Gender and Discipleship . . . OR . . . Getting Beyond Cultural Barriers
Quiz for Reflection
1. The only disciples Jesus had were men. [Mt 29:55-57] True or False?
2. The faith of a true disciple is not limited by cultural norms. [Mk. 5:25-34] True or False?
3. If something is really good and wholesome it will not distract us from our relationship with Christ. [Mk 10:38-42] True or False?
4. Jesus recognized cultural gender barriers and worked around them. [Jn 4:4-30] True or False?
Introduction
As we take up our study for today we need to bear in mind that, “The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.” (E G White, Acts of the Apostles, p.9) The church is God’s agency for bringing hope to the world. Any thought of exclusivity by any segment of that body is clearly refuted by the words of Isaiah, “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” (Isa 56:7) When Jesus came 2,000 years ago to live amongst us, he did so by entering into life with the accumulated prejudicial hindrances inherent at that time. The One who centuries before freed His own people from the Egyptian bondage, now faced a different kind of bondage. His own incarnational ministry was enmeshed by the false assumptions and expectations dictated by cultural norms of the times. Like Moses he was fighting bondage from within the culture and not as a visiting bystander. How would he liberate these prisoners of cultural myopia and restore the dignity for which each had been created? What role would His own disciples play in fostering this liberation after His departure? What must He teach them? How must He go about teaching them? Would it be possible to change man-made culture enough to put into play the liberating freedom He came to bring to the world? How could he possibly restore dignity to the creation that once the marvel of the universe? The making of disciples—His own—would be the legacy He would leave behind. Dare He do it, entrust it, to others? What could He possibly leave behind that would be the seed for a new kind of revolution? It had to begin with a select group of disciples. They would need to be taught through specific encounters with Him the principles of seeing others differently. By doing so He would, in fact, leave His ministry’s imprint which would inspire and motivate generations for ages to come. This week’s study touches but one small strand of that ministry—nevertheless an important part of Christ’s ministry of reconciliation by which He demonstrates the Creator’s desire to restore through re-Creation. He sought to teach us how to see one another differently not from a “bird’s eye view” but from “God’s view.” Ellen White has written,
“We live in a hard, unfeeling, uncharitable world. Satan and his confederacy are trying their every art to seduce and entrap the souls for whom Christ has given his precious life. And every one who loves God in sincerity and truth will love the souls for whom Christ has died. If we wish to do good to souls, our success with these souls will be in proportion to their belief in our belief and appreciation of them. Respect shown to the human, struggling soul, is the sure means through Christ Jesus, of the restoration of the self-respect the man has lost. Our advancing ideas of what he may become is a help we cannot appreciate. . . . Treat them you may as they deserve. What if Christ had treated us thus? He the undeserving was treated as we deserve. While we are treated by Christ with grace and love as we do not deserve, but as He deserved. Treat some characters as you think they richly deserve, and you cut off from them the last thread of life, spoil your influence, and ruin the soul. Will it pay? No! I say, No! A hundred times. No! Bind these souls, who need all the help it is possible for you to give them, close to a living, sympathizing, pitying heart, overflowing with Christ-like love, and you will save a soul from death and hide a multitude of sins. (Fundamentals of Christian Education, p.281) With this sentiment we begin our study for this week. We choose not to position our study as who has a “right” to minister but “how” must we go about ministering. The call to be a disciple is always a call to make more disciples regardless of one’s gender. There must be no man-made barriers to the call of full discipleship.
Reflective Study
1. The only disciples Jesus had were men. [Lk 6:12-16; Mt 29:55-57] False
Luke’s gospel is the only gospel that mentions women as being among those who accompanied Jesus on His missionary tours. (Lk 8:1-3). We need to keep in mind that Luke sought to “stress both salvation and the acceptance and liberation Jesus brought to the ostracized and marginalized such as tax-collectors, the poor, and especially women.” (Melbourne, Called to Discipleship, p.46) Luke, however, was not the only one who noted that ere were female “followers” of Jesus. (See Mt 27:55,56 and Mk 15:40,41). Following implies discipleship.
2. The faith of a true disciple is not limited by cultural norms. [Mk. 5:25-34] False
Even “true” disciples must pray to see beyond the box of their cultural heritage. In the case of the woman who was subject to hemorrhaging for 12 years and who had only gotten worse after spending all she had on cures, culture could not stop her from seeking out Jesus. However, she was discrete. She only wanted to touch the garment of Jesus and when she did Jesus startled her and the crowd pressing all about Him – “Who touched Me!” What happened next was deliberate but it was also culturally-corrective.
Mark 5:32-34
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (NIV)
Drawing attention to this “outcast” was no accident. Jesus sought to honor the spiritual faith of the woman regardless of the cultural taboo.
3. If something is really good and wholesome it will not distract us from our relationship with Christ. [Lk 10:38-42] False
Can good things lead us away from God? Certainly.
Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (NIV)
The term “sitting at the feet” of someone was not a casual but rather an intentional statement. Mary was acting the part of a disciple. Martha who was about doing good things allowed those responsibilities to rob her of a golden spiritually-enriching opportunity.
Note the setting:
Simon had been healed of the leprosy, and it was this that had drawn him to Jesus. He desired to show his gratitude, and at Christ's last visit to Bethany he made a feast for the Saviour and His disciples. . . . At the table the Saviour sat with Simon... on one side, and Lazarus . . . on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins, He had called forth her beloved brother from the grave, and Mary's heart was filled with gratitude. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of "ointment of spikenard, very costly," with which to anoint His body.” (EGW in Conflict and Courage, p.305)
We must be careful lest we think too negatively of Martha. She is portrayed by John as one who could believe the impossible while Mary chose to stay home.
John 11:20-22
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." (NIV)
Jesus used moments in time to teach lessons for all time but not to confine anyone to a specific weakness.
4. Jesus recognized cultural gender barriers and worked around them. [Jn 4:4-30] True
John 4:4-9Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) (NIV)
These verses introduce us enough to see that Jesus fully recognized the cultural inhibitors yet he respected these barriers for what they were. Note the following insights:
“It is of little use to try to reform others by attacking what we may regard as wrong habits. Such effort often results in more harm than good. In His talk with the Samaritan woman, instead of disparaging Jacob's well, Christ presented something better. "If thou knewest the gift of God," He said, "and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). He turned the conversation to the treasure He had to bestow, offering the woman something better than she possessed, even living water, the joy and hope of the gospel.” (EGW in Lift Him Up, p. 307)
Reflective Review
It should come as no surprise to find that Jesus recognized cultural barriers to His mission. Gender was certainly one of them. The way He worked around such barriers is as important as the barriers themselves. He sought to bypass that which would hinder true discipleship. The gentleness yet firmness by which He sought to restore all—men and women—says something about the qualities of discipleship He wished to establish. It is also instructive to the Church which is to follow His lead in making disciples.
“Christ was establishing a kingdom on different principles. He called men, not to authority, but to service, the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak. Power, position, talent, education, placed their possessor under the greater obligation to serve his fellows. To even the lowliest of Christ's disciples it is said, "All things are for your sakes." 2 Corinthians 4:15.” {DA 550}
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