Did Jesus come only for the Jews?

In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter, and his response is, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  Did Jesus come just for the Jews?  What about the rest of us non-Jews?  Did he not come for me?  What’s this all about??

Well, let’s look at this passage in context, starting with the first half of the chapter:

In the beginning of the chapter in verses 1-20, the Pharisees question why Jesus’ disciples do not wash their hands before eating.  Now, they weren’t just talking about table manners.  Instead, they were talking about a Jewish ritual that was expected of all Jews. 

Expectedly, Jesus draws their attention to their hearts.  He contrasts tradition with the commands of God.  He asks in verse 3, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”  He is addressing that the Pharisees would encourage others to give what should have been used to support their parents financially instead to be “devoted to God” (vs 5).  However, this practice (giving money to religious purposes rather than parents) was breaking the commandment of God to “honor your father and mother” (Matthew 15:4, Exodus 20:12, Deut. 5:16).  In other words, honoring God should not be based on human rules or religion, but on relationship and obedience to our living God.

Jesus takes it a step further when he contrasts food entering the mouth to words exiting the mouth.  In verse 11, he says to the entire crowd, “ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” (vs 11).  This is very controversial because he is countering the cultural/situational book of the Law to draw their attention to why the book of the Law was put into place: to make people’s hearts right before God.

In verse 12, the disciples are concerned that Jesus has offended the Pharisees.  When they ask if he realizes that he has offended the teachers of the Law, Jesus responds, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots” (vs 13).  He tells his disciples to leave them because they are blind guides who will be uprooted. 

This is our transition into the second half of Matthew 15:

Jesus withdraws to Tyre and Sidon, which were coastal cities that neighbored the Phoenicians (named so for their purple cloth) and their land.  In this area, the people has a history of worshipping other gods, including Baal.  They had a serious history of sin and judgment (Matthew 11:20-22).  As Jesus is walking along the way, a Canaanite woman follows him, calling out to him to have mercy on her possessed daughter—all while Jesus is silent.

Wait.  What?  Jesus ignores her? 

Yes, he continues ignoring her until the disciples finally ask him to send her away because her desperate cries are annoying them.  That’s when Jesus says something interesting:  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (vs 24).  This doesn’t make much sense.  Doesn’t John 3:16 say that God so loved the world?  In Matthew 28:19-20, doesn’t Jesus send out his disciples to make disciples of all nations? 

Well, the woman asks again for Jesus to help her, and Jesus explains that “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (vs 26).  She responds that—yes, it is!—even the dogs get scraps from the table. 

Jesus says, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (vs 28), and the girl is healed.

Weird.  This passage can be confusing to us—we wonder why Jesus says he has only come to the Jews and why he seems so rude to the Canaanite woman.

Let’s look at the bigger picture.  Man sins.  God sets apart a nation.  He gives them laws to protect them, to show them the seriousness of sin, and to set apart a nation from all others to represent the lineage from which his Son would be born.  He blesses their people, documents their history, and maintains the record. 

Then, Jesus is born as a Jew and he preaches the entire history as being fulfilled in him.  He quotes Isaiah in the tabernacle and says that he is fulfilling the prophecy in Luke 4 to explain that he would be fulfilling Messianic prophecies.  In addition, the entire book of Matthew makes a parallel of the Jewish history to Jesus’ personal life.  In fact, he is constantly taking the Jewish history and identifying with it himself.  He is the sign of Jonah buried in the stomach of a fish for three days and raised to life; he is the Temple destroyed and rebuilt in three days, for example.  Finally, Jesus takes the Law in Matthew 5-7 and provides a deeper teaching of the Law, taking outward actions and teaching about the heart instead. 

Jesus’ whole life is to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (or the Old Testament).  He has come to create a new thing.  In fact, in Matthew 9, Jesus addresses that his new teaching is difficult for people to accept.  He says in Matthew 9:16-17:

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus had come to fulfill the old and make the new.  This is why he was able to teach about the Pharisees that they would be uprooted.  They had never been planted by God in the first place, else their studies would have led them to expect Jesus as the Messiah.  He sees their rotten fruit and says they will uprooted.  They are not truly the people of God.

This is when he creates a new definition of the “people of God.”  He says he has come for the Jews, but when the Canaanite woman provides good fruit—fruit of faith—she receives what she asks, her daughter is healed, and she will not be a plant uprooted.  Instead, we see that she truly has been planted by God because she has recognized Jesus as he is—the Son of God who gives the food from his table to whom he wants.  Because of her fruit, he sees that she is a part of the people of God. 

