Mary, Martha and Gender Equality

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Mary, Martha and Gender Equality

Herb Montgomery | July 18, 2025

If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Luke:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

The story of Mary and Martha is unique to Luke’s version of the Jesus story. No other canonical gospel mentions it. It introduces two Jesus followers that John would later tell different stories about (see John 11:1-44; 12:1-8).

A lot has been said throughout Christian history about Mary’s spiritual devotion in this story. Usually these comments emphasize how Mary prioritized “time at Jesus’ feet” over Martha’s preparations to host Jesus and his disciples in their home. 

But if that is all we take from this story, we miss the subversive point of this narrative. 

First, this story has always bothered me because Martha’s actions as the matron of her home seem to be devalued. The level of work she is doing to make sure Jesus and disciples (even in their claim to need precious little: “few things are needed”) should not undervalued. 

And there is a deeper lesson subverting the expected patriarch, too. Not only does the story not name a male householder, giving the impression that Martha is the matriarch of the home, there is a cultural divide under the surface of the story as well. Mary’s actions deeply transgressed cultural, chauvinistic lines that women were not supposed to cross. C.S. Keener explains:

“People normally sat on chairs or, at banquets, reclined on couches; but disciples sat at the feet of their teachers. Serious disciples were preparing to be teachers—a role not permitted to women. (The one notable exception in the second century was a learned rabbi’s daughter who had married another learned rabbi; but most rabbis rejected her opinions.) Mary’s posture and eagerness to absorb Jesus’ teaching at the expense of a more traditional womanly role would have shocked most Jewish men.” (C.S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, p. 218)

Mary is acting as if she is preparing to be a teacher or a Rabbi herself in the new fledgling movement centered on Jesus’ teachings. Culturally, women would not have been allowed to fill that role. And whereas the disciples would have expected Jesus to put Mary back “in her place,” Jesus praises her for sitting at his feat instead of sending her to the back of the room with the other women. In this new movement, women were not to be treated as less than. Women were to be recognized fully as teachers, too. 

This is the challenge of relying only on the text of the Bible in passages like our reading this week. In the Bible, passages that teach patriarchal misogyny against women exist along with passages that subvert chauvinistic ways of viewing and treating women. The Bible is not univocal on the subject of egalitarianism between the sexes. It’s simply not. Those whose biases are against women will find plenty in the Bible to support their prejudices. Those who believe in and fight for gender equality will also find passages in the Bible to support their efforts. 

Even in the work of Paul we find both kinds of texts:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

And:

Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. (1 Corinthians 14:34)

Some have solved the dilemma by stating that we must discern the trajectory of our sacred text. Yes, they say, we find both sets of texts in our Bible, but we should ask, which direction is the text moving in as a whole? Is the Bible moving toward sexism or away from it?

I’m not sure it’s that simple.

With the issue of slavery, U.S. Christians who supported slavery during the abolitionist movement accused Christian abolitionists of throwing away the Bible in order to oppose slavery. 

With the call for LGBTQ inclusion in our society and the Christian church as a whole, homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic Christians state that Christians who are welcoming and affirming of our LGBTQ family and friends are throwing away the Bible to affirm them. 

Here too, whenever subjects arise such as women’s ordination in denominations refuse to recognize and honor the equality of women in ministry, those who view gender equality in the church as evil say that Christians who support egalitarianism must throw away their Bibles.

The Bible and gender equality is a subject of ongoing theological debate within many Christian communities. This debate draws passionate voices from both complementarian and egalitarian perspectives. Egalitarianism holds that men and women are created equal in worth, dignity, and capacity, and that their equality should extend into all areas of life—including leadership roles in the church, home, and society. When read through an egalitarian lens, the Bible can offer a strong foundation for gender equality.

The biblical case for egalitarianism typically begins in Genesis. In the creation narrative of Genesis 1, both man and woman are created in the image of God: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NRSV). This passage affirms that both men and women equally reflect God’s image and share in the divine mandate to care for creation (Genesis 1:28). There is no hint of hierarchy in this first creation account.

