Jesus through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord by Rebecca McLaughlin

Jesus through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord Reviews

• 
  Darla

  All the stars for this I insightful and inspiring look at Jesus through the eyes of the women in the gospels. Ponder this: a woman (Elizabeth) gives us the first prophecy since Malachi in Luke 1 and a woman (Mary Magdalene) is the person Jesus tasks with telling the disciples that He is alive in John 20. That is just a glimpse into the impactful chapters of this little book spanning the gospels in topics like Prophecy, Discipleship, Nourishment, Healing, Forgiveness, and Life. This book is for everyone--not just women. Would make an excellent book for small group study as each chapter I includes Discussion Questions.
• 
  Matt

  Compelling. I learned a lot, as I always do from Rebecca McLaughlin. Here were my favorite 20 quotes:
  https://bit.ly/3dchf0r
• 
  Brittany Shields

  “Through each of these women’s eyes, we see Jesus as the one who brings healing to the sick, life to the dead, welcome to the outcasts, and honor to the scorned.”
  
  Rebecca McLaughlin is the author of several books including
  The Secular Creed and
  Confronting Christianity. Most of her books tackle controversial issues or questions that the general public bring against Christianity.
  
  This book is no different.
  
  “Some see Christianity as, at heart, misogynistic: silencing, sidelining, and trampling on women.”
  
  This is a popular belief. But it is unfounded.
  
  McLaughlin has written this book to show us that the way Jesus treated women was revolutionary and counter-cultural. A true reading of Scripture reflects Jesus’ care, love, and respect of women.
  
  “The way that Jesus treated women tore up the belief that women are innately inferior to men: a belief that was pervasive in the ancient world. We should not be surprised, therefore, that women have been flocking to Jesus ever since.”
  
  McLaughlin takes us through many interactions between Jesus and women: Mary (his mother), Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha (Mary was the most common name during that time if you haven’t noticed), Elizabeth, the Samaritan woman at the well, Joanna, the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, and more.
  
  And when we try to see Jesus from their perspective we see a deeper picture of the heart of Jesus.
  
  
  One of the first things McLaughlin does is talk about the reliability of Scripture. If we’re looking at eyewitness testimony, can we trust the source we are basing our belief on? She compares the Bible to the Gospel of Mary, and gives other evidence for why we can believe these biblical accounts. (For further reading on this aspect, check out
  Taking God at His Word or
  Surviving Religion 101.)
  
  
  A theme we see as we go through these accounts is that God has used women in a fundamental way for his kingdom. And I say ‘use’ not in way that denotes ‘takes advantage of’ but in a sense of respect; women were valuable and vital in God’s plan for his Son and his Gospel message.
  
  
  McLaughlin points out some things I had never realized:
  
  “Hannah is the first to prophesy directly about the Lord’s anointed King. Mary is the first to find out his identity.”
  
  “Anna is the first person in the Bible officially called a prophet since the death of the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, some four centuries before. “
  
  “In a culture where women were often silenced, Jesus commissions a female disciple to announce his resurrection to his male disciples. Strikingly, Mary Magdalene is the first person in John’s Gospel to call Jesus ‘the Lord.’"
  
  Jesus could have first shown his resurrected self to Peter who came to the tomb, but instead he came to Mary.
  
  Jesus’s life and resurrection on earth are book-ended with women!
  
  “Much of what we know about Jesus’s conception, infancy, and childhood we only know because the women who surrounded him passed on their testimony.”
  
  
  Something that is important to touch on in this discussion is ‘sexual freedom'. This is one of the main tenets of the most recent wave of feminism. Many view the Bible’s teachings on sex as unfair or stifling. But when you look at the sexual climate during these ancient times, you will see that the laws God made around sex were to protect women and children, not harm them.
  
  Women were extremely vulnerable and easily exploited.
  
  “The sexual revolution that was triggered by the rise of Christianity within the Roman Empire cut out men’s sexual freedom and called them to the kind of faithfulness in marriage that had previously only been expected of wives. This meant that women could no longer be seen as expendable objects of male lust.”
  
