Women accompanying Jesus

 

Let’s look at some ways women in the Church served, over the next few weeks, we will examine some of these women that is listed in the Scriptures.

 

Women accompanying Jesus

 

Luke 8:1 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,

 

For centuries, wealthy people have sponsored artists so they can focus on their masterpiece instead of trying to pay the bills.  We will see that Jesus and the disciples had patrons, and they were often wealthy women.

 

Do we really understand how much work it is to take care of 13 men plus and the women in the traveling party.  The food, cleaning, sleeping, clothing, hygiene are some of the basic things that need to be done, daily.  It takes money and hard work.

 

Women at the cross

 

Matthew 27:55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.

 

 

Matthew 27:56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph {Joses}, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. 

 

{Salome, wife of Zebedee, sons, James and John} { was sister of Mary, mother of Jesus, aunt of Jesus.  Jesus was cousins to James and John.}

 

{Mary, mother of James, Joseph, wife of Clopas or Alphaeus}

 

John 19:25 Meanwhile, standing near Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

 

Mary the wife of Clopas.

 

Mark 15:40-41 Now there were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of young James and Joseph, and Salome.  (41)  They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.

 

Many other women: no record who they were

 

She was called Magdalene, was she was an inhabitant of Magdala, or was used to distinct from the other 6 Mary’s mention in the Scriptures.

 

She was from Galilee, Magdala is a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Roman Judea.  She gave financial help and domestic service to Jesus and his disciples.

 

The first 3 gospels give little evidence of Mary’s character. 

 

We find she was healed by Jesus. First appeared to; drove out 7 demons.

 

Luke 8:2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

 

Think back how the demons reacted to a person body with demons that Jesus was going to drive out demons.  The Scriptures show a possessed person wailing, thrashing, and tearing his or her clothes in front of a crowd.  She must have suffered from severe emotional or psychological trauma.  I can understand her deep devotion to Jesus on account of the healing must have very strong.    

 

Mary Magdalene is mention by name 12 times in the Scriptures and was a witness to Jesus crucifixion, His resurrection and probably at His burial.  Remember, we covered her as she escape with Lazarus from the Jews Leadership on boat to France.

 

Because Mary is listed as one of the women who were supporting Jesus's ministry financially, she must have been relatively wealthy. 

 

The places where she and the other women are mentioned throughout the gospels strongly indicate that they were vital to Jesus's ministry.

 

The fact that Mary Magdalene always appears first except one time at the cross, whenever she is listed in the Gospels as a member of a group of women, indicates that she was seen as a leader out of all of them just as Peter among the Apostles.  

 

Jesus is Buried, the women probably saw Joseph, and his men, take him down from the cross, and they followed him, and observed where he buried Jesus

 

Mark 15:47  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he {Jesus} was laid.

 

Jesus Resurrection

 

Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus.

 

Why say James and not Joseph?

 

Mark 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb

 

the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

 

 

 

 

Luke 24:1-3 But at early dawn on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  (2)  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  (3)  but when they went in, they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 

Who was the angel talking to.  Talking to the women

 

Mark 16:6 "Don't be alarmed," he {angel} said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

 

Mark 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'" 

 

Mark 16:8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

 

Luke 24:5 While the women remained terrified, bowing their faces to the ground, the men asked them, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is living?

 

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

 

Mark 16:9 After Jesus had risen early on the first day of that week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.

 

Notice, Jesus first appeared to a woman, not to a man.

 

Mark 16:10-11 She went and told those who had been with Jesus and who now were grieving and crying.  (11)  When they heard that he was alive and that he had been seen by her, they refused to believe Mary.

 

 

 

 

Mark 16:12-14 After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two disciples as they were walking into the country.  (13)  They went back and told the others, who didn't believe them, either.  (14)  Finally he appeared to his eleven disciples while they were eating. He rebuked them for their unbelief and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen.

 

They did not believe the women who told them.

 

Luke 24:8-9 Then they remembered his words.  (9)  When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

 

Who were the other women

 

Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

 

Luke 24:11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.    {men still did not believe}

 

Notice, the men did not believe Mary that Jesus was alive

 

Notice, it was the same women at the tomb and at the cross.

 

One of the most profound examples is Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus chose to be the first to witness his resurrection. She was entrusted with bringing the good news to the disciples that morning when she saw and spoke to Jesus.

 

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher"). 

