‘A woman’s role is to serve her husband and children.’ That has been a phrase used for years. But that isn’t the case in its strictest sense. A woman has a much bigger role and place in society.

We see that in the Proverbs 31 woman who worked in homemaking but also in business. And we see it here. Because it was the women who supported Jesus out of their own means. Which indicates they had a means to make money.

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,  and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

Why weren’t the men being the ones that supported Jesus? We don’t know. But if it weren’t for the women and their sacrificial gifts, the mission of Jesus would have been much harder to accomplish.

And why were the women supporting him? Likely out of their gratitude. They had been healed and delivered by Jesus. And this was their way of giving back.

Luke, the gospel writer, takes a moment to point out their contribution. This is not a surprise as Luke is an ardent defender of women in his gospel.

The point is this. Women are much more than wives and mothers. They have an important role to play in society and in the work of the gospel. They are not leftovers or those set aside. But they have key roles in the kingdom of God.