Patriarchy then appears in Genesis 3:16 when God tells Eve, “your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Debate rages over whether this statement is descriptive or prescriptive. Egalitarians protest that these words describe the broken relational dynamic resulting from sin, not God’s original intent for male-female relationships. The rest of the biblical story, from this perspective, is seen as God working to restore creation and overcome the destructive consequences of sin including gender-based oppression.

Throughout the rest of our sacred text, women are depicted as active agents in God’s liberative work. In the Hebrew scriptures, figures such as Deborah, a prophet and judge (Judges 4–5); Huldah, a prophet consulted by the king’s priests (2 Kings 22); and Esther, who risked her life to save her people stand out as examples of female leadership. These women act with courage and divine authority, often in ways that challenge the gender norms of their time.

In our reading this week, as in the rest of the gospels, Jesus’ interactions with women were countercultural and deeply affirming. He welcomed women as disciples (Luke 8:1–3) and revealed deep theological truths to them (John 4:7–26). After His resurrection, Jesus first appeared to women and commissioned them to tell the good news to the male disciples (Matthew 28:1–10; John 20:11–18), an act that many interpret as Jesus placing women at the forefront of the disciples’ gospel proclamation.

Certain sectors of the early Jesus community continued this pattern. This was not universal, however, as debate even then existed between patriarchal early followers and those who perceived Jesus as teaching more gender equality. In the sectors that practiced more gender equality, we find such examples as Phoebe (Romans 16:1–2), Junia (Romans 16:7), and Priscilla (Acts 18:26). These women were leaders in the early Christian movement. Their existence in the early church being praised by Paul should be held in tension with Paul’s often-quoted passages that seem to limit women’s roles. Many scholars and believers today do see a consistent trajectory toward gender equality in scriptures. These scholars believe that, from creation stories to the early church, Scripture reveals a God who values, empowers, and calls all genders to participate fully in what it means to follow Jesus.

It is also just as true that the Bible has historically been used to support patriarchal systems. And the Bible is not univocal on this or any subject. The Bible is a collection of texts considered  sacred. These texts were written, redacted, collected and compiled by over hundreds of years, within multiple cultures. Even by the most conservative estimates, that’s almost 50 different authors (this doesn’t include redactors, translators, or compilers). Of course it’s not univocal on every subject!

What we must ask ourselves in our contexts today is whether a passage or an interpretation of a passage is life-giving? We must ask who is it hurting? Is it moving us closer to a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone, even those different from ourselves, or away from one? 

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. What stories in the Bible do you believe teach egalitarianism? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone? 

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate. 

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

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You can watch our YouTube show each week called “Just Talking”. Each week, Todd Leonard and I take a moment to talk about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking. If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking.

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Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

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New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Lectionary Readings in the context of Love, Inclusion, & Social Justice

Season 3, Episode 20: Luke 10.38-42. Lectionary C, Proper 11

Mary, Martha, and Gender Equality

Each week, we’ll discuss the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend in the context of love, inclusion, and justice. We hope that our talking will be “just” talking (as in justice) and that we’ll be inspired to do more than “just talking” during our brief conversations each week. 

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out.

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New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. 

This week:

Season 2 Episode 28: Mary, Martha and Gender Equality

Luke 10:38-42

The Bible and gender equality is a subject of ongoing theological debate within many Christian communities. This debate draws passionate voices from both complementarian and egalitarian perspectives. Egalitarianism holds that men and women are created equal in worth, dignity, and capacity, and that their equality should extend into all areas of life—including leadership roles in the church, home, and society. When read through an egalitarian lens, the Gospels can offer a strong foundation for gender equality. It is also just as true that the Bible has historically been used to support patriarchal systems. What we must ask ourselves in our contexts today is whether a passage or an interpretation of a passage is life-giving? We must ask who is it hurting? Is it moving us closer to a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone, even those different from ourselves, or away from one?

Available on all major podcast carriers and at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/mary-martha-and-gender-equality

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Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

 

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.

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