A Woman Jesus Can Teach

I used this book for our Women's group at church. We all learned a lot about women in the New Testament. There is information in this book that I have never seen elsewhere. We also had some very meaningful discussions. I would highly recommend this book for women's groups.

I am very grateful this little book came into my life. I have found so much excitement in the teachings Alice Mathews presents to us. I am using this book as a foundation for a devotional group of women I am facilitating at our church. The group becomes animated as we explore the teachings and learn "the whole story" (background and cultural related) along with the history of each woman. We can only concentrate on one chapter at a time so we can savor the information and move our group through it. The Bible has never been so personal to me as it is related through these women and their relationships to Jesus.

Whenever I have studied the women in the Bible, I have learned about Sarah and Hannah,etc., but in this small, but impressive book they aren't included. Author and teacher Alice Mathews brings to life named and unnamed women in the New Testament by exploring how and why Jesus responded to them in the ways he chose to. In the preface she wrote: "But as we moved into Jesus' earthly life and ministry, I felt less and less at ease with the Jesus I met in John's gospel. I wanted the collegiants in my class to worship this Jesus and give their lives to Him. But He said and did strange things. He sounded rude to his mother." In this way she examines some of the bewildering ways of Jesus, and joins us in pondering the gospels. For me, this is a slow read, with 4 questions for either personal reflection or group discussion at the end of each chapter. When I hope to be teachable in my faith, I open "A Woman Jesus Can Teach" and savor one chapter at a time. In the chapter about the Canaanite woman, Mathews writes: "Take heart. A little bit of faith is still faith. A drop of water is water every bit as much as a reservoir of water." Later in that chapter she concludes: "A nameless Canaanite woman...reminds us that in our crisis experiences, we can hang on and trust God because He is the only one who is trustworthy." The study group I participated in opted not to use this book, as for many it seemed too much work. They wished for light, quick reading. But for my personal study, I am glad it has a place on my shelf.