Should women be in pastoral ministry? And, what does the resurrection have to do with that question?
It’s probably not the first thing you think of when you read the account of the empty tomb, I confess that I didn’t think much about it either. Recently it “jumped off the page” at me.
This is debatable, but I propose that one of the most important things a Pastor or a teacher can do is to tell others that Jesus is risen from the dead. This personal testimony is the source of our strength and motivation. As we witness the resurrection in our own lives, we become filled with joy and desire to share with others. This phenomena has sent countless people into the mission field and into the pulpit.
The first people to ever share this testimony publically were women. Think about that for a minute. And consider this: God never makes a mistake, and nothing happens with God “by accident”. The women saw and believed first, and they shared it with the men…who didn’t believe at first (by the way).
If women can teach Sunday School and midweek programs, shaping the minds of the children….and if they can serve as missionaries all over the world, speaking authoritatively from God’s Word, and if Jesus made sure that they were the first ones to ever share the message “Jesus has risen from the dead, and He told us to tell you, get ready, I am coming to meet with you”. How could we possibly not see that woman belong in ministry? I know Paul said that he wouldn’t permit a woman to have authority over, or teach a man…but Paul didn’t make that a biblical mandate. Maybe that was his position because of what was going on at that time. Since the Bible can’t contradict itself, there must be some other explanation…because at the empty tomb the women are teaching the men.
Luke doesn’t tell us that when Peter ran to the tomb he had company. John lets us know that not only was he (John) there, but he won the footrace to the tomb. When you read all the accounts, you get a clearer picture of what happened. Of course, we won’t know completely until we get to heaven.
One other thing… I looked up the words “breathed on” today. You find them in John 20:22. That phrase is only used in one other place in the Bible, and that’s at creation when Jesus breathed life into us. I wonder how the breath of life and the Holy Spirit are tied together, if they are. The imagery of the phrase is one of “blowing” on the disciples. I don’t envision puffed out cheeks and a pursed mouth, as if we are blowing out birthday candles. I see a deep breath and release, similar to those cleansing breaths we take once in while. “Blowing out birthday candles” is something we all look forward to (even if there aren’t any actual candles). And this was a birthday of sorts… I’ll bet Jesus had been looking forward to this day for a long time. He knew that as we received the Holy Spirit our Christian lives would become possible. No one could know better than He the power and wonder that would soon be displayed.
What a great day in human history….the day Jesus breathed on us.
Enjoying his presence,
PR