Women & The Gospel, Part 2

Greetings, friends and new listeners. Welcome to The Sound of Faith.

I'm Sharon Otz, thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Our message today, Gospel Game Changer for Women, chronicles the revolutionary changes Jesus made in His ministry, too, and dealings with women. He not only recognized their unique devotion, He elevated them to equality with men in Gospel Game Changer for Women. Now, speaking of adultery, John the eighth chapter, Jesus in the temple teaching and they brought to Him a woman and they really made it clear this woman was caught in the act. No, he said, she said, caught in the act of adultery. Now they said, Moses said she should be stoned. What do you say? They were hoping to catch Jesus again because if Jesus went against what Moses said, they could say He's against Moses.

Amen. And so they didn't know what He was going to do. And the thing about Jesus is He didn't even mention the fact. Where's the man? Because Moses said in the Leviticus, the 20th chapter, both the man and the woman were to be put to death. So if I was Jesus, that's the first thing I would have said. Why didn't you bring the man since you caught him in the act?

He had to be there. But Jesus didn't do that. He wasn't going to get into them with a war of words. Instead, He said, you're right.

Go for it. Whoever amongst you is without sin, you cast the first stone and He knelt down and began to write in the dirt. Oh, how I wish that somebody would have taken notes that day and would have written down what He wrote in the dirt.

We don't know when we have all kinds of assumptions and presumptions. I kind of like the one that a lot of preachers say. He probably started writing down their sins. Because, He said, whoever's without sin, cast the first stone.

And here's what I like about it. Each one of them began to walk out one at a time, one at a time from the eldest to the youngest. I don't know. It means something.

I don't know what it means, but I wish I did. All I can tell you is He wrote something down unless He wrote down the sin of the oldest and the next one and the next one. And as He wrote down their sins or something about them, we don't know. He might have wrote their names down for all we know.

We don't know what it was. But whatever it was, the Bible says, convicted by their own conscience, they left one by one the eldest to the youngest. And then Jesus turned to the woman and He said unto her, where are your accusers? Does no man condemn thee?

And she said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn thee. Now, I've got to be fair to the scriptures.

A lot of people stop right here. A lot of people that are caught in sin and they're trying to make light of it say, and you people, you're just out there casting stones. And Jesus said, if you cast it, you know, you're a sinner. And He said, you know, you're a sinner. And He said, I don't condemn you. But listen what He also said, go thy way and sin no more. He did not downplay her sin. He did not whitewash her sin. Jesus will never whitewash sin. He forgives it.

He washes it in the blood. Amen. So He did not condemn her, but He told her to go your way and sin no more. He warned her in love. And you know, I believe with all my heart that that woman never fell into that sin again. I do not think she ever, ever repeated that. I just don't believe it.

Do you? So we see that how Jesus treated women, even when they were fallen women. Now we learned that they were not allowed to give a testimony, even if they were an eyewitness. John the 20th chapter, what is absolutely the greatest, most vital, most important eyewitness account that was ever to be given in all of human history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the very first person Jesus appeared to was Mary Magdalene, a woman.

She was in the garden. Peter and James had been there and left and she was still there, broken because she wanted to have his body so that she could lovingly wash it and give it the respect that Jewish people really, really respect the dead. Amen. They treat the dead body.

Why? Because they stand on the scripture that we are made in God's image. You will never see a Jew do cremation because they believe the body is made in the image of God and they treat it with respect. And that's why they had like a hundred pounds of spices and oils and ointments they put on him and wrap them in the fine white linen because they're treating them with respect. And so she wanted to be able to do that for her Lord. And she saw the gardener and he says, why are you weeping woman? And he, she says, well, I can't find my Lord.

If you'll just tell me where you laid his body. And he said, Mary. And she recognized who he was and she grabbed hold of him. And he said, Mary, don't hold me back. When he says, touch me not, it doesn't mean don't touch me. It meant don't keep holding onto me. The Greek means don't keep holding onto me.

Why? I have not yet ascended to my father. Do you understand? He had not even ascended to his father yet and he appeared under Mary. He hadn't even gotten taken care of the business at hand, if you will. But he took time on his way up to stop and made himself manifest to Mary and told Mary, now you go tell the disciples that you have seen the Lord.

Don't tell them that I'm raised and I'm ascending under my father. He let Mary a woman be the eyewitness account of the greatest eyewitness incident in all of human history. You see, under the old covenant, she couldn't have done that even though she did see him. Amen. I want you to see Jesus ripped it down.

All the barriers. Amen. And told her to go back. I just can't imagine what the disciples must have thought when she came and said, I just saw the Lord.

