By Dr. Adenike Yesufu
Ah! Ah! I know what you are thinking. How dare she use that highly demonized name for our Lord and Saviour? You love the Lord, I love the Lord,    and so do thousands of feminists who actually applied that cognomen to Jesus. What is feminism? It is the philosophy that men and women should have equal access to opportunities and resources.

Feminists are the women who organize on behalf of this principle. They are not a homogeneous group; some are liberal, socialist, radical, anti-racist and some are liberal, socialist, radical, anti-racist and some are theologians. They all recognize that there are men who are sympathetic towards the issues and so work tirelessly to advance the “cause”. It is for these men that they coined the phrase co-feminist. So how did Jesus get drawn into all this?

As we all know, Christianity has come from a patriarchal age. However, most feminists, in fact all feminists,  find no fault with Jesus.

Nowhere did Jesus put women down. He defended them. Although some feminists have questioned why there was no women among the Twelve. Storkey (I985) affirms that Jesus did not uphold the male establishment. In all His attitudes and concerns, Jesus rejected the patriarchal power structure of His day. He asked the Samaritan woman by the well for a drink, a taboo, nevertheless it was only to her that He revealed Himself as the Messiah ( John 2:42).

Jesus had no words of condemnation for the woman taken in adultery but prevented her death and simply told her to sin no more(John 8:3-11). No reproach was given to the woman with the hemorrhage who touched His cloak and “defiled” Him. Christ commended her faith and dismissed the rigid Jewish taboo as irrelevant. Jesus accepted love from the woman who let her hair down to wipe His feet.

He also accepted the financial provision from various women who followed Him about,  supporting His ministry(Luke 10:38-42). Jesus showed gentleness towards the mothers who wanted to bring their children to Him and could not get past His disciples (Mark 10:13-15). He showed love for the woman who was crippled for many years by touching and healing her (Luke 3:10). He showed His concern for the widow whose generosity He singled out for praise. It was a widow’s son He raised and restored to his mother(Luke 21:3-7).

Jesus never condescended to women and never ignored them. He was human and not manly to them. His harsh words were never for women, they were for the powerful male establishment. It was religious leaders He called “hypocrites” (Luke 11:43).It was greedy businessmen trading in the house of God He called “thieves” (Luke 19:45). Here was no male dominant model.

Jesus did not call into His fellowship, the righteousness, the pious, or the highly influential persons of the community but He invited those who did not belong: the tax collectors, the sinners, and the women.

He promised God’s kingdom not to the rich , the established and the pious, but to the poor of whom women are usually the poorest, the destitute and the prostitutes. No wonder the women loved Him so much that even after one of His Apostles betrayed Him and another denied Him, the women were prepared to risk everything for Him.

The women were there at the foot of the cross. The women were there to anoint His body. The women were there to see the stone rolled away, to see the empty tomb and to witness the reality of Resurrection. The inclusive character of Jesus message and His unique manner of operation made it possible for women to identify with Him and become His disciples.

Jesus was against all forms of discrimination, classism, racism, sexism, ageism; the basis of peacelessness in society. Jesus bids all of us to go and do likewise. What a world that would be, if we all heed His command.

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, Defender of the marginalized, Help of the Helpless, Co-feminist, if ever there is one more reason to love you, this is it.

Dr. (Mrs.) Adenike Yesufu is a peace  activist