CERTAIN WOMEN.....called of Christ

 LUKE 24:1-101 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?"
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 Saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest
10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

Who are these "certain other/women"? Luke seems to be the gospel writer who uses that description more than the other writers. What does it mean? Why is Luke and the others, using the word "certain" to describe these women who were disciples and apostles of Jesus? Did they not merit to be called disciples and apostles? So I had to find a dictionary to set the record straight.

There are a few definitions for certain: they are:

Definite;fixed, as in to set aside or set apart
Established beyond doubt or question
Having or showing confidence; assured
Named but not know or previously mentioned
Perceptible, noticeable.

 I would have to say that each definition is a good description and a probable character trait of the women who followed Jesus, then and now. We are set apart, established in the faith, unshakable, and having confidence in the presence of our God. He has given us new names and we are noticed and known by Him. I believe that the word certain may be used to distinguish rather than diminish. So of course I did a word study of the words certain woman; I found a list of women, unnamed, but then we do know their names. They represent us. 

CODY F MILLER

1. The woman with the issue of blood:

·         Mark 5:25-34

25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

Do you know her, have you been her? She is an emblem of one having a really bad patch in her life; she is sick, maybe homeless, family abandoned her, single, widow or estranged from marriage. How many of us have suffered from    

pain and sickness that won't be healed. 

Mark 5:27-29 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Jesus "felt" this woman's touch. Out of all of the people pushing and shoving and touching him, he felt her touch. He turned around and blessed her, he forgave her sins, offered her his peace and then gave her a new name: Daughter.

2. Greek,  Syrophenician by nation; A mother in distress 

·     Mark 7:25

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

Wow this record is so powerful. Jesus has just begun his mission, and his goal to reach out to the "children of Israel". She had heard of him, and traveled a great distance to ask in faith, for him to heal her daughter. 

Mark 7:27-29

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

This is a pretty intense exchange between Jesus and this mother. Who are the children that he is referring to, the children of the kingdom. And who are the dogs, this woman of Greece, often called strangers by the Jews. The Lord challenges her sense of humility and desperation and love for her daughter. She acknowledged that yes she was unworthy and undeserving of nothing but the crumbs, but crumbs she would take.

3.Mary Magdalene is named for a specific purpose, and she is lumped with other certain women who had “spirits” exorcised.

·         Luke 8:2

2 And certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of who went seven devils, 

There is a stigma attached to anyone who were "vexed" of devil spirits. Most of these maladies were connected with certain mental illness, such as depression, schizophrenia; and other personality disorders which caused people to act and behave irrationally. This was a time when abnormal behavior would label a woman a witch. 

·       4  Luke 10:38 (Mary and Martha of Bethenay)

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

These two women may seem like the perfect models of the women who would follow the Lord and do his work. But they had their issues too, possible sibling rivalry, disappointment in the way life has turned out. Martha seemed a person who wanted to impress the Lord with her hospitality. Mary seemed liked the daydreaming little sister. The Lord helped to unite them in love so that they could seek that "better part". 

 5 This could just be a random woman in the crowd, but this woman was a follower of Christ.

·        Luke 11:27

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

  Acts 9:36

36 ¶Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and alms deeds which she did. 

·      Acts 16:1

1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 

·       Acts 17:34

34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the

Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

I love these women, and I know that the Savior loved them. He is an equal opportunity Savior for all who come unto him in faith and  he will accept that. My own testimony has been strengthened because of this. I have felt at times, that my relationship with Christ has been too new, not long enough, but then I have at times compared myself to others. But I have been impressed that the Lord is pleased with me, that my relationship with him is now in a stage where I have been introduced and presented, that my calling and election is sure. I have felt that the Lord loves me and appreciates my choice to follow him and become one of those certain women. 

Though we may see ourselves as weak and simple, we all share a noble heritage and can develop a faith that is equal to that of remarkable, faithful women who have gone before us. We have a vital role to play in helping build the kingdom of God and preparing for the Lord’s coming. In fact, the Lord cannot accomplish His work without the help of His daughters. Because of that, the Lord expects us to increase our offering. Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society  julie b beck

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE