LISTEN TO THE DEVOTIONAL
History has rarely given women a voice. Jesus not only listened to women—He sent them out as gospel messengers.
World rulers are usually associated with armies, conquering lands, and collecting wives. If you were a woman living under any of those reigns, life probably wasn’t that great for you. But one ruler of a Kingdom He described as “not of this world” stunned people by the way He treated women. His name is Jesus Christ.
Scripture tells of when Jesus and His disciples traveled through Samaria, a region Jews would normally have nothing to do with. “Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside [a] well about noontime” (John 4:6). While His disciples searched for food, a Samaritan woman approached the well. “Please give me a drink,” Jesus asked her. The woman was surprised, saying, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus affirmed her worth, entrusted her with spiritual truth, and sent her out.
Men in that culture would never have publicly engaged a woman in conversation. Even Jesus’s disciples were “shocked to find him talking to a woman” (John 4:27). And this woman was considered morally disqualified—having had five husbands and living with a man who wasn’t her husband. Instead of judging her, Jesus revealed His identity to her—saying, “I am the Messiah.” She ran back to her village to tell everyone to come and see Jesus.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 NIV
Jesus affirmed her worth, entrusted her with spiritual truth, and sent her out. Because in relationship with Jesus, scripture says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NIV).
Jesus is still giving women a voice. Maybe today, that voice is yours?
