It is amazing how the Christian church of the later first century turned against women, against slaves, and against anyone who questioned authority, no matter how ill-gotten that authority might have been. The traditional view, initiated during this period and handed down to us today, is that Jesus had twelve male disciples. Even scholars who ought to know better promulgate this falsehood. Certainly, Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper only reinforced the image of the twelve men who followed Jesus. To cap it off, after Jesus’ body walked out of the tomb and was ready to ascend into heaven, he issued the so-called Great Commission to Peter and the other men to go forth, preach the gospel, and save the earth.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If one reads the canonical gospels, one finds the names of a half dozen women who were members of the extended family gathered by Jesus, as well as “the others”. If there were twelve male disciples in Jesus’ extended family, there were also a good number of women disciples, for a grand total of perhaps twenty-five people. It was Peter’s mother who offered her house in Capernaum as home base for the peripatetic band. It was Mary Magdalene, whom one suspects was particularly close to Jesus. And the story, as handed down, tells us that it was the women who looked on from a distance as Jesus was hung on the cross. Women were integral and essential members of the family. Furthermore, those whose lives were impacted by Jesus but who chose to move on rather than stay in Galilee also most certainly included lots of women.

Why does the story of Jesus, as developed in the first century and handed down to us today, totally neglect and dismiss the presence of women among the first disciples of Jesus? Think about it. The elite, rich and powerful, who control and profit from the existing economic structure of oppression of the poor, requires a stable society that does not rock the boat, a society that produces a steady stream of workers who will not question the system. Barring an increase in the number of slaves whom few could acquire or afford, the next best source of labor was babies and children from the impoverished class. Essential to that system were the women who nurtured the children and tended the household. That role, basically, was the only option available to women.

And then along comes Jesus, challenging and inviting all people, including women, to participate in a new type of living and working arrangement. The existing economy, benefitting only the elite, was based on two pillars. First, the oppressive system of patriarchy, wherein the wealthy men controlled the distribution of that wealth. And secondly, the oppressive system of patronage, wherein one looked higher on the economic/social ladder for favor, while ignoring those of lesser status who had nothing to offer. Jesus challenged both patriarchy and patronage. He created a new economy based on actually caring for one another and sharing with one another. Men and women. Rich and poor. Together. Equal. 

The book of Acts refers to the early community as a place where “all the believers were together and had all things in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…” Given that Acts took final form in the second century, we must recognize this description as an idealized version of the earliest community. Nevertheless, we must also accept the fact that this vision survived the onslaught of the rich and powerful and that there were segments in the early church, even toward the end of the first century, where the equality of men and women lived on, as intended by Jesus. For the most part, however, the vision of Jesus was smothered under an avalanche of elite subterfuge. It is long past time to dig ourselves out.

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Dr. Carl Krieg received his BA from Dartmouth College, MDiv from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is the author of What to Believe? the Questions of Christian Faith,   The Void and the Vision and  The New Matrix: How the World We Live In Impacts Our Thinking About Self and God. As professor and pastor, Dr. Krieg has taught innumerable classes and led many discussion groups. He lives with his wife Margaret in Norwich, VT.