  Boundaries are necessary for human flourishing. The Bible’s boundaries surrounding sex and limiting it to a male and female within the covenant of marriage protects all parties and creates a safe and healthy environment for everyone to thrive. Among many other benefits, it creates financial, emotional, and physical stability.
  
  (For more on the discussion of sex, purity, and how the church can do better at communicating these things in a clear and right way, read
  Talking Back to Purity Culture or
  What God Has to Say About Our Bodies)
  
  If we want to talk about sexual freedom in regards to bearing children, that’s a topic for another time.
  
  McLaughlin does caution this:
  
  “When it comes to women’s unique ability to bear children, it’s easy to make one of two mistakes: to overvalue childbearing, as if it’s the primary reason why women exist, or to undervalue it, as if creating new life doesn’t matter.”
  
  And I’ll just add one thing— God chose women to bring life into the world— that is pretty significant and honoring. God creates life inside our bodies! That’s incredible to me. Even though it comes with pain, I am thankful to be part of that amazing process.
  
  
  
  Each chapter highlights characteristics of Jesus. We see prophecy, discipleship, nourishment, healing, forgiveness, and life.
  
  We see a God whose concept of power and worth counters cultures at large. We see a God who defends, who knows all but still loves us, forgives us, and offers us refuge. We see a God of redemption who transforms lives. A God who suffers with us, who is near to us and wants to spend time with us. A God who defends a woman’s right to learn. A God who gives us identity, mercy, affirmation, and hope.
  
  If you’ve been told the Bible is anti-women, or you’ve experienced inferiority as a woman from a Christian or church, this book is for you. This book will set the record straight.
  
  If you stand secure in your biblical womanhood, this book will affirm that you are in a safe place. Jesus is for us and teaches love, dignity, and respect for us. It will also help you see these events through new eyes.
  
  As usual, Rebecca McLaughlin brings the truth, and I would highly recommend this book!
  
  “How do we see Jesus through these women’s eyes? We see him as the one who heals our hurts and meets our needs. We see him as the one who takes our sin upon himself and welcomes us with unimaginable love. We see him as the one who sees us, even when others turn away, and as the one who welcomes us to learn from him and pour our meager love out at his feet. We see him as the one who is the Savior of the world and yet knows us each by name— even if we answer to the most common name in town. We see him as the one who gathers up our broken hearts and bodies in his arms, and as the only who who has the power to make us whole.”
  
  
  
  
  If you want further reading on women’s role in the church and an exegetical look at what specific verses mean, I would recommend
  Evangelical Feminism by Wayne Grudem or
  Men and Women in the Church by Kevin DeYoung.
  
  If you want further reading on biblical womanhood as it relates to feminism, I would check out
  Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley or
  Eve in Exile by Rebekah Merkle.
  
  
  
  More Quotes:
  
  “As we look at Jesus through his mother’s eyes, we see how God grabs ordinary folk to be his chosen agents in this world. When you and I let Jesus in, our humdrum lives become the buzzing center of a miracle— however little it may feel that way at times.”
  
  “As we look through Mary’s eyes, we also see the cost of letting Jesus in. Birth itself is intensely costly. Nursing an infant day and night is an ongoing act of sacrifice love… Mary risked much more with Jesus than she would have with another child. She risked her reputation, her marriage prospects, her community, even her life when she replied to Gabriel, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your word.”
  
  “So often in our modern life, we see service and freedom as opposites… We humans thrive when serving with a grateful heart, while endlessly self-realizing ‘freedom’ makes us miserable.”
  
  “If you have been a Christian for a while, my guess is you can think of times when you’ve cried to God for help and felt like you got nothing back. You’ve prayed for healing and it hasn’t come. You’ve sent for Jesus and felt quite alone. But when, at long last, Jesus comes to Mary, he sheds tears with her. He hadn’t stayed away because he didn’t care. He stayed away because he did care. The best thing he could give these siblings, whom he profoundly loved, was not immediate answer to their prayers, but revelation of himself.”
  
