Didaskalia

So far I’ve discussed several women who, while they demonstrated considerable spiritual leadership and influence, came along before the establishment of the Church as we know it today.  That’s why I’m pleased to introduce you to Phoebe.

The English Standard Version renders Romans 16:1 thus:

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,”

Compare this to another popular translation, the New Revised Standard Version:

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae,”

See the difference?  In one version, Phoebe is a servant.  In another, she’s a deacon. 

Why is this important?  It is important because in 1 Timothy 3:12, Paul places deacons in a unique position of church leadership and responsibility, categorizing them in the same way that he does overseers and elders.  In this passage, Paul gives stipulations to Timothy for what these deacons ought to be like.  Among them is this stipulation: they should be the faithful husband of one wife.

This matters because many want to prohibit women from church leadership because of Paul’s exortation that elders, overseers, and deacons be the husband of one wife when he’s writing to Timothy.  They say that this demonstrates that church leaders should be men.  This timeless and universal application of the text has other problems beyond the fact that Phoebe was apparently a deacon herself (for instance, Paul himself wasn’t the husband of one wife.  He wasn’t a husband at all).

The Greek word that nearly all translations render as “deacon” in Philippians 1:1 and Timothy 3:8 and 3:12 is the very same word that Paul uses to refer to Phoebe in Romans 16:1: diakonos.  Yet some translations refuse to call her a deacon; they turn Phoebe into a “servant.”  The ESV even goes so far as to translate it “servant,” and then add a footnote which says “or deaconess,” even though the same word is not translated “deaconess” elsewhere in the same translation.  For this translating committee, there is no way that Phoebe was a plain ol’ deacon.

It’s interesting that the ESV and NRSV translations translate diakonos exactly the same way in all 29 instances of it in the New Testament – except for one.  You guessed it: when it’s applied to the woman Phoebe.

I tried to identify what textual clues might designate when the word is translated “deacon” as opposed to “minister” or “servant.”  I noticed that any time the word is used in relation to local church ministry, it’s rendered “deacon.”  For instance, in 1 Timothy 3, the word occurs twice while Paul is describing local church governance.  Both times, it is translated “deacon.”  In Philippians 1, Paul is writing to the overseers and deacons at the church in Philippi, and again our English translators consistently use the word “deacon.” Phoebe is no different.  Paul specifically assigns her a post in a local church: she’s a diakonos in the church in Cenchrea.

She fits the bill for a deacon, it seems.  If only she were a man.

It’s important to know that there are passages in 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 where Paul seems to take a pretty clear stance against women in ministry.  Don’t worry.  We’ll get to those.

But before we do, we’ve got one more lady to meet.  She’s easy to miss, tucked right there in the middle of Romans 16 with Phoebe.  Her name is Junia, and her story is the one that compelled me to write on this entire issue.  It’s that good.

This is the third installment of a series on women in ministry.

Early every Sunday morning, men all across our country rise and go to work.  These men are pastors.  They come to their pulpits to present the good news that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and came back to life.  This ritual is repeated Sunday after Sunday.

I want to go back to the very beginning, to that first Sunday where this good news was proclaimed.  Who were the first ones to tell of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

In Luke 24, we find a group of women who decided to go honor their leader, Jesus, who was crucified three days before.  Much to their surprise, the stone was rolled away and the body was gone.  They didn’t have much time to panic before two shiny men appeared and uttered those famous words: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!”

These angels proceeded to remind the women of Jesus’ words.  He was to be handed over, he was to be crucified, and then on the third day, he would rise again.

Handed over….crucified….resurrected….what does all this mean?

Suddenly, things must have clicked for these women.  This is a huge moment in history.  These women were the first to start to piece together the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  They immediately went and told these things to the men.  These women, you see, preached. 

One of those women, Mary Magdalene, gets spotlighted in the book of John.  The resurrection account in John 20 has Mary as the first to see the resurrected Christ.  After a brief interaction with him, she is commissioned: “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.  Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”  She proceeds to go to the disciples and proclaims, “I have seen the Lord!”

Exactly what constitutes an “apostle” in the New Testament is not simple to nail down, but it is generally understood that an apostle is someone who meets 2 criteria: someone who has seen the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1) and someone who is commissioned with a message.  It’s interesting; Mary fits both of those criteria.

Maybe this is why the medieval Church began referring to Mary as apostolarum apostola – “Apostle to the apostles.”  So the next Sunday morning that you hear the phrase “he is risen!”, don’t forget who the first humans were to utter such a magnificent truth.

Have you ever heard of Huldah?  If not, don’t feel bad.

Many haven’t heard of her.  I grew up in church and I don’t think I ever heard her mentioned once.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned her once in my own ministry either.  It’s unfortunate, because this prophet’s words launched Israel’s greatest revival.[1]  I think it’s time for Huldah to get the attention she deserves.

It all started with King Josiah, who was unique among the kings of Judah and Israel because he actually wasn’t terrible.  Unlike most of the kings, he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 22:2).  The temple in Jerusalem, and for that matter almost all the religious practices of God’s people, had morphed into something almost unrecognizable from the faithful worship that had taken place in the old days.  Pagan idols and rituals had crept in to their worship and taken over their temple.  Thankfully, for a reason that only God knows, King Josiah sent his secretary to the high priest Hilkiah with the instructions to appropriate funds to repair the temple.

Apparently the renovation was a good idea, because in the process Hilkiah discovered a dusty old scroll that turned out to be the “book of the law,” which is believed to have been the first five books of the Bible.  They cracked it open for the first time in generations and proceeded to read all of God’s stern warnings about what would happen if the nation didn’t remain faithful to Him.

Oops.

Josiah knew they’d messed up bad.  Something had to be done.  They needed some guidance, and it had to be good.  They needed a prophet.

Josiah passed over prophetic heavy-hitters of the day such as Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk[2] and decided to take this critical issue up with someone else: Huldah.  So in a scene that is packed with relevance for our discussion today, the King and his right hand men, along with the high priest of the Temple, rolled up to Huldah’s door and asked her what to do about this new discovery.

I’ll say that again: the king, his men, and the high priest went and consulted a woman on an issue of utmost spiritual and political importance.  And her prophecy thundered throughout the entire land, bringing about a reform unlike any before it.  And yet, women have not been allowed to lead in ministry throughout most of history, and to a large extent this continues today.  Josiah proceeded to smash every trace of paganism to be found in the nation.  He restored the celebration of the Passover meal for the first time since the days of the Judges.  Pagan sorcerers were put away and God’s law was once again upheld.

Now that’s what I call a word of the Lord!

If God used Huldah then, then God wants to raise up more Huldahs now.  Perhaps there is a revival waiting to sweep across the land when our sisters in Christ are enabled and encouraged to open their mouths and speak.  If that’s the case, then it’s the church’s job to find ways to do it.

Don’t believe what I said?  Read it for yourself! 2 Chronicles 34:8-28, 2 Kings 22:3-30.  Next time, we’ll move into the New Testament, and learn about how the very first preachers of the gospel were women.