This is a completely new definition, and agrees with the inspired word written later in Romans 11:17-24.  Discussing the plant of Israel, he explains that the people of God, the Jewish people, are the plant.  However, with this new fulfillment and new way that Jesus has brought, branches will be removed from Israel because of their disbelief.  Likewise, branches will be grafted into spiritual Israel because of their belief: 

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

Jesus came for the lost sheep of Israel—because he was redefining Israel.  For this, he pushed her to proclaim her faith, identify with him as someone completely dependent on his grace, and then he treated her with more respect and care than he gave to the Pharisees.  He acknowledged her faith as great and brought her healing, and he desires

He wants to do the same thing with each of us.  He wants to see our faith in him to bring us healing—it doesn’t matter who our family is, what we’ve done, what our identities are in!  He has opened a way for all of us; he wants to adopt us into his family, into the nation of Israel to be protected and set apart.  He wants us.

It doesn’t matter who we are.  When we ask for crumbs, Jesus gives us a meal.

To further this fact is a beautiful connection of the Old Testament and New.  Where the Canaanite woman met with Jesus in this story is probably the same geographical location where God sent Elijah when the widow fed him in 1 Kings 17.  He was in Zaraphath, a coastal city between Sidon and Tyre when he lived with the widow and her son, depending on them for food.  God performed a miracle of provision for the widow and even when her son dies, Elijah prays and God brings the son back from the dead.  In the end, the widow proclaims, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (vs 24).  This Canaanite woman also accepts God, even before Jesus was made known. 

From the beginning of time, God had the plan to redeem the world, not just the Jews.  When Jesus claims to come for the lost sheep of Israel, he is expecting the woman to call out in faith.  When she does, he is able to redefine the word for the crowds following him.  They see the original Canaanite woman fulfilled in this “second” widow.  They see the vine of Israel including anyone with faith.  They see Pharisees being removed and uprooted from that plant. 

They see a spiritual Israel receiving blessing from God due to their faith.  Jesus fulfills the old and brings in the new, opening a way for all of us to serve the one true God.  Amen.

WHAT IS LEVITICUS ALL ABOUT?

The Law:  Burden or Blessing?

Leviticus is one book of what we call “The Law,” or the Pentateuch.  This consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  These books can be incredibly confusing!  Why does the Bible contain lists and lists of boring laws and regulations?  Do they apply to me today?

I would argue that LEVITICUS DOES APPLY TO US TODAY!!  However, probably not in the way you’re thinking.  The books of the Law were used in their day for many specific purposes, including to:

1.       Set Israel apart

2.       Bring Shalom

3.       Demonstrate severity of sin and need for Jesus

In today’s world, we see that Jesus has already come and has fulfilled the Law in all three of these purposes.  The Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) were always pointing to Jesus with hope of a future redemption.  So, let’s look at these points one by one, and I will discuss what was happening in the book of the Law and what it means through Jesus.

1.  Leviticus sets Israel apart.

The Greek term for “set apart” is actually the word “holy.”  God wanted to set Israel apart as a people group since the days of Abraham (the very first Hebrew).  In Genesis 15, God created a covenant with Abram, promising that he would become the father of many nations.  God also promises him the land of Canaan.  To show this covenant being made by God and not by Abram’s abilities or will, he has Abram cut animals in half and make a path in between their halves (a common pact practice in the time).  However, instead of the two of them walking through together, as tradition would have them, God makes Abram fall asleep and then he walks through the corpses alone, showing that he will bring the covenant to pass.  This is called an “unconditional” covenant because it does not matter what the other party does… God will make it happen.  In Genesis 17, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and gives him the sign of circumcision to represent their covenant together.

Circumcision became a sign of every male Jewish child at the age of 8 days (Leviticus 12:3).  This was simply a symbol that Jesus would be coming from this specific descendent line.  God had chosen one people group to bless all people groups.  He had chosen one nation that would become the father of many nations.  In the Old Testament, the Jews were supposed to love and be open to any foreigner who wanted to convert and serve their God.  When Jesus came, he came to open the doors to all nations even more, teaching to all groups, unbiased.  The New Testament shows us that we non-Jews have been spiritually adopted into this family, we have been grafted into the Jewish promises.  Now, we are all the promised and set apart people of God when we trust in Christ (Romans 11:11-24).

In the book of the Law, Leviticus 20:7 reads, “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.”  Many of these rules and regulations were like circumcision in that they were to set apart the people of God.  They seem really obnoxious and over the top, but they actually acted to set apart Israel from bad practices of those around them.  For example, Leviticus 19:28 tells us “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.”  This was to separate the Israelites from other cultures, like the Amorites, who would cut themselves when their loved ones died in order to honor the gods  of death or tattooing which was a common practice of placing images of idols on their skin permanently to show their devotion.  In other words, a lot of the regulations in Leviticus seem really arbitrary to us today, but they had specific meaning then to separate Israel from bad practices.  Another example is Exodus 23:19, “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.”  This seems like a super random verse, but in that time, this was a magical practice which some would partake in.  After boiling the goat in the milk, farmers would take the broth and sprinkle it on their fields so that they would grow better.  Obviously in both these verses, God wants his people to follow him and not other gods or magical practices.  He wants to set them apart as his own and through which his promises would be fulfilled.

Again, this nation was set apart so that we would have a history of where Jesus came from.  More importantly, God used the Israelites to become a symbol throughout their history of why we need the Messiah and who he would need to be.  It’s like the Bible is one big object lesson.  The history of Israel has parallels to Jesus’ life and the prophets of Israel prophesied about the coming Messiah.  Concerning the history of Israel and Jesus, both escaped from murder of children (Egypt, Herod), both fleed from out of Egypt (Exodus, child Jesus), both crossed through water before struggling in the desert, (Red Sea and 400 years/baptism and 40 days), etc.  Even the history was pointing to Jesus!  Concerning the prophecies in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 are two big examples of passages that point to Jesus’ life and death.  This website covers many more:  http://www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/old-testament-prophecies-jesus-fulfilled.html

2.  Leviticus brings shalom.

However, Israel isn’t just set apart through the law.  God wanted his people to experience true peace, or (in Hebrew) shalom.  According to Strong's Concordance Shalom means “completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid.”  Therefore, many of the rules in the Law were to bring peace and protection.

For example, Leviticus 13-14 is about infectious skin diseases and has specific rules about getting the spots “checked” by the priest to ensure that he is “clean.” If he is “unclean,” this means he probably has leprosy of some kind, and because there was no cure, he would have to live outside of the camp.  This passage also addresses mildew and has rules to protect the people from this harmful substance.  In this way, concerning skin diseases and mildew (contagious things that could not be stopped in that time period), Leviticus was protecting the Israelites as a whole.

Leviticus also addresses bodily functions like discharge, emission of semen, periods, and childbirth.  All of these things make a person “unclean” for the day.  Essentially, they are told to bathe and not make other things unclean by touching them.  In their culture, who knows how hygienic they were but their understanding was probably not top notch, so this was actually a good list of “uncleanliness” to encourage regular bathing.

In addition to health and hygiene, Leviticus addresses many justice issues.  Leviticus also includes various laws on sexuality, stopping incest (like all of Leviticus 18) and abuse of women (Leviticus 18:17-18, 19:20, 19:29), as well as spiritual sexual practices by other cultures in the time.  Other laws in Leviticus 19 focus on justice (15, 18), taking care of those with disabilities (14), respecting the elderly (32), accepting foreigners (33-34), and being honest in business and all things (11-13, 35-36).  
 

Another justice issue is concerning the Israelite spirituality.  Leviticus 20 addresses being separate from other nations and their spiritualistic practices, sexual immorality, and idolatry.  One of the highlighted idols mentioned in chapter 18 and 20 is the god Molech.  Leviticus 20:1-2 says, “The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him.”  This is seemingly very harsh.  However, the punishment is severe because the sin is severe.  Molek was a Canaanite god that was usually a large metal statue with a human body and a bull’s head.  The idol would have outstretched arms and the couple would sacrifice their newborn child in order to obtain financial gain in the future.  These child sacrifices would be burned alive for the sake of money!

Leviticus 23 and 25 are probably more for their mental health as a community.  The whole chapter is dedicated to days off and holidays.  God gives them the Sabbath, for example, in order to provide rest every seven days.  The Sabbath year (every seven years) is to keep their land healthy.  The Year of Jubilee is every fiftieth year, when everyone returns to their own land and bondservants are set free from their labor.  The festivals are also for rest and celebration.

Therefore, we see Leviticus attempting to bring protection and peace to the Israelite community by providing rules on physical health, hygiene, justice, evil practices, and mental health.  This summary is not exhaustive, but it does shed some light, I hope, on the intentions of the book concerning the maintenance of shalom peace.