I just saw the Lord. And I'm sure that she was credible because I mean, number one, Mary Magdalene went with Jesus and the disciples everywhere. Apparently she was a woman of means and had money because she was one of the ones that helped to finance the ministry. You know, they had to eat and things like that. They needed some money. And so she, with other women that had money, was part of Jesus' financiers.

And they knew she was credible, but I can imagine they were thinking, what? He appeared to her, a woman, before he appeared to us? And let the women say? Amen. So you see, Jesus was ripping down one by one, all the taboos that were against women. Amen. Some of you are saying, Sister Sharon, this is a very self-serving message.

I'm giving you the word of God. Amen. Now, what about the very first woman evangelist? You mean women can be evangelists?

Amen. I'm not going to go there because it's a very long story, but you know the story in John 4. Jesus was traveling with the disciples. He went out of his way to go to Samaria. It was not this direct route that he needed to go to get where he needed to go. He went out of his way to pass through Samaria.

Why would he do that? The Samaritans were hostile. They were hostile to the Jews. There was a great enmity between the two of them. And the Jews had absolutely nothing to do with the Samaritans. In fact, they despised them and they called them dogs. Remember that prayer? Thank God I'm not a dog. Thank God I'm not a gentile because they said, thank God I'm not a Samaritan.

Amen. And so Jesus went to Samaria on purpose. They got there around lunchtime. And it's when it's the hottest time, the warmest time, the sun's right overhead. And so usually no one would go to the well at that time to get water. It's too hot.

You wait till either early, early morning or in the evening when it's not so hot to go lug water back. But this woman came at the worst time. Why? She didn't want to bump into the rest of the women because they didn't like her.

Why? Because she was the town prostitute. And Jesus got there at lunchtime and they had no food and Jesus was hungry and tired.

The disciples all left to go to the town to get food. Jesus was there alone. When God wants to do something, He orchestrates all the events. When God opens a door to you, it's very obvious.

Don't miss it. So here comes this woman. She should not have been there, but she came and she's getting water. And Jesus being thirsty, of course, asked something to drink.

Amen. And she was like shocked, totally shocked. Number one, we know that a rabbi would not speak to a woman anyway, unless it's his wife or his sister or his daughter. And not only that, she was a prostitute. And not only that, she was a Samaritan. And not only that, they were alone. There was nobody else around to know what they were saying.

I mean, He just tore down all the taboos. And so He said to her, if you knew who I am, you would ask me for a drink of water. And I would give you a drink of living water that if you drink of the water I give you, you will never ever thirst again. And we know that they went through this whole theological discourse. First of all, she told them, well, you don't even have a cup to even get water with. And this well's been here since the day of Jacob. And we come and drink from this well all the time, but we have to keep drinking. We keep getting thirsty.

What kind of water could you possibly have? Amen. And so He began to preach the gospel to her. And He says, you know, woman, why don't you go get your husband and tell him to come? Bring your husband here.

I'll give him some water too. And she said, I have no husband. He said, you have spoken truth. You have already had five husbands.

And the man that you're living with right now is not your husband. Amen. And so she said, whoa, I perceive you're a prophet. I think I'd think the same thing.

Amen. So she got very nervous. And when people get under conviction, they try to start changing the subject. So that's what she did. Well, where are we supposed to worship? Because you Jews say that we're supposed to worship in Jerusalem and the Samaritans say you're supposed to worship here in Samaria. He brought her right back to the point. He says, woman, the time will come and now is when they that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth for the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Basically, He told her, woman, worship is not about where it's about who.

Amen. It's about having a relationship with God Almighty. And she was so impressed. She didn't know what to say. So she said, wow, I know when Messiah comes, He's going to tell us all these things and really explain them to us. And Jesus said to her, a woman, a prostitute, a Samaritan, what He never said to one scribe or Pharisee or Jewish leader. He said to her what He never said to any of the others. I, who am speaking to thee, am He. I am the Messiah.

I am the one. My God, He told her what He never told others. He broke through the barrier of gender, of race, of religion, of culture.

Amen. He told her, I am Messiah. And she was blown away.

He was totally transparent with her. And He told her, this woman who had lived a sinful life, obviously many, many years to have had five husbands and now living with someone, He said, I am telling you that if you'll drink of the water I give you, you're not going to thirst again. He was telling this woman, He said, I know that you are thirsty. In other words, He was saying to her, I know that you're looking for love, but you're looking in all the wrong places. All these men, all the sexual pleasures, none of them are going to satisfy you.

None of them are going to fill up that hole in your heart, but I can love you like no man has ever loved you. Oh, I can elevate you. I can pull you out of that slimy pit, that Mari clay of sin that makes you so ashamed that you come here at 12 o'clock in the heat of the day because you're too ashamed and embarrassed to run into the women in the town. Jesus was saying, I've come to tell you that I can transform your life. And at that very instant, while He's in the middle of saying all this, the disciples come back. And when they saw Him speaking to that woman, the Bible says they were amazed for all of the reasons I already labored earlier. They were amazed, but not one of them dared to ask, why are you talking to that woman?