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• 
  Lachie Macdonald

  Solid.
  As a not-woman I surely miss some of the depth of the radically dignifying and beautiful ways Jesus relates to women, but Rebecca nonetheless paints a wonderful picture of our remarkable Jesus; good news for women AND for me.
• 
  Andrea

  “To look at Jesus through the eyes of women may seem at first like an innately modern project. But . . . it’s precisely what the Gospel authors invite us to do.”
• 
  Beth Lane

  Rebecca McLaughlin does an amazing job at doing exactly what the title says. seeing JESUS through the eyes of women. This was such a worshipful experience for me to not only see Jesus’ genuine and real relationship with his female disciples but to really see so much of who he is. This book is gold. Please go read it.
  
  “To look at Jesus through the eyes of women may seem at first like an innately modern project. But when it comes to Jesus’ death and resurrection, it’s precisely what the Gospel authors invite us to do. What we see through their eyes is not an alternative Jesus, but rather the authentic Jesus, who welcomes both men and women as his disciples.” Pg. 173
• 
  Katie Ford

  I was deeply encouraged by this book. Rebecca beautifully unpacks the interactions between Jesus and Women in the Gospels. Jesus did the unexpected in so many ways, but in particular how he interacted with women. He moved towards them when no one else was — provided healing and forgiveness but also empowered them to go and be His disciples. I highly recommend picking up a copy and giving this book a read!
• 
  Annie Harper

  This was so good! Such a thought provoking read about the central role of women in the Gospels and how we see Jesus through their eyes.
• 
  Barry

  Many of Jesus’s followers, and even disciples, were women. The writers of the gospels were men, but much of the content was related by eyewitnesses who were women. McLaughlin focuses on these eyewitnesses and shows why Jesus’s message was (and still should be) so appealing to women.
  
  I wouldn’t say it’s light, but it’s fairly brief, and thus stimulates my interest for a more in-depth study such as
  Gospel Women by Richard Bauckham.
  
  
  I’m going to drop in some quotes:
  
  “To look at Jesus through the eyes of women may seem at first like an innately modern project. But when it comes to Jesus‘s death and resurrection, it’s precisely what the gospel authors invite us to do. What we see through their eyes is not an alternative Jesus, but rather the authentic Jesus, who welcomes both men and women as his disciples, and who is best seen from below.”
  
  “Jesus’s teaching introduced to two tectonic shifts. First, he loved and valued women – including prostitutes. Second, against the norms of the empire, he upheld faithful marriage as the only context for sex. This started a sexual revolution more daring than the revolution of the 1960s, but in the opposite direction. The modern sexual revolution offered women the right to commitment-free sex: a right that many men had been assuming over the centuries. But the sexual revolution that was triggered by the rise of Christianity within the Roman empire cut out men’s sexual freedom and called them to the kind of faithfulness in marriage that had previously only been expected of wives. This meant that women could no longer be seen as expendable objects of male lust. Rather, sex only belonged in marriage – the permanent, God-given, one-flesh union of a man and a woman— and Christian husbands were to love their wives with the same kind of sacrificial love that Christ has for his church. It’s obvious why such a change would be good news for women who would previously have been the victims of coercive sex... there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that commitment-free sex does measurable harm to women’s happiness and health even when it is freely chosen. Jesus’s sexual ethics truly lead to human flourishing. But while Jesus defined all sex outside of marriage as sinful, he also welcomed even the most notorious sexual sinners who put their trust in him.”
  
  
  
• 
  Erin

  So grateful for this wonderfully researched book on the women whose lives intersected with Jesus.
  
  “Indeed, the way that Jesus treated women tore up the belief that women are innately inferior to men: a belief that was pervasive in the ancient world. We should not be surprised, therefore, that women have been flocking to Jesus ever since.” (P.11)
  
  Amen!
• 
  Gareth Davies

  This is simply a superb little book. Working through the Biblical accounts of women’s interactions with Jesus, McLaughlin marvellously weaves together the truth of Christ in all His beauty. Thoroughly recommended.
• 
  Traci Rhoades

  A good look at context, with historical notes throughout. Excellent resource for Bible studies or small groups.
• 
  Alecia

  I was looking forward to reading this book as soon as I saw the author tweet about her research a year or two ago. I love Rebecca McLaughlin and her writing. She writes (and speaks) with intelligence, conviction, Biblical and historical research, and helpful (and funny) contemporary analogies. This book is no different. She is fair and clear in demonstrating through the Gospels how Jesus valued women through His interactions and His Spirit’s inclusion of their testimonies as key.
• 
  Lydia Gahafer

  This is not a book about women. There are a lot of those, and I'm kind of done with them. This book was so refreshing to read in that rather than focusing on women, it focuses on Jesus. On seeing Jesus through the eyes of women mentioned throughout the New Testament to see who Jesus is. "Looking through their eyes, we see a man who valued women of all kinds--especially those vilified by others."
  
