This post will finish up the series of “The Significance of Women in Luke.” This conclusion will remind us how Luke shows a model of faith, discipleship, and trust. Luke’s pairing style gave a great way of showing different responses that showed a poor or incorrect response contrasted with a correct or faithful response. The gospel of Luke reminds us that Christ came for all and salvation is available for all, yet many deny this gift.
A bibliography is provided at the end for a list of all resources that were used in this writing for any further research that a reader may want.
Conclusion
Luke shows how Jesus has done much to dignify and elevate women. “The news of His [Jesus] birth was shared with a Jewish maiden, His death was witnessed by grieving women, and the good news of His resurrection was announced first to a woman who had been demon-possessed.”[1] The women who followed Christ provide a model of true discipleship as they heard Jesus’ call, followed Him during His ministry and suffering, and gave faithful witness to His resurrection.[2] Luke is not merely about the discipleship of the women, but more importantly it appreciates their abilities and resources to focus on Christ to receive and act upon the Word of God in truth.[3] The theme of the women of Luke’s Gospel is the grand theme of the whole of the Scriptures: that after the “barrenness” of Israel and the world, a seed born of a woman would conquer sin and death, be resurrected from the barren womb of the grave, and provide grace, mercy, and life to all who believe in Him.[4] The Magnificat celebrates the reversal of existing social structures. The story of Mary and Martha reflects an opening for women into a rabbinic group that was against the custom of the day. The women during the crucifixion show what faithfulness looks like in the midst of suffering. Because of Luke, we can learn from Mary and Martha that while serving is good, it is best to be at Jesus’ feet hearing God’s word. Luke’s style of contrast between the male and female offer many examples of what true faith looks like through the suffering and oppression of the women. Luke reverses the social norms and elevates women to a level of dignity through the life of Jesus that was unseen of during those times.
[1] Warren Wiersbe, “Luke,” in The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996), 274.
[2] Rosalie, “The Women from Galilee and Discipleship in Luke,” 59
[3] Kopas, “Jesus and Women: Luke’s Gospel,” 202.
[4] Benson, “The Women of Luke’s Gospel.”
Bibliography
Benson, Mary. “The Women of Luke’s Gospel.” Testimony Magazine. 2007. Accessed March 14, 2015. http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/aug2007/benson1.pdf
Butler, T. C. Luke, vol. 3. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.
D’Angelo, Mary Rose. “Women in Luke-Acts: A Redactional View.” Journal of Biblical Literature 109 (1990): 441-61, Accessed March 14, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3267051.
Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
Green, Joel B. The Theology of the Gospel of Luke. New York: Cambridge Press, 1995.
Guthrie, D. New Testament Introduction. 4th ed. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996.
Henry, Matthew. “Luke.” In Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994.
Johnson, Luke. “The Gospel of Luke.” Sacra Pagina, vol. 3. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991.
Kopas, Jane. “Jesus and Women: Luke’s Gospel.” Theology Today 43 (1986): 192-202.
Maly, Eugene H. “Women and the Gospel of Luke.” Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology 10 (1980): 99-104.
Ryan, Rosalie. “The Women from Galilee and Discipleship in Luke.” Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology 15 (1985): 56-59.
Sproul, R. C. A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke. Great Britain: Christian Focus, 1999.
Stein, R. H. Luke. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.
Wiersbe, Warren. “Luke.” In The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996.
Witherington III, Ben. Women in the Earliest Churches. New York: Cambridge Press, 1991.