Women in the Gospels

Some people are frequently overlooked.

I think that’s the case with the women in the Gospels. Of course, Mary the mother of Jesus gets a lot of attention, especially during this time of year, but what about the others? In total the Gospel writers name eight women as followers of Christ: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Salome, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary and Martha.

What do we know about them?

Followers in Galilee

Consider the first three verses of Luke 8:

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

Notice that two groups of people followed Jesus—the Twelve or the apostles and “some women.” These women parallel the men because the same thing is said of both groups. Like the men, the women traveled with Jesus in the region of Galilee from “one town and village to another.” However, the women also supported Jesus and the Twelve. Among the female travelers three are named: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. Luke is the only one who mentions Susanna and the only personal detail he gives is her name.

Mary Magdalene was filled with evil spirits. Although the text doesn’t say how she was delivered, since Jesus drove out many demons, it’s reasonable to assume that Jesus saved her and, as a result, she became his follower. The passage also indicates that Joanna and Susanna and perhaps others became Jesus’ followers after experiencing his power. Immediately preceding the list of women, Luke says, “The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases . . .”

In his insightful book, Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in Gospels, Richard Bauckham writes, “Joanna’s marriage to Chuza identified her with the Herodian upper class of Tiberias” (222). The ordinary people of Galilee resented the upper class because they were viewed as friends of the Roman Empire who burdened them with heavy taxation. Hence, in order to follow Jesus, Joanna had to take several steps down the social ladder. Intriguingly, Bauckham also suggests that Joanna may be the same as Junia, whom Paul calls an apostle in Romans 16: “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (v. 7).

Witnesses of Christ’s Crucifixion and Death

During Jesus’ crucifixion until his death, Mark writes,

⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. (15:40-41)

This passage has four similarities with Luke 8:1-3.

1. The women followed Jesus in Galilee.
2. They cared for Jesus’ needs so they must have been using their own resources.
3. Mary Magdalene is named and, once again, she is named first.
4. “Many other women” were also present.

Of course, the major difference is that instead of Joanna and Susanna, we read “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.”

The parallel passage in Matthew 27 is quite similar but Salome is replaced with “the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

John, however, provides us with a different scene: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (19:25). Rather than “watching from a distance,” these women were “near the cross of Jesus.” Since Jesus was on the cross for several hours both statements can be true. For example, Mary Magdalene could have been near the cross for a time then walked away where she gathered with other women to watch from a distance.

The list of women in John 19:25 has caused some confusion. Is this verse presenting us with four women or is “Mary the wife of Clopas” “his mother’s sister”? Bauckham makes a compelling case that this verse is only listing three women—Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister who was Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. He also argues that “his mother’s sister” is better understood as “his mother’s sister-in-law” so Mary the wife of Clopas was Joseph’s sister. (Greek has a word for sister-in-law, but it wasn’t commonly used.) So near the cross stood three Marys: Jesus’ mother, his aunt on his father’s side, and Mary Magdalene. By the way, this is the only place where Mary Magdalene is not named first in a list of women.

Who was Clopas? First, the name Clopas is extremely rare, but it appears in the writings of Hegesippus, a second-century Jewish writer. Based on Hegesippus’s writings, Bauckham says Clopas was Jesus’ uncle, the brother of Joseph. Since the name Clopas is unusual and closely parallels Cleopas, Bauckham also argues that they are the same person. Cleopas was one of the two disciples who met the resurrected Jesus while walking to a town called Emmaus (Luke 24). Who was the other disciple? The text doesn’t say, but it’s possible that it was his wife, Mary the wife of Clopas.

We have now encountered several women named Mary:

• Mary the mother of Jesus
• Mary the wife of Clopas
• Mary Magdalene
• Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph (Joses in Greek)

From a study of the recorded names in ancient Palestine about a quarter of all women were named Mary (in Hebrew Miriam) so they had to devise ways to disambiguate them.

Any particular Mary had therefore to be distinguished in some way from others; so, among the Gospel women, we have one woman identified by reference to her sons (Mary the mother of James the little and Joses, a form of reference that is abbreviated in some of the texts), one by reference to her husband (Mary of Clopas), one by her hometown (Mary Magdalene), and the mother of Jesus . . . (450)

The other woman named Mary is the sister of Martha and Lazarus. John says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (11:5). The chapter continues by narrating Jesus’ dramatic raising of Lazarus from the dead. In the following chapter, Jesus visits Lazarus’s home in Bethany where Martha serves a meal in Jesus’ honor. During the meal, “Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (12:3).

Witnesses of Christ’s Burial and Empty Tomb

Women also appear at Jesus’ burial and empty tomb: “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid” (Mark 15:47). A few verses later, Mark writes, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body” (16:1). As they did in the early days in Galilee, these women continued to spend their own resources to show their devotion to Jesus—they “bought spices” to anoint Jesus’ body. But instead of finding Jesus’ body in the tomb, they received this angelic message: “He has risen! He is not here” (v. 6).

We don’t know much about “Mary the mother of James,” but it’s likely that she is the same Mary mentioned twice in Mark 15: “the mother of James the younger and of Joseph” (v. 40) and “the mother of Joseph” (v. 47). If she is the same Mary, it’s strange that Mark refers to her in three different ways.

Mark is the only one to mention Salome and he does so twice without giving any unique information about her. Her name was slightly more popular than Mary so about half of all women were named Mary or Salome.

Witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection

On Sunday morning, Matthew says that “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” met the resurrected Christ (28:1-10). Who is “the other Mary”? Matthew uses the same expression for the witnesses at the empty tomb: “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” (27:61). However, for the women who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, he says: “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph . . .” (v. 56) so this must be “the other Mary.”

Luke says the women shared the news of Jesus’ resurrection with the apostles: “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles” (24:10).

John writes that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that it was empty. But she was not alone because when she reports the news to Peter she says, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (20:2). After returning to the tomb, Mary Magdalene has a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ who she assumed was the gardener (20:11-18).

Faithful in Prayer

Following Jesus’ ascension, the women remained with the male followers of Christ: “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:14). While only Jesus’ mother is named, by this time “the women” would have been a well-defined group consisting of specific individuals.

Summary

It’s easy to highlight the male disciples of Jesus, but don’t forget about the women. From traveling with Jesus in Galilee to the first announcement of the empty tomb, women had a vital role in the origin of the Christian faith. They served as financial supporters and key witnesses of the major events of Jesus’ life. In most instances, the Gospel authors name at least two women, probably in keeping with the principle expressed in Deuteronomy 19: “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (v. 15). Hence, these are not women in a generic sense. Their names are preserved in the inspired record: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Salome, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary and Martha.