| dc.description.abstract | The open question that is posed in this research, seeks to ascertain what the women
exemplify as they interact with Jesus in the Lukan Gospel. How does Jesus engage them
and what aspects of discipleship and response do they model? Furthermore, what do their
reactions reveal of Jesus and how do they anticipate his ministry? By doing a comparison
and contrast with the men what more can be learned?
The methodology focuses on characterisation and, in particular, on reader response
with the implied reader of the first century. It involves a detailed exegesis of all pericopes
where women encounter Jesus in his adult ministry, an analysis of the female character in
her interaction with Jesus and the other characters, a synkrisis of the male-female pairings
(usually in juxtaposed pericopes) and finally a summary based on the cumulative reading of
the female characters and their relationship with Jesus.
The diversity and complexity of individual women, who appear in only one
pericope each, demonstrate a variety of interactions with Jesus and many aspects of
discipleship. Alongside the singular characters, a group of Galilean women form a
continuous link from Jesus’ earliest ministry through to the empty tomb. This culminates
in their witness to the resurrection. The sequential reading and synkrises show that there is
a complementarity between the responses of the men and women with different emphases
at different times. Luke’s aim, in establishing the synkrises, is not to show competition
between men and women but to help elucidate what it means to follow Jesus, irrespective
of gender. This inclusive discipleship is demonstrated in Jesus’ extension of his fictive
kindred to include all who “hear the word of God and do it” (8:19-21; 11:27-28). The
response of Jesus to the women further elucidates his ministry, and frequently, anticipates
that ministry in particular in relation to the Paschal mystery. | en_US |
