There were several distinct groups of women who interacted with Jesus during His ministry. After a detailed examination of the material in the Gospels (apart from the Birth narratives) that refers to the mother of Jesus, we will proceed to investigate Jesus' relationship to Mary and Martha, and finally to study those women who travelled with Jesus and played a crucial role in the events surrounding His death. By examining the status and place of these women in Jesus' earthly ministry, we will perhaps discover the background for and the explanation of the new roles women assumed in the primitive Christian community.

Mother Mary, Jesus' Disciple

The credal phrase, ‘Born of the Virgin Mary’, rightly emphasizes that Mary's importance in the NT is due to her relationship to her Son who is the focus of the Gospels. Thus, we must recognize that Mary is not mentioned as a result of an independent interest in her person, but because of the important role she played in Jesus' life. Our concern here will be to examine those passages that may reveal something of the attitudes of the adult Jesus toward His mother.

The Wedding Feast at Cana – Jn 2.1–12

The historical value of Jn 2.1–12 is frequently questioned and thus a brief discussion of the major problems this passage raises for the historian is in order.