how do we properly read them?
What the Bible Really Says about Abortion and Prenatal Life
Despite the confusion circulating over the web for years, the Bible unambiguously upholds the sanctity of prenatal life.
1. Torah and Slavery: Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar
Scripture to be studied: Gen. 16:1-4. Hagar was a handmaid to Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Critics claim that Abraham could have sex with Hagar whenever he wanted because she was a slave. (This post also looks into polygamy.
Women Teachers: New Translation and Reinterpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-15
What if 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is not about women teaching and dominating men at church? What if it is about a husband and wife at home? Or does the house church merge the domestic and public spheres? What would that mean for church policy and women teachers out in public?
John 4
Jesus returns from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north. First, however, he passes through Samaria and has a dialogue with a woman. He also heals a royal official’s son, by long distance.
Jesus Turns a Gentile Mother’s Desperation into Faith
Jesus seemed to be “rude” to a Gentile (pagan, non-Jew, or foreign) woman, someone outside his outreach to Israel. Here’s an exegesis (close reading) that explains his reasons, in a little more detail, in his own cultural context.
Works Cited
Here is a list of the principal works referenced or used at this site. More will be added as time goes on, so please check back.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 