Was Jesus sexist?
It’s a question more people are asking, especially when they hear claims that Christianity is anti-woman. Rather than starting with arguments about Christianity, let’s start with Jesus. How did He actually treat women?
The gospel accounts paint a remarkably consistent picture. Jesus welcomed women as disciples, defended them from shame, spoke with them publicly, and trusted them with important responsibilities, often challenging the expectations of His culture along the way.
Why Do People Think Jesus Was Sexist?
Whether you’re a Christian or not, you’ve probably seen someone use the Bible to justify treating women poorly. Maybe you’ve heard women told to be quiet. Maybe you’ve watched someone get overlooked at work. Maybe you’ve rolled your eyes at another movie that treats women like decorations instead of people. Maybe you’ve experienced something yourself.
So when someone asks, “Was Jesus sexist?" they’re usually asking something bigger: Can Christianity really be good for women?
I was thinking about all of this one week when I sent my wife a text. "What do you think the average, decent, but maybe too-comfortable man (basically me), needs to know about women?"
Her response came back so fast I’m convinced she’d been waiting years for me to ask.
She wrote:
- She is stronger than you think.
- She is more intelligent than you think.
- She is more valuable than you think.
- She is a better leader than you think.
- She is more observant than you think.
- Don’t underestimate her.
- Believe the best about her.
As I read her list, I kept thinking, “Jesus would have loved this.” Not because He needed the reminder, but because this is exactly how He treated women.
Jesus lived in a culture where women were often overlooked, underestimated, and left on the outside. Again and again, He moved toward them instead. He listened to them, learned their names, defended them, taught them, and trusted them with some of the most important moments in His ministry.
If we’re going to answer the question honestly, we shouldn’t start with people’s opinions about Jesus. We should start with Jesus Himself.
7 Times Jesus Went Way Beyond Just Respecting Women
1. Jesus Welcomed Women as His Disciples
Most people think of Jesus and His disciples as a boys club. But Jesus's closest followers included women. In fact, the disciples were financially dependent on women traveling with them.
When the Bible says Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said" (Luke 10:39), it’s describing more than someone paying attention. Sitting at a rabbi’s feet was the posture of a disciple. Mary wasn’t just listening in. Jesus welcomed her as a learner.
2. Jesus Performed His First Miracle at His Mother's Request
According to His own words, Jesus started His official ministry on earth earlier than He planned by request of a woman. Jesus’ mother (moms have always been changing the world) saw that they were running out of wine at a wedding. This would’ve reflected very poorly on the families of the bride and groom. Next, she began asking other men to do whatever Jesus said. Because of what a woman noticed and requested, Jesus launched his ministry, saved the wedding party, and performed his first miracle of turning water into the best wine at the wedding.
3. Jesus Spoke to Women Others Ignored
Though it was looked down upon by the religion He was raised in, and much of the society around him, Jesus regularly spoke to and interacted with women in public. Several times it was in front of large crowds that would’ve been surprised not just by a miracle or His wise words, but by the very fact that He was addressing a woman. This happened with the widow at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), a crippled woman at a church (Luke 13:12-16), the woman with more than a decade of bleeding (Luke 8:43-48) and others.
The woman with bleeding would have been seen as ceremonially unclean—not even a woman’s husband was supposed to touch an “unclean” woman. Jesus went out of His way to tell the crowd that they had made physical contact when she reached out and touched Him. Why? Because the very act of her touch, that faith-filled, culture-defying courage, is what brought healing into her body (Luke 8:47-48). She is stronger than you think.
4. Jesus Called Women Equal Heirs of God’s Promise
In essentially every recorded case of Jesus speaking with a woman in public there are additional factors that would have been astonishingly opposed to the standards of His culture. Jesus called the crippled woman (Luke 13:12-16) a “daughter of Abraham,” a never-before-recorded term which suggested that women shared equal footing in God’s covenant.
5. Jesus Chose a Samaritan Woman to Share the Good News
One day Jesus was traveling through a part of town where the residents were unfortunately viewed as “less than” because they were thought to be “mixed-race”. He got tired and sat down next to a well there where a woman was getting water. He didn’t just speak with her though.
Jesus crossed multiple boundaries to start the conversation, carry it on for quite a while, and then inspired her to report to the whole village. He didn’t hold a seminar for the men of the village, or find a trusted man to tell others about His news, He chose a woman to teach this town about the goodness of God.
6. Jesus Defended a Woman From Public Shame
When a woman was caught in the act of adultery by religious leaders … pause there. What did the religious leaders have to do in order to catch such an act? Okay, back to the story. When she was caught and the man was apparently let off the hook, she was dragged out in front of a crowd where, according to the law, she’d be stoned. Enter Jesus. Jesus put Himself between her and her religious accusers.
He started quietly writing something in the dirt. But the leaders demanded Jesus speak to the situation, so He encouraged any of them without sin to cast the first stone. When everyone started to leave, He finished what He was writing. Then He looked at the woman, did not condemn her, and graciously invited her into a life of freedom (John 8:1-11).
7. Jesus Chose Women as the First Witnesses of the Resurrection
Despite all the people who loved, followed, and were healed by Jesus, there was still a crowd of mockers who showed up to see His death on the cross. Some of the exceptions were four brave women who played integral roles in Jesus’ work and life. It doesn’t end there. Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead, and you might already be guessing what happened next. The first people Jesus chose to meet with after coming back from death were women. He then entrusted the women to carry the greatest message our world has ever known: Jesus is alive.
Jesus Cared for Women Until the End
If you’re a man who’s still reading this post, can I tell you another story I came across? As Jesus’ dying body was breathing His last few breaths on the cross, He worked up the energy to speak to the women who’d come to see Him there. He spoke to the women and one of His closest male friends who was also there. Why? Scripture seems to suggest it was to make sure these women would not be mistreated. Not because the women were weak, but because Jesus would’ve known very well how culture mistreated women. It seems He knew the odds were stacked against His mother and the three other women standing there with her. Apparently, He knew that as a man, a great man, that He needed to speak up and make sure these women were not mistreated by the male-dominated culture. It seems Jesus was onto something.
What Can We Learn From Jesus?
Christian or not, many people believe Jesus Christ was one of the most influential people to have ever lived. Christians believe He’s the perfect Son of God—without error. In either case, Jesus chose to go loudly against the culture of His day to set a standard of not just respecting women, but also of treating them as equal, capable, and incredible partners in restoring this world.