The Bible Speaks to You

Getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus

228 – Nijay Gupta: Women Leaders in the New Testament

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Mary Magdalene in The Chosen, women leaders in the new testament
Mary Magdalene in The Chosen (played by Elizabeth Tabish)

How many of the women leaders in the New Testament do you know about?

There are so many women leaders in the New testament, but most of them I had never heard of or just passed over when I read their names. This week I talk with Dr. Nijay Gupta, New Testament Scholar, about his new book Tell Her Story, which goes into great detail of the many women leaders in the New Testament.

Below is an overview of some of the main points we covered. If you’d like to read our conversation, you can download the full Transcript Episode 228.

The full title of Nijay’s book is: Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church.*

Nijay shared his journey from believing in complementarianism, which effectively assigns lesser roles to women in church, to being convinced that Paul preached that men and women were equal in church and in their ability and calling to be in church leadership roles.
We also talked about how these women are an example of what’s possible in the church today.
The cool thing is that one of the women who helped change his mind, while he was in seminary, was the woman who would become his wife. They agreed on so many things and the way they viewed the Bible, the importance of missions and evangelism, that it didn’t make sense that God couldn’t call her, and other women, to preach and teach in the church.

Women leaders in the New Testament: Junia

We talked about several of the more prominent women leaders in the New Testament, most notably Junia, who had been put in prison for preaching the gospel.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did.     Romans 6:17  NLT
Some Bible translations, over the years have translated her name as Junias, supposedly short for Junianas. But there are no men with the name of Junianas, or Junias, in ancient texts. However, Junia is a very common female name in Latin texts from the time period.
Paul refers to Junia as being highly respected among the apostles. Nijay points out that some translators believe this means she was appreciated by the apostles, but he feels the Greek text makes it clear Paul refers to her as an apostle, who is respected by the church. In fact, in early Christian writings, Junia is referred to as a woman and an apostle. It was not until around the 13th century that the patriarchy of the church changed the Scriptural text to indicate she was a male.

Context is crucial

Nijay also emphasized the importance of interpreting Biblical texts in their original cultural and historical contexts. He brought attention to certain commands in the Bible, like women not braiding their hair and not wearing jewelry, which carry symbolic meanings that need to be understood in their original context.
Too often, we can read verses like this in the Bible and think we have to follow each little detail. But Nijay points out that those were cultural norms of the day. Braiding the hair and wearing jewelry often were an ostentatious way to show how wealthy you were. This wasn’t in keeping with the spirit of meekness withing the Christian church.
There has been a lot more Bible scholarship lately focusing on the role of women in the New Testament. This has brought to light, not only the story of Junia, but others as well in the early Christian church.

Women leaders in the New Testament preached the gospel

Nijay shed light on the impactful roles of women in the Bible, challenging traditional ideas of women being confined to the household. Yes, they were often in the home. But they were often not in the home.
Something I had never really thought about, or at least I didn’t see any evidence in the Bible to support it, is the idea that Jesus sent women out to share the gospel along with his male disciples. But Nijay pointed out this passage in Chapter 8 of Luke:
Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.     Luke 8:1-3  NLT
Look at the language here. Luke clearly says Jesus took women with him “preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God.” Our churches need to remember this today.

Nympha: a church leader

Another important female leader is Nympha. I had always passed over her name when I read what Paul says about her in Colossians.
Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.     Colossians 4:15  NLT

The fact that Nympha is mentioned as the leader of the house church in her home shows her leadership in the situation. It’s easy to pass by that remark, but culturally, this is very significant that Paul associates her with the church in her home. This meant that she helped lead this church.

Are women always supposed to be silent in church?