They were all thinking it, but not one of them dared to ask. And while they came in and getting the food out, the woman dropped her water pots, took off for the town. And the scripture is very emphatic. It said she went into the city and told the men and told the men, not the women, the men, the men knew who she was. I said a lot of those men knew her very well. And when she came and told the men, I want you to come see a man who told me everything about me, who told me all about my sinful past, who told me all about my adultery and my fornication.

I want you to come and see a man. Amen. Is this not the Messiah?

Let me tell you something. Jesus is the only person who can tell you all about your dirt, tell you all about your sin, tell you all about all of the things that you have done, that you're ashamed and embarrassed of. He's the only one that can tell you all about your bad stuff and make you feel good. Hallelujah. He can tell you all about your bad stuff, but make you feel that you are not ashamed. The gospel is the only message that can do that. Why?

Because he loves you, because he forgives you, because he wants to change you. And these men were so impressed with this woman. They were so impressed with her testimony.

She's being a witness and an evangelist. Amen. They were so impressed that they followed her.

Amen. Now that's something they wouldn't ordinarily have done in public. They followed her to where Jesus was because the well was outside of the town. And when they got there, they heard the word of Jesus. And the scripture says many believed on Jesus for the testimony of the woman which testified he told me all that ever I did. And let me say this to everybody.

I don't care who you are. If you're a brand new Christian, if you're a young person, there is no greater message than to tell what Jesus has done for you. What Jesus has done for you. You don't have to know the Bible well. You just start off with what Jesus has done.

You just start off and say amazing grace how sweet the sound I was lost but now I'm found I was blind but now I see I was filthy and dirty and unclean but now I've been washed I've been sanctified I've been redeemed I've been changed because Jesus Christ is the great game changer. The gospel is the great game changer. So Jesus allowed a woman to be a witness of the resurrection. Jesus allowed a woman to be an evangelist. And because of that, do you know that they persuaded Jesus and he stayed in that city for two extra days? Preaching the gospel to them. They had a revival in Samaria in a place where there was not even any kind of resurrection. In a place where there was not even any kind of relationship between Jews and and the Samaritans and they had a revival. All because Jesus tore down the barriers and preached the gospel to a woman who was of ill repute. Amen.

What a harvest. Now we said that rabbis were and men in general were not allowed to have women touch them. Now this is one that we all know well the story Mark 5. There was a woman who had an issue of blood. It basically means that she had a discharge of blood from her body. Now what her condition was we don't know. What the really sad terrible thing was about that not only that she suffered physically in her body which meant she probably had to be very weak. This woman could have never gotten married. If you read the scripture people call her a widow. She was not a widow.

Says a woman. The fact is she probably never got married and I say this because under the law during the time when a woman had her cycle she could not get around people. She was considered unclean during that time.