 

John 20:17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

 

John 20:18 So Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord!" She also told them what he had told her.

 

Mary could speak other languages and was the first person to touch Jesus.

Notice Jesus affectionately rebuke her with words, do not hold unto me. 

 

This show Mary devotion to Jesus as any of the women in the anointing Jesus feet stories and drying His feet with her hair.  The Scriptures are not clear if it is the same woman, Mary .

 

A woman, not a man, told to tell the disciples.

 

John 19:25 Meanwhile, standing near Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

 

Matthew 27:56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

 

Mark 15:40 Now there were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of young James and Joseph, and Salome.

 

Mark 15:41 They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.

 

Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, wife of Cleopas

 

She was a constant companion of Mary Magdalene in Galilee and Jerusalem.  She also gave both financial assistance and domestic care.

She was a witness at the cross and at the tomb.

She was also preparing spices they brought to prepare Jesus body and anoint him. 

 

Mark 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"

 

This Mary when compared to the Gospels other individuals at the cross, this Mary was the wife of Cleopas, were the parents of James the younger {Apostle} and of Joseph

 

As a side:  He was a cousin, as they say, of the Savior. For Eusebius, Chapter XI records that

Clopas was a brother of Joseph, Mary’s husband

Interesting, the first male to see and talk with Jesus was the husband of this female, Mary, mother of James the younger and Joseph.  Cleopas.

 

Luke 24:18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

 

Luke 24:19 He asked them, "What things?" They answered him, "The events involving Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in what he said and did before God and all the people,

 

So who was Cleopas {Cleopas}, history was probably the brother to Joseph the carpenter and then brother brother-in-law to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

 

These verses are highlighting family relations between these women

 

This James is generally identified as James the Less, one of the 12 apostles, also called "James the son of Alphaeus"

 

(Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). "Clopas" and "Alphaeus" seem to be variations of the Aramaic name "Chalphai," which can be transliterated into Greek as "Clopas" and Latin as "Alphaeus."

"James the less", Alphaeus his father, is the same with Cleopas, or Cleophas, The Hebrew name, חלפי, which often occurs among the Jews (u), may be pronounced either Chlophi, or Alphi, or with the Greek termination Cleopas, or Alphaeus.

 

The 2nd-century historian Hegesippus states that Clopas was a brother of Joseph, Mary's husband and stepfather of Jesus. If true, then this apostle James was a cousin of Jesus.

Salome (mentioned by Mark), also called "the mother of Zebedee's sons" by Matthew and "His [Jesus'] mother's sister" by John. With Salome and Mary being sisters, their children—Jesus, son of Mary, and the disciples James and John, sons of Salome and Zebedee—were first cousins.

Luke 8:1-2 After this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God's kingdom. The Twelve were with him,  (2)  as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, also called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;

 

Luke 8:3 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.

 

Susanna is only mention here, no other information, she supported Jesus and the group.

 

Joanna the wife of Chuza

 

Joanna is a woman mentioned in Luke 8:1-3 the gospels who was healed by Jesus and later supported him and his disciples in their travels, one of the women recorded in the Gospel of Luke as accompanying Jesus and the twelve and a witness to Jesus' resurrection.

 

She was the wife of Chuza, who managed the household of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee as domestic administrator or steward at the court. Her name means "Yahweh has been gracious", a variation of the name "Anna" which means "grace" or "favor”

 

 

 

 

Luke 24:9-10 They returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven disciples and all the others.  (10)  The women who told the apostles about it were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some others.

 

Do you think the some others, could have been Peter’s wife.

 

1 Corinthians 9:5 We have the right to take a believing wife with us like the other apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Cephas, don't we?

 

Peter wife was with him until the very end, according to Eusebius, CHAPTER XXX of his book.

 

"They say, accordingly, that when the blessed Peter saw his own wife led out to die, he rejoiced because of her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, 'Oh thou, remember the Lord.' Such was the

marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them."

 

Peter wife, no name given, was with Peter when he travel. 

 

Something added about the women and men.

 

Eusebius wrote Chapter XII: He also relates that Vespasian after the conquest of Jerusalem gave orders that all that belonged to the lineage of David should be sought out, in order that none of the royal race might be left among the Jews; and in consequence of this a most terrible persecution again hung over the Jews.

 

This order included the women, my understanding.   Many of Jesus extended family were killed because of this.

 

We will cover more women next time.