WOMEN WHO KNEW JESUS

Although women were not highly esteemed in the ancient world, there were a number of women who were very important to Jesus during His three-year earthly ministry. Three of those women followed Jesus and His disciples to minister to their needs from their own substance, and they are mentioned by name in Luke 8:2, 3. All three were said to have been cured by Jesus of either a demon or a disease.

JOANNA was the wife of Chuza, the steward in the house of Herod Agrippa. Luke speaks of her association with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and also with Mary, the mother of James. After Jesus’ crucifixion Joanna was one of the women who came to the tomb with spices for His body, and when they found the stone rolled away and saw that the body of Jesus was not inside the tomb, they remembered how He had told them He would be killed and would rise again three days later, and they went to tell His disciples.
(Luke 24:1-10)

SUZANNA was another woman who ministered to the needs of the Lord and His disciples. Her name is mentioned only one time in the scriptures. (Luke 8:3)

MARY MAGDALENE was a woman from whom the Lord removed seven demons. Her close association with Jesus’ mother and her sister Mary, who was the wife of Cleopas (John 19:25), and was seen when the three of them stood together during the closing hours of Jesus’ agony on the cross. (Luke 23:49) After the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene remained at the scene and waited there until the body was taken down, wrapped in linen cloth and placed in the garden sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea. (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:47; and Luke 23:55) She was also with the women who brought spices to Jesus’ tomb, and she was the first person to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection. (John 20:11-18)

MARY, THE WIFE OF CLEOPAS was the sister of Jesus’ mother Mary. She also was one of the women who observed Jesus’ crucifixion. (Matthew 27:61 and John 19:25)
After Jesus was resurrected, He met two of His disciples walking along the Emmaus Road, not far from Jerusalem, but they did not recognize Him. When Jesus asked why they were so sad one of them, whose name was Cleopas, responded in surprise that the stranger was not aware of the recent events that had taken place in Jerusalem concerning Jesus of Nazareth. (because Mary was Cleopas’ wife, it would not be unusual to assume that she was the other person who was walking with Cleopas) They told Jesus how the One they believed to be the Jews’ Messiah had been arrested by the religious leaders and crucified. They also said it had been three days since the crucifixion, and that when certain women who went to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty they were told by two angels that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then Jesus said to them, “Oh foolish ones … why are you so slow to believe all that the prophets have written? Don’t you realize that Christ had to suffer these things before entering into His glory!” Then beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He showed them from the scriptures all the things that were written concerning Himself.

When they reached the outskirts of their village, they asked Jesus to dine with them, and He accepted their invitation. When they were seated at the table, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:13-31) They were amazed and said to one another, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us when He talked with us on the road and opened our understanding of the scriptures?”

After that, they returned to Jerusalem where they found Jesus’ eleven disciples with some other folks who had previously been with Jesus. (Luke 24:36-45) As the two were telling their story, Jesus appeared in the midst of the group and explained to all of them what the scriptures had to say about Himself. (Luke 24:32-45)

MARY OF BETHANY was not one of the ladies who followed Jesus during His ministry, but she will always be remembered for something she did at a special dinner party where Jesus was the guest of honor. (Mark 14:9) Mary was a woman who had always listened eagerly to Jesus’ teachings. She lived with her sister Martha and her brother Lazarus in Bethany, a village about three miles from Jerusalem, and Jesus was a frequent guest in their home. Apparently, because she had always listened carefully to the words of Jesus, Mary understood and believed what Jesus said about His death and His resurrection, which is why her action at this social gathering was so significant. A careful study and comparing of the scriptures in each of the four Gospel accounts that describe what took place at this dinner party will reveal why Mary performed that special service. Comparing those events in the four Gospels will also identify the other guests who were seated at the table that day..

We know that this dinner party took place six days before the Passover, and that it was in Bethany (John 12:1), in the house of a Pharisee (Luke 7:36). The Pharisee is identified as Simon the leper in Matthew 26:6. One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, was also present, and is called Simon’s son in John 12:4. The other guests included Jesus who was the guest of honor and Lazarus who had recently been raised from the dead. During dinner, Mary came in with a box of very costly ointment. She began to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she opened the box and put some of the ointment on Jesus’ feet. (Luke 7:37,38) Mark 14:3 records that she also anointed Jesus’ head with some of the precious ointment.

When Judas saw what Mary was doing, he became very indignant and said, “Why was this ointment being wasted? It could have been sold for a great sum of money and given to the poor. (John 13:4-6) Some of the others at the table also joined in and said the same thing. (Matthew 26:8,9) Jesus rebuked Judas sharply for what he said and told him Mary had done this in preparation for His death which was soon to take place. (John 12:7-8; and Matthew 26:10-13) After being rebuked by Jesus in his own house and in front of their guests, Judas went to the Pharisees and arranged to betray the Lord for a certain sum of money. (Mark 14:10-11 and Matthew 26:14-16)


Jesus highly commended Mary of Bethany for paying attention to His words, and, because she anointed His body that day, He said she would be remembered every time and in every place where the good news of the Gospel would be proclaimed. (Matthew 26:13)

MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS is certainly the most well-known person to bear the name Mary. She was in the kingly line of David through His son Nathan. When Mary was a maiden, living in Nazareth, she was engaged to a man by the name of Joseph, who also was in the line of king David through his son Solomon. (Matthew 1:1-16)

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and gave her a message from God, saying she had been chosen to be the mother of the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah. When Mary asked how that would be possible since she was a virgin, Gabriel told her the child would be conceived by the power of God the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:26-35) After Mary gave birth to the humanity of Christ, she is mentioned only four more times in the scriptures. First, at a wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-4); again at Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:25-27); and last of all in Jerusalem, after Jesus had ascended into heaven, Mary was in an upper room with a group of faithful followers of the Lord who had gathered together to pray. (Acts 1:14)

While many women are prominent throughout the Bible, the ones briefly described in this writing are especially important because of their close association with Jesus during His 3-year ministry on earth.

Written By Lois Delnay
08/8/2007
Fallbrook Ranch Productions

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