This research paper examines the role of women in the events surrounding the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Throughout the Gospels, women are depicted as faithful followers of Jesus who played an important role in his life and ministry. They were also present during the events leading up to his crucifixion, at the foot of the cross, and at the empty tomb. The fact that women were the first to discover the empty tomb and announce the resurrection of Jesus underscores the importance of their testimony and witness to the truth of the gospel message.

Women played a vital role in the spread of Christianity in the first and second century CE. This paper will assess their contribution by examining the various functions and responsibilities held by women as described in the New Testament and Canonical Gospels. The assessment will commence with a brief description of the lives of women in the Greco-Roman world. This description of the cultural setting will serve as an introduction to Jesus’ attitude towards and interaction with women, who were among his first followers. Women continued to function in the early church in a variety of roles such as apostles, evangelists, prophets, teachers and house church leaders, using their skills to spread the message and further the impact of the fledgling religion. A close examination of these multifarious roles, drawing on the Canonical Gospels as primary source, will demonstrate the integral part women played in the dissemination of Christianity.

In this day and age, the discussion about women is never-ending and is still a polemic for some people. The position of women who sit lower than men is still a matter in society. There are even some parts of society that restrict women from carrying out their roles only in the domestic sphere, namely only carrying out their roles as a wife and mother in the household. Not only in the community but also in the church environment where women are still weak and do not have a position in the church so that women do not have the same rights and obligations as men. Therefore, women do not have the space to appear in public and are very basic and even not allowed at all. The author conducted this research intending to take the text about women in the Gospel of Luke chapters 1 - 2 through the figures of Mary and Elizabeth. The author uses the narrative critical method by focusing his attention on the characters, plot, setting, and point of view. By using this method, it is hoped that we will get an understanding – both theory and implication in practical living that women also have a very important role in the work of mankind's salvation. God can use women to take part in the declaration of his plan in the world, the effort to save mankind. Therefore, women do not need to think of themselves as inferior to men. Keywords: Woman, Mary and Elizabeth, Luke 1–2

Some reading the canonical Gospels, namely, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are inclined to think that the disciples Jesus called were all men or males because whether it is the names of the apostles or a pronoun used about them, it is either a man’s name or masculine gender. It is a situation that tends to lead some Christian churches to prefer having only male ministers or pastors. The author of this paper argues that the notion or idea is a presentation of the first three Gospels but not the Fourth. The Fourth Gospel presents not only men but also women as disciples of Jesus.

Luke has been portrayed as the "feminist" Gospel writer. This paper looks at some of the women in Luke and considers their treatment in view of the times. Is Mary meek and silent? Was the woman who anointed Jesus' feet a great sinner?

Author: John E. Phelan, Jr. Publisher: CBE International By the time Jesus came into Galilee preaching and healing, the Israelites had been in exile over six hundred years. Jeremiah had promised that it would only be seventy years. Seventy years away from the land. Seventy years without the temple. Seventy years to contemplate their sins and bemoan their losses. Seventy years to reconnect with their God. And they had gotten back to the land. They had rebuilt the temple. They made sacrifices. They celebrated holidays once again. But it wasn’t what they expected. The glorious prophecies of Isaiah concerning the return from exile seemed to mock their present reality. It seemed to many people in Israel that the exile had been extended from seventy to nearly seven hundred years. Some Jews had begun to wonder if it would ever end!

Author: J. Lyle Story Publisher: CBE International In recent years, much discussion has centered upon the role of women disciples as they encounter the person of Jesus. The word “disciple” (mathētēs), related to the verb “learn, study, practice” (manthanō), means “the one who directs his mind to something,” often in the sense of a learner, apprentice, or pupil. In the Greek philosophical world, the term designated a devotee of a philosopher, one who would continue the intellectual link with the teacher (adherent). While many argue for exclusively male disciples due to the fact that Jesus’ twelve disciples were all male, we can respond that all disciples were also Jewish. This, then, leads to the important question of implication: Does this mean that all Gentile disciples through the ages, male and female, are to be excluded from participatory discipleship? Certainly not!