Women also have the ability to express a greater range of emotions, an ability which enables them to experience worship in a more intense way. Many times female acts of worship are dismissed as emotional and disruptive.
The men at Simon the leper’s house who were watching the sublime act of worship of a woman who was ministering to Jesus accused her of wasting a very valuable flask of perfume. They judged her actions from a financial, cost-effective perspective (see Mark 14).
But Jesus rebuked these men and declared that she had exhibited great spiritual foresight—she had prepared His body for the sepulcher. As He anticipated His imminent betrayal and rejection, Jesus was overwhelmed by sorrow.
His heart was taxed with pain; He needed someone to minister to Him. It was a woman who sensed the urgency and spent everything of value she had to comfort Him.
Women in the church are often accused of being excitable, but this is not necessarily true. Eli, for example, accused Hannah of being drunk when in fact she was genuinely broken before the Lord (see 1 Sam.1: 5-17).
Many times God has turned to female generosity when needs have emerged in His kingdom. Amid a terrible famine He sent Elijah to the house of a widow to ask for everything she had—and she gave it to him! (See 1 Kin. 17.)
In another instance, a group of women used their personal resources to support Jesus’ ministry (see Luke 8:2-3). Interestingly, no man is explicitly identified in the Gospels as a financial supporter of Jesus.
Courage Under Fire
Women in the Bible also showed remarkable courage, even risking their own lives. On Resurrection morning, for instance, it was the women who ventured out to visit Jesus’ tomb, even though as a “convicted criminal” He was under constant military guard.
The disciples, after seeing the same empty tomb, locked themselves up for fear of the Jews (see John 20:19). Later, Thomas demanded tangible proof of Jesus’ resurrection even though Jesus was standing right there! Jesus was probably thinking of the women when He rebuked Thomas, saying, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
By appearing first to women on Resurrection Sunday, Jesus made them the first messengers, the first evangelists, the first prophetesses, the first teachers and the first witnesses of His resurrection. This was no small privilege!
In my opinion, women are more prone to believe God and with greater ease than men. They are following the example from Acts 12:12 when Mary, mother of Mark, fearlessly hosted a large prayer meeting while Herod was shedding apostolic blood all over town. Likewise, Lydia made her house available to the entire church at a time of violent opposition (see Acts 16:40).
When God spoke, Deborah had no doubt that God could deliver the Israelites from Sisera’s army. Likewise, Mary stood firm in her faith that she could bear a child despite being a virgin; and the women at the tomb, deep in sorrow, accepted the resurrection message without hesitation.
It’s Time for a Change
For far too long the devil has haunted women with a negative portrayal of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan wants Eve to be seen as the weak link, the one who brought so much misery to the human race. Even though she was deceived and fell into transgression, let us not miss an important point: Eve was the one who identified the enemy!
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
