Date: May 13, 2018
Speaker:  Jason Jordan
Series: n/a

SERMON NOTES

Mothers Day 2018 “The Women who Walked with Jesus”

INTRO> Just recently we bought our kids some new books (PIC) I high recommend these for you as parents, it’s the “ABCs of Church History” as we were getting ready to read one night, Roman was very excited to hear about all the adventures and “cool” stuff but do you know what And Grace asked?… “daddy, where are the girls and their pretty dresses?” This is a well written book and we got to the women who have impacted church history.

APP> I think And Grace asked a profound question… “Where are the women?” You wouldn’t believe as I was preparing this text for today who many commentaries skip over these profound verses!

CONTEXT> There is no way to talk about early christianity and it’s growth and the movement without talking about the impact that woman had! As we will see, women where with Jesus at the cross, the first to witness the empty tomb and much more! Historian Rodney Stark argues that one of the reasons why Christianity spread throughout the ancient world was due to its revolutionary new attitudes towards women. He writes: “Recent, objective evidence leaves no doubt that early Christian women did enjoy far greater equality with men than did their pagan and Jewish counterparts. A study of Christian burials in the catacombs under Rome, based on 3,733 cases, found that Christian women were nearly as likely as Christian men to be commemorated with lengthy inscriptions. This “near equality in the commemoration of males and females is something that is peculiar to Christians, and sets them apart from the non-Christian populations of the city.” This was true not only of adults, but also of children, as Christians lamented the loss of a daughter as much as that of a son, which was especially unusual compared with other religious groups in Rome. Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Christianity (HarperOne, 2012), pp. 124-125

APP> Here is what I want to do today, I want to look at this quick snapshot of the women who followed Jesus, what it means and make application. Then I want to have my wife come up here and give insight from a woman and mothers perspective.

1. Every woman has their own story. v2-3

• • • • Luke specifically takes time to not only mention that women followed Jesus but takes the time to give some names. There is no way that we understand what is going on here or how shocking it us unless we take a look at the women named.

“Mary called Magdalene…” – this shouldn’t be confused with the other Mary who was the prositue in 7:36-50 but she still has some serious problems “from whom seven demons has gone out”.. wow!

“Joanna the wife of Chuza” – this is where it gets really interesting, this women is Herod’s housed hold manager! You know who Herod is right? The guy that hates Jesus and had John the Baptist Killed! This lady would have been loaded! How ironic, the guy who was trying to stop Jesus was actually funding Jesus!

“Susanna”– We don’t know about this woman, she isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the NT but her name means, “a lilly”

APP> So… you have a demon possed girl, a really rich girl who works for the enemy and a girl that loved lillies… all following Jesus, but look at what they have in common. “Who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. *ILL>With social media and movies and things today, its seems as though your walk with Jesus as a women is suppose to look a “certain way” APP> Stop comparing your story to other peoples story.

2) All of the women followed Jesus. v1

• • • • “were with him” there is some importance in the original language here, it is in the present tense, meaning that literally the women were “beside him”
      • There is a reason that Luke is mentioning these women as well, these are the women who will stay with Jesus through the rest of the gospel journey

These women followed Jesus:

• in his ministry.
• to the cross. 23:19
• to the tomb. 24:1-11
• to church. Acts 1:14

APP> They followed Jesus not their version of Jesus.

APP> Being with Jesus comes before “doing” for Jesus.

“Want to be more “Christ-Like?” Stop focusing on being like Jesus and start focusing on being with Jesus. His attributes must be caught before they can be imitated.” – Scott Sauls.

3) Any woman can serve Jesus. v3

• • • “who provided for them out of their means…” I love that Luke put it that way.. “out of what they had…”

APP> Jesus uses what you have. These women had TIME & Money.

Close> Again, these women have been changed by Jesus, they love Jesus. Before they ever provided for Jesus, Jesus provided for them.

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Big Idea> To be a woman who leads for Jesus you first have to be a woman who follows Jesus.

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Questions for Courtnee:

• • • Courtnee as a woman who has been married for almost 10 years and has 3 kids, what has you relationship with Jesus looked like over the years?
    • I know you get this question a lot but how do you find the “balance” of motherhood?
    • If you could tell the younger women one thing what would it be?
    • If you cold tell the older women one thing, what would it be?