  Rebecca starts off this novel by telling the reader how attractive Christianity was to women in the ancient day. Rather than women being excluded and made less-than (as was the culture), early Christians saw women as their sisters and their equals. "This ethical reversal, based on Jesus's words and actions, made Christianity especially attractive to women in the ancient world and formed the basis of our modern belief that women are fundamentally equal to men. Far from being antithetical to women's rights, Christianity is their first and best foundation."
  
  If we look through the eyes of women at Jesus, we see several things. First, we see someone who did not despise women's company. After all, Jesus "had his longest recorded private conversation with a religiously despised woman." We see a Jesus who "came for the poor and excluded first." We also see how "God
  grabs ordinary folk to be his chosen agents in this world." He uses women like Mary who have humble roots and sure faith to do big things in his kingdom.
  
  One big realization I had while reading this book that Rebecca really emphasizes is that 👏🏻Jesus 👏🏻DID👏🏻 have 👏🏻female 👏🏻disciples. I grew up hearing that there were only 12 disciples and that they were all men. Well, that's simply not the case. Some read the story of how some of the women interacted with Jesus and make the false assumption that women were there to just keep house for the men. That would be a false, or rather incomplete picture. The women were there to learn and to serve--just like the men! As Rebecca says, "In Jesus's kingdom, serving isn't women's work. It's everybody's work." While in today's culture, "we see service and freedom as opposites", Jesus shows us that to love IS to serve--regardless of gender.
  
  Jesus also didn't scoff at women who wanted to learn from Him. Rebecca quotes a commentary which says, "the picture of a woman in the disciple's position, at the feet of Jesus, would be startling in a culture where women did not receive formal teaching from a rabbi. As we see Jesus through the eyes of these female disciples, "we see him as the one who welcomes women and defends their right to learn from him."
  
  If we look through the eyes of the woman who anointed Jesus, we see HIm "as the one who merits all of her extravagant love, the one on whom nothing can be wasted" and the One who "sees her beauty in her actions, and who validates her love with honor."
  
  This book made me want to know Jesus more and trust Him the way that these women of the NT trusted Him. They saw Him as the deserving treasure of their lives--their rock, their safe place, and their Savior. May I endeavor to think of Him likewise
  
  
  
  
• 
  Blake

  Few things get me internally riled up. Abortion, governmental corruption, and several other issues, all serve to hit a nerve and get me fired up. One subject that also creates much inner angst is when people say that Christianity is misogynistic. I get it. Much of church history is marked with terrible atrocities. And many unbiblical things have happened in the name of God, Jesus Christ, and/or the church, including the treatment of women. Sadly, many who verbally claim to be Christian, are anything but. True Christianity is not anti-woman at all. In fact, given the culture in which the church began, the dignity of women was actually elevated by the Christians of the early church. The church's Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, demonstrated a high view of women. In examining our Lord's life, one finds that numerous women were his disciples and they played key roles within the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
  
  In her book, "Jesus Through The Eyes of Women," Rebecca McLaughlin presents an excellent treatment of numerous women who were associated with Jesus throughout his life and ministry. Each of them provides a glimpse of our Lord, showing how Jesus Himself cared deeply for these women and, not only honored them, but elevated the dignity and integrity of women in a culture where women were often abused and sadly, often treated as little more than property. Jesus did not see women as risks or burdens. He honored them. Healed them. Encouraged them. Brought hope to them. Discipled them. And gave them true hope. And these women cared deeply for Jesus.
  
  (Perhaps one weakness should be noted and that is that McLaughlin adds one point that shows she confuses Israel and the church. Other than this, her book is a very encouraging read).
  
