"being women in a patriarchal culture, they did not matter much to Jesus' enemies and therefore had nothing to fear" from following him.
Yes, of course - being the least of a society, being forgotten, certainly means one has nothing to fear. No need to fear that one's father or husband will abandon one in the face of devotion to another man, or out of embarrassment that one's daughter or wife persists in following a scandalous or ridiculous cult. No need to fear that following Jesus would mean leaving behind one's means of support, because clearly the Gospel doesn't call women away from their homes. No need to fear that leaving would mean death, since traveling and living on one's own were definitely safe for women. Certainly officials and soldiers would never dream of taking advantage of a woman as an example to others inclined to follow this rebel, or out of a refusal to acknowledge her as human. Nope, definitely, women were safe.
I'm pretty sure Volf means well here, but he's missed the boat. The women may have had different reasons to fear, but I don't generally think of safety as a hallmark of womanhood.
2 comments:
Huh. Not to mention those occasions when women found themselves in the middle of a crowd wanting to throw stones... ususally for adultery. I suppose there wasn't any danger that women follwing Jesus might have that accusation hurled at them either.
Yes... I think the way that the community accepted his mother's pregnancy so warmly and openly really speaks to that level of safety as well.
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