Women Jesus Lifted, Healed, & Empowered

Welcome back to Malaysia Talks, where we talk all things uniquely you. Continuing on for the month of March, yes again, we are already here. Slow the time down please.

I know that's not going to happen, but I'm hopeful, always hopeful, but moving on here to our episode number two for the month of March.

And as I said in the first episode, this is considered to be women's history month.

And the Lord led me to read the book of Luke as I mentioned back on around the end of 2025. So October going into November and at the time I didn't know why, but as I finished reading, it truly hit me.

We pull the women that I've talked about here in this chapter, pull those women out and share their life of faith, their life of obedience to the will of God.

And so that is what we focused on during our last episode. We looked at three women in the Bible that were mentioned in the book of Luke and of course that's Mary, Elizabeth and Anna.

And how their obedience and faith, discernment and perseverance set the stage for the arrival of Jesus.

In today's episode, we're going to look at how women were ministered to by Jesus, women he healed, he defended, restored and commissioned.

Jesus breaking cultural barriers and affirming the dignity and worth of women in ways that were revolutionary or his time.

We'll start out and look with chapter seven verses 36 through 50.

If you recall, this is a story of the woman who came to the Pharisees home and anointed Jesus. And so this was a woman who had a reputation for sin.

Her actually doing this was considered to be an act of boldness. She weeps at Jesus' feet, wipes them with her hair and anoints him with perfume.

Simon we know was against this. Jesus defend her publicly against his judgment. He refrained her identity not by her past but by her love and forgiveness.

Jesus declares, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. And that's in verse 50.

This woman teaches us that no one is too broken or too far gone for Jesus. Her love flowed from the forgiveness she received.

He didn't just forgive her though. He also restored her. He restored her dignity in this moment.

In chapter eight, Luke also mentions women that traveled with Jesus. He mentions women such as Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna.

These women financially supported Jesus' ministry, which we know is extraordinary because it was not cheap even back then to do the work of the ministry.

And so financially having women who were of status to be able to do that speaks volumes to women and the ability to be able to be successfully financially.

It's a blessing. They travel with him, learn from him and served alongside the disciples.

Luke emphasizes that they were healed and then empowered to serve. These women weren't just spectators. They were partners in ministry and Luke shows us that discipleship includes women fully participating in the mission of God.

We also see in chapter 13 the woman that was bent over who Jesus called daughter. This woman was crippled by an evil spirit for 18 years when she entered this synagogue.

Jesus saw her. And in that moment, he called her forward and healed her. If you recall, this was done on the Sabbath day.

And the religious leaders truly objected to something like this. However, Jesus publicly confronted them and he called her a daughter of Abraham, a title affirming her covenant identity in God.

Jesus not only healed her body, he restored her status. He insisted that she belonged and that she mattered and that her healing was worth disrupting the system.

Other women that were referenced in the book of Luke include the women at the cross and at the tune of Jesus. The chapters here we'll look at is chapter 23 with verse 27 verse 49 and verses 55 through 56 along with Luke chapter 24 verses 1 through 10.

These women follow Jesus to the cross when many others plead. They prepare spices for his burial, which we see as an act of devotion. They are the first to witness the empty tomb. They are the first to receive the resurrection message and they are the first to proclaim it to all of the apostles.

Luke makes it very clear that women were the first evangelist of the resurrection. God entrusted them with the most important announcement in his history that he was to come again.

This sets the stage also people for Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and of course him rising again on the third day.

Thank you Lord, not going to get into April's message or April's podcast episodes, but stay tuned stay tuned stay tuned.

But as we close this podcast episode from the forgiven woman to the healed woman from the disciples who traveled with Jesus to the women who proclaimed his resurrection, Luke shows us that Jesus consistently lifted, honored and empowered women.

As I close, I always want to pray for those who might be listening. Father, I thank you for the many women that Jesus healed and are healing restored and are restoring and commissioned and are commissioning may we carry the same boldness, devotion and faith help us to see people the way Jesus sees them and to honor the dignity of every person.

I thank you for what you're doing in our lives from this day forward and your son Jesus name we pray amen and amen listen, I pray that you have been blessed by these two podcast episodes this month again looking at the women of faith, obedience and perseverance in the first podcast episode and then looking here now at the women that supported Jesus, the women that he healed, the women that he restored.

And he restored and also commissioned here in this podcast episode again, I pray you've been blessed by it tune in for the month of April as I kind of mentioned a moment ago looking at the resurrection and the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and also being mindful of how we can remain secure in him. All right.

This is Melissa talks where we talk all things uniquely you until next time bye.