The number of women in the Old Testament who are mentioned by name are few but in the New Testament there are more, and this fact is not lost on scholars but seems to be lost on the faithful.
Mary and her sister Martha knew Jesus well. Mary Magdelene was said to be the apostle to the apostles in early Christianity. Women were more than important to the Jesus movement some of them played crucial roles.
Like Mary Magdelene who was the first to see the risen Christ.
Jesus broke the taboos of His time to minister to women like the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.
He told the parable of the Good Samaritan which turns a enemy of the Jewish people like a Samsritan into a hero.
Jesus did not play favorites when it came to social status, rich or poor, young or old, sinner or saint, man or woman-all He ever saw were children of God and He treated them with the respect and love and understanding deserved by Gods' children.
Equality to me is what feminism is all about. It's not about just reversing sexism and misogyny, it's about eliminating discrimination across the board.
The fact that women played a more vital role in Jesus' inner circle than they currently do in most Christian churches is proof that going to church doesn't make you Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
Here is what Christ said about how we are to treat Him and our brothers and sisters:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:32-46
How we treat any of our brothers and sisters is something Jesus takes personally.
True worship of Jesus, true discipleship means loving your neighbor and even your enemies equally regardless of sex, age, gay or straight, rich or poor or any other descriptor you can imagine.
Feminism means so much to so many people but I think above all else it is a fight for equality and social justice regardless of gender which is where Jesus seems ahead of His own churches in recognizing women as leaders in their own right.