What’s lovely yet again is that Jesus, of course, comes to fulfill all things.  Jesus explains that he is fulfilling the year of Jubilee in the book of Luke, chapter 4:16-21:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,  and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

3.  Leviticus demonstrates the severity of our sin and our need for Jesus.

We need to recognize that God is holy; we should fear him, in awe of him.  We should recognize how our sin hurts him.  I believe that Leviticus demands sacrifices to show the severity of sin.  Most importantly, though, the demands for our sin are why we need Christ!  Our holy God came to earth (Philippians 2:5-11), emptying himself and becoming obedient to death as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29).  He became the ultimate sacrifice so that the Leviticus practices are no longer required.

The sacrificial system shows us that Christ was the greatest sacrifice of all the five kinds of sacrifices.  In this case, Leviticus chapters 1-7 are about the main five types of sacrifices. 

1.)    Burnt offerings were given for general unintentional sin or as an act of devotion and all the blood was spilled out from the animal with fat and organs burnt; however, the fire of the burnt offerings were to never go out.  The priests had to change their clothes to remove the ashes and then get back into their holy clothing, but the flames should never die.  Jesus was our burnt offering, because his blood was spilled out completely.  He sacrificed every part of his body on the cross and he became the last sacrifice, so that there is no more need for a perpetual fire before him.  Hebrews 10:4-14 says:

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
    but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
    I have come to do your will, my God.’”

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

2.)    The grain offerings were voluntary to honor God and their relationship with him.  Some of this grain offering would be burned and some would be eaten equally by the priests; however, if the priests offered a grain offering for themselves, it would be burnt completely.  The first fruits grain offering was mixed with incense as an incredibly pleasing aroma to God.  Jesus was the first fruits of death and resurrection according to 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.  He first conquered death to allow for relationship between man and God and then became the first fruit of new life, as we will follow him into the next one day:

 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

3.)    The sin offerings were for confession and cleaning from defilement.  Unless taken into the Most Holies for atonement, the priests who offered it would eat the meat of these offerings as payment for their work.  Jesus removed all condemnation from the law.  He removed our guilt and defilement completely.  Romans 8:1-4 says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

4.)    The guilt offerings were for unintentional sin’s atonement.  Again, the priests would eat as payment.  Jesus is our atonement from all our sin and defilement, even if they are unintentional.  In John’s letter to the church (1 John 2:1-2) he explains:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

5.)    The peace offerings were voluntarily for thankfulness to the Lord.  For these fellowship offerings, the people themselves would carry their offering before the Lord and wave it before them.  Jesus voluntarily chose to die for us to honor God and his relationship with him.  Luke 22:41-44 says:

 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Not only does Jesus fulfill all of the sacrificial needs we have concerning our sin, but he is also the good priest.  He is the Perfect High Priest who empathizes with us as he redeems us. 

Hebrews 2:17-18 teaches us that Jesus is the High Priest who has been tempted in every way:  For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:14-16 reiterates this fact while demonstrating how deeply this fact draws us into a relationship of trust with our High Priest Jesus:  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Leviticus teaches us the severity of our sin so that we can truly appreciate the wonder and majesty of God himself lowering himself to earth (Philippians 2) to take our sacrifice once and for all as the perfect Lamb of God.  He enacts his own sacrifice as the perfect High Priest who empathizes with us and loves us.  His work is beautiful and good.

Now, we have seen how Jesus come to fulfill the Law!  This means that the Old Testament rules have less application to our lives directly, but rather, they apply to us in the fulfillment of Christ.  Everything has pointed to Christ and our dependence on Him.  The best way to see this transition from Old Testament rules to New Testament freedom, though, is in Hebrews 12:18-24 when the Hebrews author describes the mountain on which Moses received the book of the Law and compares it to the new mountain that Jesus invites us to live one in the life to come:

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

In the end, we see in the New Testament, according to this new covenant, that when Jesus was asked which of the Law was the greatest commandment, this was his response in Matthew 22:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Also, here’s an interesting article that takes Leviticus chapter by chapter and explains how it points to Jesus:  https://searchforhim.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/leviticus-is-about-jesus/

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN?

I recently had a friend post online, “Woman was made for man, not man for woman.”  I think that this philosophy is not only prevalent in our church culture today, but it can be an enormous stumbling block for people to come to Christ. 

How can we believe in a religion that hates women?  I would counter that God does not at all hate women.  Although the church has misinterpreted the scripture and abused it for their own evil gain, we should no longer be enslaved to ancient cultural understandings of gender which has been prolonged through misreadings of the scripture through time.  Let’s take the Bible for what it truly says!

First of all, let's look at the scripture from which this quote comes: 1 Corinthians 11:9. This passage is specifically addressing head coverings within the culture of the time. According to this passage, men should not be covered, and women should. However, you can't take this passage out of context, because he was specifically addressing a cultural issue during their time. 