In fact when that cycle was ended anywhere she had sat a chair a bed anything had to be washed and so if a woman was in her cycle she could not be around anyone. This meant this woman had a very lonely life. She would have been depressed just because of the fact that she had to deal with this all the time. She would have been depressed because the fact her body was tired and she had no energy. She would have been depressed because of the fact that she didn't have a social life and she was like this for 12 years and she apparently at one time had money maybe her father left her money or something but she had been to every doctor she could find and spent all her money and not only didn't get better but got worse but she heard about Jesus and she said within herself if I can just touch the hem of his garment I know that I will be made whole. Now that's what she put her faith on that's what she believed and Jesus met her at the point of her faith. Her plan was I've got to touch the hem of his garment so apparently she had to get down on her hands and knees because the bible's clear that there was a great throng of people. There was a crowd a lot of people around her she had to press her way to get near Jesus probably getting down and and pushing her way through legs and feet and all that and try not to get trampled on and she touched the hem of his garment and immediately she felt within herself that that flow was just like that it stopped. I mean she felt it a woman can feel it she knows instantaneously instantaneously she was healed and the thing about it at the exact same moment that she felt in her body Jesus felt something go out of him he felt it go out she felt it come in and he stopped and said who touched me and the disciples said there's a whole lot of people around here touching you pushing you what do you mean who touched Jesus said I felt healing virtue I felt the power of God leave my body somebody with faith has touched me and the woman trembling and crying because she was afraid I know she was afraid he was going to rebuke her what she did was a big no no she touched a man she touched a rabbi she had a discharge she would have made him ceremonially unclean at that point Jesus would have had to separate himself and go through this purification process it was a 24-hour process to clean yourself though because she touched Jesus he was supposed to go do that but I want to tell you what Jesus just tore down all the barriers he just got rid of all the taboos but she came shaking thought he was going to rebuke her he said woman thy faith has made me whole he did not rebuke her he praised her he praised her for her great faith and determination and perseverance he said go in peace and I want you to know she went in peace and I want you to know Jesus went in peace he didn't go stop off to get washed and cleansed and change his clothes and all of that because the gospel is the great game changer he gets rid of all the taboos he gets rid of all the barriers all of that nonsense amen now speaking of touching Jesus Jesus allowed two other women to touch him and even more so in a more intimate fashion and by that I mean he let women touch his feet kiss his feet bathe his feet with their tears dry his feet with their hair anoint his head Jesus was anointed two times by two different women and what happens is people take the facts from this one and the facts from that one and commingle them and come up with a new version that's not true to either one of them now it's not like it's heresy false doctrine most people think that there's one in the same I want you to see that there are two different episodes episodes so this one is taking place in Galilee it's taking place in the house of a Pharisee his name is not given just said and Jesus went to the house of a Pharisee while he's in there having dinner at this Pharisee's house here comes a woman her name is not given her identity is not given and this is where people start making their mistakes an unnamed woman comes and kneels down at Jesus' feet and begins to wash his feet with her tears as she's crying profusely taking her hair to dry his feet and she brought an alabaster box which is like a type of a marble filled with an ointment and she broke it open it would had a beautiful fragrance as soon as she broke it open the perfume would have come out and filled the air and she anointed Jesus head with this I want you to see that Jesus sat there and did not protest he did not say what are you doing woman he did not get up and move and say excuse me he sat there and let her anoint his head wash his feet with her tears dry it with her hair I mean how more personal can you get and kiss his feet and the Pharisee thought it in his head this is what he thought if he were really a prophet he would know who this woman is and what kind of woman she is that she is a sinner in fact she was a harlot he thought this in his self-righteous judgmental head in his mind but Jesus can read your thoughts Jesus heard what he thought Jesus said to the Pharisee I have something I'd like to say to you he said say on lord and then Jesus proceeded to give him a very simple parable he said there was this instance where there were two debtors they were both in debt to the same creditor but one owed the creditor 500 pence and one only owed the creditor 50 pence but the fact is neither one could pay the bill so he said neither one could pay the debt so the creditor forgave them both stamped them both paid in full you're off the hook he says now who do you think would have loved him most and the Pharisee answered and said well I suppose the one he forgave the most and Jesus said you have judged rightly when I came into your house you did not kiss me how many know that it's the custom in the middle east that you kiss on both cheeks it's just a custom you just do that it's like our handshake is their kiss on the cheek and so he said I came into your house you didn't kiss me and you did not wash my feet this was the most least of all the practices of practices of hospitality that you would do for a visitor in your house because they didn't have sidewalks and asphalt roads they had dusty dusty streets and they wore sandals and when they would get wherever they were going their feet would be dusty if they left the house with clean feet by the time they got to where they were going they would be dusty and what you did is when you came in they would take their shoes off and the host or someone a servant at least if he was rich would wash the feet of the visitor this was common courtesy he said but you didn't wash my feet and you didn't anoint my head but this woman though her sins be many see Jesus never whitewashes sin he said though her sins be many since I have come here she has not ceased to kiss my feet to wash them with her tears to dry them with her hair and to anoint my head with oil and I say to her that though she has many sins her sins are forgiven her because she that is forgiven of much loveth much he was giving him a sermon basically saying you self-righteous judgmental religious zealot you haven't done the most common things it's just courtesy and hospitality and you sit there and judge her you don't love me you haven't shown me respect much less love but I tell you this woman yes she's been a great sinner but her motive in coming and doing that was because her heart was under conviction and she was coming with the motivation of repentance and Jesus saw it as such and he said woman go thy way amen because she that is forgiven of much loves much of much loves much amen what an eye-opening message gospel game changer for women god created male and female in his image with equality and dominion in the earth when they sinned the rules of engagement changed and part of eve's judgment was subordination to her husband god also revealed that her seed would crush the serpent's head at this satan launched an attack against women as maltreatment of women escalated over the centuries but when the seed messiah came he changed the rules of engagement again jesus was the game changer who broke down barriers of race gender and cultural classes the gospel is the great emancipator elevating women to the same level as men this teaching walks you through the century since the garden of eden to the day of pentecost when the holy spirit empowered god's sons and daughters for his divine service in the gospel this message gospel game changer for women can be ordered on cd request offer sk197 male to sound of faith po box 1744 baltimore maryland 21203 or go online to soundoffaith.org you will also receive a free cd of the message women in the pulpit but to order by mail go to po box 1744 baltimore maryland 21203 send your love gift of at least ten dollars and request offer sk197 until next time this is Sharon Natsane Maranatha