Women Disciples Overshadowed by the Twelve?

 

Some Women Accompany Jesus 

 Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. 

The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them out of their own resources.

                     Luke 8:1-3 NRSVue

During the past year I've led two study groups on the subject of women in the bible and early church. One was based on the thought-provoking and illuminating Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like by Susan Hylen. Our group conversations were really worthwhile.

Recently another book about women of the early church came to my attention, Women Who Do: Female Disciples in the Gospels, by Holly J. Carey. The Christian Century review title was Overshadowed by the Twelve, referring to the twelve men Jesus called as disciples. They have long considered the definitive group of "real" disciples, often to justify the exclusion of women from roles of leadership. 

In her review Nijay K. Gupta offers:

Thankfully, Women Who Do has opened my eyes to see women everywhere in the gospels. They believe in Jesus, serve Jesus, obey Jesus, and share about Jesus with others. All the while, the infamous Twelve often appear to be confused, worried, absent, and even dismissive of Jesus.

It’s true that the four evangelists don’t explicitly refer to any women as disciples (in Greek, mathētēs). It’s also true that the Twelve are all men. And yet, Carey points out that Jesus’ circle of students is much larger than 12

Women Who Do turns up the brightness on the gospels, so we can see their many women more vividly. Carey goes through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, chapter by chapter, as well as the book of Acts. She shows that each gospel handles the presence, lives, faith, and action of women differently while testifying to women who believe, serve, and obey Jesus—the core elements of discipleship.

While I probably won't venture into his subject for a third time in a study, at least for a while, I had to purchase the book and look forward to reading it. I'm really grateful to the women researchers and scholars who have opened up this field in recent years.