In this book of the Bible, Paul is writing a letter to a specific church at a specific time (in this case, to the church at Corinth around the 50s AD).  This means that he is giving the church guidelines that will help them follow God while functioning within their society and their understandings of gender.  In addition, some scholars believe that the reasoning behind the head coverings was possibly because of prostitute practices in which prostituted women shaved their heads.  In order that all women would be viewed equally in Christ, women should wear head coverings. In this way, women recently prostituting themselves would not be judged for their past. 

Thus, we cannot run around taking cultural verses from scripture with their cultural biases and apply them to today. For example, we don’t have to apply the head coverings to our churches if we don’t have bald prostitutes to protect!  However, we should take the universal truth that we are all equal in Christ and treat all people alike, no matter our pasts.

Some people, however, think that we need to take all Bible very literally, so extremely that women truly should wear head coverings.  In addition, these literalists believe that women should not teach (even though women in that time were not educated and could not even read the letters of instruction that were provided in the churches).  If we take these Bible passages literally, you had better take all of 1Timothy 2:11-15 literally, and not just the part about women not able to teach! Notice the last verse mentioning that women will be saved through child-bearing.

If we take this within context, we see that in verse 12, Paul says that HE does not permit a woman to teach her husband.  We see that this was his own culture and his own ideas speaking.  We must not take his personal views completely literal from God or we should all be celibate, too (1 Corinthians 6)!  However, f we take this passage in context, we see that women not teaching was a cultural view.  Also, we see woman figuratively bringing salvation through childbirth, that Eve brought sin into the world, but the birth of Immanuel brought forgiveness, just as Romans 5 explains that one man (Adam) brought sin to the world and one man (Jesus) took it away.  Therefore, we must be careful how we read passages like 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians 5.  We must recognize cultural views, specific directions to the readers of the time, and how we can apply UNIVERSAL TRUTHS to our lives.  In this case, we see that humankind has fallen, but God has made a way of atonement for us.

What we must notice in the 1 Corinthians passage, however, is that Paul takes it a step further and gives a new understanding in contrast to their gender biases of that time (1 Corinthians 11:11-12): "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God." In this day and age of little respect for women, this statement was revolutionary!  As a universal truth to take away from this passage, we learn that in Christ, we are equal. 

This agrees with the new understanding of humanity in general explained in Galatians 3:26-29. Galatians reads, "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Where are these principles coming from? Why would these authors be so counter-cultural in their time? It is because God loves women.  He loves them, even as they are downtrodden and mistreated, and he desires justice. 

Jesus spoke to women (John 4), went to their houses (Luke 10), and essentially treated them as equals as they were his disciples, too (Acts 9:36, Romans 16:7). Jesus treated women with respect and gave them authority.

Some non-egalitarian will use passages, like Ephesians 5:21-33, to say that women should be subjected to men.  However, the main emphasis of this passage is not at all that women should submit to men!  When we read the passage, we see wives submit to husbands like they submit to their God. At the same time, we see husbands submit to their wives like Christ submitted his life to the church. If we read vs 21, we see the key to this passage: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." This is the emphasis.  Love one another.  Submit to one another.

Many non-egalitarians think there is a difference between the terms “submit” and “love.”  They think that women should “submit” and that men should “love.”  Does this mean women shouldn’t love and men shouldn’t submit?  They limit the meaning of the words and our callings to one another just because the two terms are used for the two different genders.  I’ve heard male pastors say, "The Bible doesn't say 'submit' to your wives! It says ‘love.’" I agree; it doesn't use the word "submit"! Nonetheless, the passage says that husbands should love their wives, "even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." If you feel uncomfortable defining this kind of love as being a form of submission, you probably have a wrong definition of true love. What is love? "Christ died for us." In Philippians 2, Jesus “emptied himself,” “became nothing,” and became “obedient to death on a cross.”  If that's not submission, I don't know what is.

Again, if we are going to read Ephesians 5 and understand gender roles from it, let's take verse 21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” and verse 33 “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” in marriage; don’t take one verse out of context and build your romantic partnership on that.

As we can see through these passages, woman was not made for man. Instead, a woman, named Eve, was made for a man, named Adam. If you're going to take that general principle to make an ideology that "woman was made for man," you had better accept the teaching of head coverings, refuse to believe in women preachers, and you'd better encourage all women to start bearing babies!  However, if you’re going to take this general principle through out-of-context readings and overly literal interpretations, don’t be surprised when your readings of Jesus and his experiences with women disprove every opinion you have on women and their worth.