<\/p>
Where\u2019d the Galilean women of Matthew 27:55 come from? \u00a0The only other references to a group of women, the only uses of the plural of gune <\/em> occur in Matthew 14:21 and 15:38. \u00a0They are the women included among the 5000 and 4000 who are fed in the \u201cdesolate place\u201d near the sea of Galilee. \u00a0In both cases, the women are associated with children, and in both cases Matthew includes them as an apparent afterthought: \u201cbesides women and children.\u201d \u00a0He\u2019s setting us up: The women are not an afterthought at all, but at the climax take a central place in the story. <\/p>\n The hint that the women began following Jesus since those meals is strengthened by Matthew\u2019s reference to \u201cMagadan\u201d or \u201cMagdala\u201d in 15:39, the hometown of Mary. <\/p>\n What does this mean? \u00a0Several things seem to be going on. <\/p>\n First, the women begin following Jesus after sharing a meal with Him. \u00a0In context, the feeding of the 5000 is a counterpoint to the macabre feast of Herod in 14:1-12. \u00a0Jesus is the true King of Israel, who feeds His people, including women and children. \u00a0These women are His royal attendants, a collective \u201cqueen\u201d who stand to serve the King of Israel as He ascends His cross-throne. <\/p>\n Second, the scenes of the feedings are reminiscent of the feedings in the wilderness following Israel\u2019s exodus from Egypt. \u00a0In both cases, the place where the people are fed is \u201cdesolate\u201d (14:15; 15:33). \u00a0The women are the Israel that follows Jesus from the wilderness to Jerusalem, perhaps the \u201csecond generation\u201d that follows the new Joshua to the promised land. <\/p>\n Third, these women are associated with children, and being a child is an altogether good thing for Jesus. \u00a0Perhaps the women were there when Jesus placed a child in front of His disciples as an object lesson (18:1-6). \u00a0Even if they weren\u2019t, they got the lesson. <\/p>\n Fourth, the women who follow Jesus serve Him (27:55). \u00a0Again, they have learned a lesson of discipleship, one originally directed to James and John, whose mother is among the group of women at the cross: \u201cwhoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant\u201d (20:26, and see context). <\/p>\n Finally, Galilee is of course an out of the way place in first-century Israel. \u00a0What good thing can come from Galilee? \u00a0The women are doubly disqualified \u2013 they are women, and they are from Galilee. \u00a0But the people who sit in darkness see a great light (4:15-16; the women sit through the darkness of the cross [27:61], and see an angel like lightning, 28:4, 5). <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where\u2019d the Galilean women of Matthew 27:55 come from? \u00a0The only other references to a group of women, the only uses of the plural of gune occur in Matthew 14:21 and 15:38. \u00a0They are the women included among the 5000 and 4000 who are fed in the \u201cdesolate place\u201d near the sea of Galilee. \u00a0In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-nt-matthew"],"yoast_head":"\n