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It is written:
Luke 10:39-And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
Jesus loved women.
I don’t mean that He loved them in a carnal, selfish, use them and drop them way. I mean that He loved them sincerely, and cared for them, as much as He cared for His male followers. Here in Luke 10, we see this clearly. The idea of “sitting at Jesus feet” was a Jewish expression that meant one who was formally trained as a rabbi in the Scriptures (cf. Acts 22:3). Mary received the same tutelage as male disciples of Christ! This was, of course, unheard of and unacceptable in Jewish society. Fortunately, the teaching and example of Christ towards women led to a great deal of reform in the Roman Empire (and throughout the entire world) regarding the treatment of women.
“One scholar of ancient Rome has aptly said that “the conversion of the Roman world to Christianity [brought] a great change in woman’s status.” 2 Another has expressed it even more succinctly: “The birth of Jesus was the turning point in the history of woman.”” (Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 98 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan)
With that in mind, let me share a story with you.
One day, many years ago, I was having a Bible study with a group of women in a local jail. The discussion turned towards the issue of Jesus and women, and there were a lot of questions that were asked. One lady in particular (we will call her Sue-not her real name) expressed her curiosity about the view of Jesus towards women. Sue had never read the Bible, and had only gone to church as a child on a few holidays. She had come to believe that Jesus looked down on women, and that He would look down on her. When I asked her why, she told me the following story.
“A few months ago, I was arrested for prostitution. Before that happened, my boyfriend got me addicted to heroin, and then he began to rape me when I was high. I had to go along with it, or he would cut off my supply. Then, he moved me out of state. I had to service other men to get money for him, and that was the only way he would keep the drugs coming to me. I prayed and prayed, and finally the feds raided the place and we all got busted. I did some time in a federal pen, where I went through withdrawals that nearly killed me. Then, I got shipped back to this area here, mainly because of an old child support warrant. I may get out in the next few weeks, but my lawyer isn’t sure.”
I listened, stunned, as she unfolded her journey to myself and the others. I asked what happened to her boyfriend, and Sue told me that he was still in the state. She said that he had gotten out of any trouble because of connections in the district attorney’s office. I asked if she had ever pressed charges or told her story to the authorities, and she told me no. When I asked her why, Sue told me, “Brother Mark, they are all Christians. They won’t believe me.”
I asked her why she assumed that, and Sue responded:
“Christians just put a President in office who did to lots of other women things like were done to me, and they didn’t believe any of those women. They just chose him over the victims. Why should I have any confidence in Christ? Aren’t Christians just following Him?”
Stop and let that sink in.
Even now, I am appalled as I recall that conversation. Not because Sue was wrong: but because she was right.
This isn’t about whether or not the President is guilty of the things of which he is accused. He is entitled to the due process which he is fighting to take from others, because he (like they) are made in God’s image. (For an account of some of the allegations, along with the President’s responses, I can recommend the following book: Barry Levine, Monique El-Faizy, All the President’s Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator, 250-275 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Hachette Book Group. Be warned: it is very graphic). I will defend his right to this, just as I will the same right to others.
No, this is about how the elevation of a political leader, platform, and agenda by many Christians have so affected people’s perceptions of Jesus.
With humility and prayer, I say the following.
First, to any victims of sexual or physical abuse out there: please get any help that you need. As someone who has often worked with survivors of such atrocities, I know that this may sound hollow and like a worn out cliche, yet it is true nonetheless: Jesus loves you, and so also do His followers.
Second, as someone who has himself often misrepresented and failed Jesus in this world, I say with humility: please forgive me for any ways that I have failed you. Please forgive all of us Christians who have so often failed and fallen short. It is true that often, Christians have chosen politics over Jesus and His kingdom. Very often, it is the cry of the abused that gets drowned out in the noise of political favoritism. The voice of the child being torn from parents and locked in an outside cage like in a zoo, the voices of immigrants (documented and otherwise) being arrested and denied due process, the cries of persecuted Christians here legally in the United States and having their citizenship revoked and being sent back to countries to await persecution and likely death, the voices of so many other victims in our time….
Some of us are listening: some of us are trying to help: some of us are trying to call the others to repentance and to remember that we are servants of Jesus Christ, not the Democrat or Republican parties.
Please forgive us, and be patient with us as we all so often fall short of the Lord and His standard.
Third, to my brothers and sisters in Christ, please take a moment and seriously think about this question: would you speak up for this woman? Is she more important to you than your political party? I know that many of you chose Trump because you believed that he was the “lesser of two evils.” I respect that you made a decision of conscience, and I commend you for that.
But now, there are different decisions before you.
Will you continue to unconditionally support a President who continues to constantly trample on human beings?
Will you speak up for the victims?
Would you be willing to take action, such as writing to your state representatives?
If you are wondering what kind of issues that I am referencing regarding the immoralities of this present administration, please consult the following articles:
Make no mistake: speaking up against the evil of our President does not mean that we hate him or wish him harm. On the contrary, our desire as Christians is that everyone will be saved. The inspired Apostle Paul shows us this in his conversation with king Agrippa:
Acts 26:28-29-Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”
We can pray for the salvation of our leaders while at the same time speaking the Word of God in love to them (1 Timothy 2:1-6). One of the reasons God was angry with His people during the time of Ezekiel was that they were refusing to speak God’s Word and so encourage the wicked to repent:
Ezekiel 13:22-Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.
God wants President Trump to be saved, and so should we as followers of Jesus Christ. But that desire does not absolve us of our responsibility to speak the Word of God in love.
Will you speak up for Sue?
Will you speak up for all the others who are being victimized?
Being a follower of Jesus demands no less.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.