Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 34:1 (Winter 2020)
Article: A New Family: Jesus And The Coming Of The Kingdom Of God Reorient The Role Of Women In God’s Mission
Author: Joshua Little

PP 34:1 (Winter 2020) p. 12

A New Family: Jesus And The Coming Of The Kingdom Of God Reorient The Role Of Women In God’s Mission

Joshua Little

Joshua Little holds an MDiv from Emmanuel Christian Seminary in eastern Tennessee and is pursuing a DMin from Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He serves as the Executive Pastor of the RiverTree Network and Preaching Pastor of RiverTree Lake. Josh’s wife, Becky, serves as an administrator with Stadia, a church-planting organization.

A thread woven throughout the ministry and teaching of Jesus is the in-breaking of the kingdom of God. Prominently, God’s kingdom brings dynamic implications: healing for the sick, liberation for the subjugated, and joy to the dejected (e.g., Luke 4:18–19). In short, the kingdom of God reorients the way of life. This article will consider how the coming of the kingdom of God provides “an alternative ordering of society”1 regarding women in community and leadership. This article will indeed study Jesus’s ministry and teachings throughout the Gospels. But because Jesus was a Jew and the Torah was influential in his ministry and life, we will begin by analyzing how the OT speaks to a woman’s place in society.

Women In Ancient Israel

The Household

Written primarily by men and steeped in cultural patriarchy, the OT presents challenges in understanding the experiences women had in ancient Israel. However, we can sketch a portrait of life for a woman in ancient Israel. To begin, an Israelite’s life revolved around the family. Joanna Dewey explains, “The basic unit of ancient society was not the individual as in the West today, but the family or kinship unit. Individual needs and desires were subordinated to those of the family group under the male head of household.”2 This kinship unit defined the way each individual within the household fit into the greater society. According to Leo Perdue, the family unit existed in three spheres: household (bet av), clan or village (mispahah), and region or group of clans (mattah).3 The bet av or household consisted at least of one’s nuclear family. For an unmarried woman or man, the bet av was the household of his/her father. An example is Gen 50:8, where Joseph’s “house” refers to the nuclear family of which he is head. However, the bet av could also refer to servants, slaves, concubines, sojourners, and orphans receiving protection and provision.4 The mispahah was the clan or “residential ...