  I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Jonathan Thomas

  This is a brilliant little book that shows (without a shadow of doubt) how women were some of Jesus first disciples and are key eye witnesses to the key events in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
  
  Not only does she do hard work on the texts, McLaughlin also applies the passages in a linguistically beautiful manner with hope filled and grace drenched truths.
  
  A great book.
  
  
• 
  Telma Dumitru

  To see Jesus through the eyes of the New Testament women, was a thrilling experience. Well written!
• 
  Adam Solorio

  One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. This book is beautiful, thoughtful, and deeply Biblical. Could not more highly recommend. This is the fourth of her books that I’ve read and Rebecca has quickly become an author that I will read anything she writes.
• 
  Caroline Payne

  I really enjoyed this little book! I appreciate the way Rebecca McLoughlin writes, giving historical and biblical context with each point, and explaining biblical discrepancies between different gospel accounts of women.
  
  There were just a few things I didn’t love.
  
  - In the beginning of the book, she mentions that there is an old written account of Mary Magdalene called the “Book of Mary” that obviously didn’t make it into the modern day Bible, but doesn’t give much more information about what was in these writings. The end of the book she touches on it again trying to wrap up the story, but also doesn’t include much information about it other than the fact we don’t really need it since Mary’s account has already been well recorded in the gospels. This kind of set up to book in a way that leads you to believe you’ll learn additional information about Mary not included in the biblical texts, but this isn’t the case. I think this is more confusing than helpful to have included at all since it doesn’t really provide anything.
  
  - The end of the book she also tries to conclude that the four gospels could really be the “gospels of the four Mary’s” and while each of these women were certainly part of these gospels, this feels like a stretch of a statement. It almost felt like the author was trying to fit scripture into her theme instead of just teaching on what the scripture says alone.
  
  
  Overall, I loved a lot about this book. My favorite points from the book:
  
  - In the first few centuries, there were Roman women in the church as deaconesses.
  
  - Jesus openly forgave women, who were ostracized by their communities, for their sexual sin. He himself was born into a sexual scandal to a woman who wasn’t married and could have been stoned for this “sin” or for blasphemy for saying that her baby was the son of man.
  
  - A woman was the first to see Jesus take on human flesh, Mary, and a woman was also first to see him in his resurrected body, Mary Magdalene (among the women who came with her).
  
  - When Hannah praised the lord for finally getting pregnant, she is the first to prophesy directly about the Lord’s anointed king that will come, Jesus. Also, her son Samuel anointed Israel’s first kings Saul and David, which leads to the line of Jesus.
  
  - Anna, who Luke calls a prophetess, meets Jesus as an infant when he was brought into the temple at a month old for Mary and Jospeh’s sacrifice. She prophesied over him, saying that he was Malachi‘s prophecy being fulfilled. God uses this old woman who is a widow as a prophet to be one of the first to acknowledge that He is the Messiah.
  
  - Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna were just a few of the female disciples Luke mentions. He says that they were women Jesus healed physically or spiritually, and that his ministry was supported by his female followers financially - likely largely by Joanna. Joanna was the wife of Herod’s household manager. Herod had imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist and God chose her. Luke has insight to Herod’s reaction about hearing about Jesus likely through Joanna. She also takes the risk of leaving the Kings Court, her status, and comfortable life, to go follow and travel with Jesus.
  
  - We know that Mary Bethany sat at Jesus’ feet when he was teaching, which was controversial for that time for a woman to sit at the feet of a rabbi, since women couldn’t have formal teaching at that time. But I didn’t realize that maybe she had felt safe to do that because Jesus had already brought in so many other female disciples who were already there like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and “many others” like John writes. Jesus defends their right to learn from him and tells them, even though Martha is serving him by making him a meal that Mary has chosen the “good portion” that is his teaching. He serves us more than we could ever serve him.
  
  - When Jesus first says, “I am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me shall not die,” he says this in a one on one conversation with just Martha. Some of his most profound words and promises are said directly to Martha after her brother Lazarus died. He later shares these promises with others but she is the first to hear.
  
