We find in the Bible many famous women—queens, prophets, a judge, notable disciples of Jesus, and co-workers of Paul. Some women have books of the Bible named after them. Others share the spotlight with their also-famous husbands or sons. But there are others whose names the Bible does not reveal. In honour of South African Women’s Month, I want to highlight some of these anonymous heroines of the faith.
The Audacious Canaanite Woman from Tyre/Sidon (Matthew 15:21-28).
This woman dared to talk back to Jesus. While others are generally credited as the first Gentiles to follow Jesus, she could probably claim that honour herself. Her daughter was demon-possessed, and Jesus was in town. She begged Him for help, despite a brush-off from His disciples; even Jesus was very harsh: “I was sent only to the people of Israel! . . . It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.” This is shocking language from the Lord of love, but He might have been testing her faith. She passed that test by quickly replying: “Even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.” She wasn’t demanding! She was begging the Jewish Messiah to give a Gentile girl a break, and the girl was set free.
The Servant Mother-in-Law (Luke 4:38-39).
Perhaps the writers did not even want to describe the healing of a simple fever, in the face of so many more difficult miracles such as blindness, leprosy, paralysis and resurrections. However, her example of starting to serve Jesus immediately after her healing shows that Jesus did not heal her just because of Peter, but because of her own faith. Many women today are not recognized by their name, but rather by the name of their husband, their father, or by the work they do, such as cleaning, laundry, or cooking. Peter’s mother-in-law represents these anonymous women, who are marked by service. Although many did not see her, Jesus saw and received all her efforts. No one is invisible to God!
The Poor but Generous Widow (Luke 21:1-4).
There was a collection box in the Temple where people could make donations. Jesus saw various rich people doing so, and we might guess that they reveled in the attention they received (see Matthew 6:2). But then a widow deposited two copper coins, and Jesus exalted her. “I tell you that this poor woman has put in more than all the others. Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had.”
Alongside these three, there are many other nameless women in the Bible full of wisdom, audacity, generosity, and more, who walked by faith, were seen, accepted, healed and saved by the love and power of Jesus, and carried on God’s plan to redeem the world. Nameless but with great influence!
What about you? Are you a woman of faith who is working side by side with God to complete His plan of salvation?