Some people unfamiliar with the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
claim that the case for
female disciples of Jesus is controversial. However, as explained below,
"disciple"In the History of Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
means "one who follows a person's moral teachings", more commonly called a "student". The New Testament clearly identifies a number of women who chose to follow Jesus, but it's not clear that they chose to follow
Jesus' teachingsAccording to the Canonical Gospels, the ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1–3 years. In the biblical narrative, Jesus' method of teaching involved parables, metaphor, allegory, sayings, proverbs, and a small number of direct sermons...
. The four
gospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
s differ in the number, name, and role of such women that they name.
Some people unfamiliar with the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
claim that the case for
female disciples of Jesus is controversial. However, as explained below,
"disciple"In the History of Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
means "one who follows a person's moral teachings", more commonly called a "student". The New Testament clearly identifies a number of women who chose to follow Jesus, but it's not clear that they chose to follow
Jesus' teachingsAccording to the Canonical Gospels, the ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1–3 years. In the biblical narrative, Jesus' method of teaching involved parables, metaphor, allegory, sayings, proverbs, and a small number of direct sermons...
. The four
gospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
s differ in the number, name, and role of such women that they name. Even greater variation is found in the
noncanonical gospelsThe New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. These writings often have links with those books which are regarded as "canonical"...
, books that are not considered scripture by most denominations, Christian religions and the vast majority of scholars of Christianity.
Some of the women feature prominently in accounts of Jesus'
crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and in reports of his resurrection. In some gospel accounts, women were the first to receive a sign of Jesus'
resurrectionThe resurrection of dead humans is a central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It may refer either to the resurrection of particular individuals, or a general resurrection of humanity....
and to report it to others (the "Good news").
One of the apocryphal gospels, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, is attributed to the most famous of Jesus' female disciples,
Mary MagdaleneMary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as one of the most important women in the movement of Jesus. As a follower, Mary was one of many women who accompanied Jesus and the twelve apostles during his travels...
.
Disciple
In biblical usage, the term "disciple" simply means "student"—someone who believes in the person's message and tries to follow the person's moral values and teachings. By that definition, all women and men followers of Jesus are
disciples of Jesus, as long as they tried to follow the teachings of Jesus, rather than being merely camp followers.
The
Great CommissionThe Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing mission work, evangelism, and baptism. It has been a primary...
declares:
-
- "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe (obey) all things that I have commanded you...."
John the Baptizer had disciples.
Jesus is the only person described in the New Testament as having "apostles."
Apostle
Christian scholars and theologians disagree on the meaning of "apostle", though the general scholarly meaning is one who spreads the teachings of the teacher.
- Some consider the term to mean a "church planter," a person who starts Christian congregations, like the Apostle Paul.
- Others believe that there were only a small number of apostles chosen either directly by Jesus, e.g., and , or by the original apostles, e.g., Luke and Barnabas on the basis of passages like .
- Today, there are a few, particularly among some Pentecostals and some predominantly Black churches of various affiliations, describe themselves as modern-day apostles.
Female disciples identified in the New Testament
The
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
, particularly the epistles, names a number of women who were followers of Jesus, such as:
- Mary Magdalene—, , , , and
- Mary, the mother of James and Joses—
- Mary, the mother of Jesus
- Mother of Zebedee's sons—
- Priscilla—
- Salome—
- Sisters Mary and Martha—,
- Tabitha/Dorcas—
- Widow of Nain—
- Woman bent double—
- Woman with an issue of blood—
Probable New Testament female disciples
The following New Testament women, though not called "disciples" in scripture, were closely identified with either Jesus or his disciples. These women probably became disciples (if they followed his teachings, in addition to being merely
followers) after Jesus' death and resurrection.
- Poor widow's casting of "two copper coins" into the Temple treasury—,
- Unnamed sisters of Jesus—
- Wife of Simon Cephas (a.k.a Peter)—
- Wives of Jesus' brothers
The Desposyni is a term that, according to Sextus Julius Africanus, a writer of the early third century, refers to alleged blood relatives of Jesus who were then alive.According to the Gospel according to the Hebrews, some of these held, even at that relatively late stage, positions of...
named in : Joseph, James (Jacob), Simon and Jude—
- Wives of the apostles other than Paul and Barnabas—
- Woman at the well in Samaria—
- Woman taken in adultery—
- Woman who anointed Jesus' feet—
See also
- Jesus' interactions with women
- Joanna (disciple)
- Martha
Martha of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem...
, sister of Lazarus
- Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as one of the most important women in the movement of Jesus. As a follower, Mary was one of many women who accompanied Jesus and the twelve apostles during his travels...
- Mary, sister of Lazarus
Mary of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of John and Luke in the Christian New Testament...
- Saint Veronica
Saint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists , was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back...
- Salome (disciple)
Salome , was a follower of Jesus who appears briefly in the canonical gospels, and who appears in more detail in apocryphal writings...
- Susanna (disciple)
Susanna is the name of one of the women associated with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. She is among the women listed in the Gospel of Luke at the beginning of Chapter 8 as being one of the Myrrhbearers....