  - When Lazarus is dying, his sisters send word to Jesus for him to come save him. Instead, he waits and then comes after Lazarus has been dead for four days. Both sisters ask him why he waited to come because he could have saved him. Jesus didn’t stay away because he didn’t care - he cries when he hears that Lazarus has died. But the best thing that he could’ve done for them was not an immediate answer to their prayer, but revelation of himself. He stayed away and Lazarus died and this was all according to his will so that “they would believe.” He tells Martha the promise that whoever believes in Him will never truly die and then he raises Laz from the dead. He shows them and everyone gathered there himself and the promises of eternity. It’s easy to feel like God isnt answering our prayers sometimes when we cry out in pain and Mary and Martha probably felt this way too until they saw that he answered their prayer in a different and better way than they asked for.
  
  - After Mary of Bethany washes Jesus feet with really expensive perfume, Judas asks why she’s wasted so much perfume when it could be sold. Jesus says she has done a beautiful thing for him, and her story will be told wherever the gospel is told. He honors her for her faith.
  
  - The Samaritan woman at the well is the first person outside of the disciples that Jesus reveals to that he is the Messiah. A Samaritan women, which Jews strictly avoided, and a woman who was publicly outcast for her sin. She is the first person to hear that he is the living water and that soon the temple will not be the only place for worship, but we will worship in spirit and truth.
  
  - When Jesus died, the women there watching were his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, the mother of James and John, Salome, and “many other women” who had “been following him since Galilee” (Mark 15:40). Luke Also implies that Joanna and Susanna were there as well. These women had been following him for years and traveling with him.
  
  - People who doubt the validity of scripture say that the woman who found Jesus had risen were hysterical woman and “diluted by sorcery,” but Rebecca points out that if the disciples would have made up the resurrection story, then they likely would’ve made it more believable. They wouldn’t have chosen women but likely Joseph or Nicodemus to have been the ones to witness his rising from the dead since they were already at his burial.
  
  - The way Rebecca writes about all of the women who are present to find that Jesus has risen is really helpful. All four gospel writers write this scene a little bit different and she really helped me understand why their accounts are slightly different. Jesus chose for his female disciples to be the first to know that he is risen. Matthew records that the resurrected Jesus revealed himself to Mary and she fell down and worship him, and he told her to go to tell all the disciples that she had seen him, and that he would soon be ascending to the father. “In a culture were women were often silenced, Jesus commissions a female disciple to announce his resurrection to his male disciples.“ This may not seem as significant to us today, but this was a beautiful statement of Jesus giving dignity and authority to his female disciple who socially did not have it at this time in history.
  
• 
  Alexandria

  I’ve struggled through reading the Old Testament this year. I’ve been uncomfortable considering the God of the Old Testament, Jesus of the New Testament, and the Trinity now, specifically in relationship with women. I did not know what kind of book I was looking to read alongside being in the Word. “Jesus Through the Eyes of Women” was a refreshing, biblical side-kick in this season.
  
  McLaughlin leans so far into the Word and familiar Bible stories that I was occasionally tempted to skim through; however, she expanded on many of Jesus’ interaction with women and brought me along as she stepped into their shoes… or sandals?
  
  I was so encouraged by imagining I was each of these women and how astonishing and counter-cultural Jesus’ responses, defenses, and love for these women were… and ARE. The God of the Old Testament, Jesus of the New Testament, who is the image of the invisible God, and my Father, Advocate, and Helper are the same today.
  
  I’m so encouraged by this reminder as I continue to read the Word and face possibly confusing texts with the assurance of who God is and the reminder to dive into context and resources because I KNOW that God’s character is consistent and His Word is true.
• 
  Ashton Tidwell

  “The Gospels in our Bibles are the Gospels of the women Jesus loved. Each one bears female fingerprints.”
  
  “Far from being antithetical to women’s rights, Christianity is their first and best foundation.”
  
  This book is a beautiful insight into the ways women followed, learned from, and spent time with Jesus during His earthly ministry. The author argues that you don’t need the controversial Gospel of Mary to see how Jesus valued women.
  
  “The first-century Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John connect us to the testimony of the women who met Jesus in the flesh 2,000 years ago and show that the Jesus we see through their eyes is more beautiful, more historically accurate, and more valuing of women than anything the Gospel of Mary can offer.”
  