We also talked about the very few places in the Bible where women are told to be silent in church and that they should submit to their husbands. Nijay put this in a cultural and societal context, but also pointed out the context of how the early church was functioning in a pagan world. He gives a much more detailed discussion of this in his book, which I encourage you to read.
And in discussing these so-called prohibitions against what women can do or not do in church, Nijay points out how crucial it is not to create a whole theology around just two or three verses in the Bible. With all the things Paul says about equality among men and women, and all the women leaders he thanked for their service and commended to others, taken at face value, some of the things he says about women seem contradictory. But when seen in the historical context and the overall context of all Paul says about women, the puzzle pieces come together.
My conversation with Nijay is a powerful reminder of why it’s important to examine and reassess long-held, traditional beliefs and practices within the church.
A tree and its fruit
And I ask you to think of Jesus’s statement
A tree is identified by its fruit.      Matthew 12:33  NLT
What is the fruit of women being in leadership roles in church? The fruit in the early Church was recognized , approved of, and appreciated by Paul. What is the role of men being in leadership positions in church today? There is some good fruit and some bad fruit. Same with women. It’s not so much about gender as it is what is in someone’s heart.
If you would like more details about the women leaders, teachers, apostles, and deacons in the  early Christian church, I encourage you to get a copy of Nijay’s book, Tell Her Story. If you feel strongly about women not having leadership roles in church, I invite you to take an honest look at his book. It is thoroughly researched and thoughtfully presented.
Don’t be like the disciples who wouldn’t believe the woman Jesus sent to tell them the good news that he was risen.
Nijay Gupta, Tell Her Story, women leaders in the new testament

Dr. Nijay K. Gupta is currently a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He has his PhD in New Testament from the University of Durham.

Nijay has written several books: Worship That Makes Sense to Paul, A Beginner’s guide to New Testament Studies, Paul and the Language of Faith. He’s also written a book called Prepare, Succeed, Advance: A Guidebook for Getting a PhD in Biblical Studies and Beyond. And he served as a senior translator for the New Living Translation of the Bible.

Books by Nijay Gupta:
Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church*

A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies*

Paul and the Language of Faith*

Prepare, Succeed, Advance, Second Edition: A Guidebook for Getting a PhD in Biblical Studies and Beyond*

NEW: Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling*

All books* by Nijay Gupta

Also mentioned: The Cost of Discipleship* by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Podcast: Slow Theology

Blog: Crux Sola

* Amazon affiliate links

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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.

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Bible References

Ephesians 4:22-24  NLT
22  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
23  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
24  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

2 Corinthians 5:17  NLT
17  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

1 Timothy 2:12  NLT
12  I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.

Ephesians 5:21-24  NLT
21  And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22  For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23  For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.
24  As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

1 Corinthians 14:34  NLT
34  Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.

Luke 8:1-3  NLT
1  Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him,
2  along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;
3  Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Luke 10:1  KJV
1  After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

John 19:25  CSB
25  Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

John 20:17  NLT
17  “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 20:3-6, 10  NLT
3  Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.
4  They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5  He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.
6  Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,
10  Then they went home.

Romans 16:1, 2, 6, 12, 13, 15  NLT
1  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea.
2  Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.
6  Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit.
12  Give my greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord.
13  Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me.
15  Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers who meet with them.

Philippians 4:2, 3  NLT
2  Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement.
3  And I ask you, my true partner,[fn] to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

2 Corinthians 11:5  NLT
5  But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

Acts 19:23, 29  NLT
23  About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.
29  Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

Romans 6:17  NLT
17  Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison [synaichmalōtos] with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did.

Philippians 1:7  NLT
7  So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment [desmos]and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

Ephesians 4:1  NLT
1  Therefore I, a prisoner [desmios] for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

1Corinthians 11:5  NLT
5  But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head.

Judges 4 – The story of Deborah

Judges 17:6  NKV
6  In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Philemon 1:10, 15-17  NLT
10  I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison.
15  It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever.
16  He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
17  So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

Matthew 13:33  KJV
33  The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

1Peter 1:13  KJV
13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Matthew 5:40  NKJV
40  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

1 Timothy 2:8  NKJV
8  I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

Matthew 12:33  NLT
33  A tree is identified by its fruit.

Matthew 6:33  KJV
33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Bible Speaks to You