39: And many of the
Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman[1]
who testified He told me all that ever I did
[1]
The first woman on record to publicly preach Jesus as Messiah, was Anna, the
elderly prophetess (preacher) at the temple. Later, there were women among the
120 at Pentecost preaching (prophesying) the good news of Jesus in the street
at Jerusalem. But the Woman at the Well is indisputably the second woman on
record to preach the gospel—loudly and authoritatively—to a public audience
composed of both men and women. And Christian women have been following suit
for over 2000 years, in spite of fierce opposition from men determined to
silence the Daughters of God from fulfilling their callings. The Woman at the
Well did not stop to ask male permission before racing off and authoritatively declaring
the good news of the Savior in public (by any standard, that is preaching), and
Jesus did not rebuke her for it or tell her that preaching the gospel was a job
for men only. The early church recognized women apostles (Junia), women deacons
(Phoebe), women teachers of doctrine (Priscilla), women who preached and prayed
publicly (Acts 2:17). It was not until later—as the church became politicized—that the ordination of women was discouraged and finally forbidden.
In more recent times, The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and Moody Bible
Institute ordained and recognized women as pastors until the complementarian
(male headship) movement, which began in 1987 with the Danvers Statement, put a
stop to it. Now women are not even permitted to take pastoral courses at
complementarian Bible colleges.
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