  It is so amazing to know how Jesus loved ALL people and how he uplifted the marginalized and oppressed. Women’s testimonies verified and solidified the truth of Jesus’ resurrection. May we remember that we are charged to treat people as Jesus did - raising up the broken and cast out to be empowered spreaders of the Gospel. 🖤
• 
  Johnathan

  A great view into the gospels through the eyes of women. McLaughlin dispels any accusations that the gospel was less available or unfavorable to women. Through strong hermeneutics and apologetics, she outlines how Jesus and the gospel writers, unlike their contemporaries, showed good favor towards women and even valued their contributions more than others would in their day. Their eyewitness testimony was often shared before more prominent men. There's a beauty in viewing Jesus through the eyes of women that she is able to highlight. The agape, mercy, and favor of Jesus comes into brighter focus. Another great contribution by McLaughlin.
  
  One complaint about the audiobook is she has a strong British accent when saying words with R sounds that shouldn't be there or with an f sounds in place of a th. It can be distracting. Her cadence also varies, long pauses and then spurts of words. A better rhythm and Cadence would be appreciated. Especially for those that like to listen faster. Overall good, though. Just takes a while to get used to.
• 
  Meggie

  "To look at Jesus through the eyes of women may seem at first like an innately modern project. But when it comes to Jesus's death and resurrection, it's precisely what the Gospel authors invite us to do. What we see through their eyes is not an alternative Jesus, but rather the authentic Jesus, who welcomes both men and women as his disciples, and who is best seem from below." (p. 173). And so goes McLaughlin's thoroughly researched and insightful profile of all the women in the four gospels. She correctly and beautifully highlights how women are so SO integral to the authenticity of the accounts of Jesus, and how the Bible so counter-culturally (for the time) uses women as key characters. As she points out in the quote above, it is hardly a modern project, but simply pointing out the facts as recorded in the gospel.
  
  McLaughlin relies heavily on deeply researched books about the reliability of the gospels (which may send me down a wonderful reading rabbit trail), as well as quotes a great deal of scripture. This book is a nice combination of intellectual learning as well as faith-building personal devotion.
  
  Her writing is clear and easy to read, often repeating: "how do we see Jesus through the eyes of ___ (Biblical female character)?" It keeps the reading focused and simple. While I didn't find her writing in this book quite as captivating as The Secular Creed, this was still a wonderful, growing read.
• 
  Timothy Goldsmith

  Rebecca McLaughlin continues to do a wonderful job writing gospel-oriented books from a fresh and enjoyable angle. The premise that begins this book is whether the pseudepigraphal "Gospel of Mary" is really required to get a clear view of Jesus and his relationship with women?
  McLaughlin's work takes a closer look at the relationship that Jesus has with his mother, female disciples, people he healed and more, looking at not only what they said, but how the writes record these interactions and the profound statement it makes about Jesus and his counter-cultural respect for women.
  Rebecca's books are always an easy read, but there is lots of great content in there, so I'll be rereading, or reviewing my highlights at least!
• 
  Arielle Thorpe

  I didn’t love Rebecca’s writing style which was a bummer because I really liked listening to her live. there were some eye opening parts!! The main thing I didn’t like is that she was arguing against the gospel of Mary, saying that the 4 Gospels are uplifting towards women making it more true than the gospel of Mary showing how make disciples undermined Mary, which is true! Jesus is for women and shows value to them in a way not common back then. But I feel like the Gospel of Mary doesn’t even have much of a say/not credible because it’s considered a gnostic gospel, apocryphal, and not in the Bible or considered self attesting scripture, so I feel like she could have used a more realistic rebuttal!
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  Sam Reader

  Rich, persuasive, comical, and concise. There’s a couple paragraphs in Ch 4 that are pure gold. This book made me run back to my Bible to write in notes—a sign of a great book IMO. A resource I will recommend to many!
  
  McLaughlin is a superb communicator in nearly every format I’ve witnessed (TGC presentations, Knowing Faith Podcast, her books, etc). She speaks directly to the modern day person and welcomes them to come and see the Jesus of the Bible. McLaughlin is a true gift to the Church.