Did you know that 200,000 Nepali women and girls have been kidnapped or sold by destitute parents into India’s brothels and 12-14,000 more are trafficked each year? Why does the world treat women and little girls this way? The world is desperately in need of a fresh look at Jesus’ treatment of women. The Women Jesus Loved is one such look.

Chapter One tells the story of “The Woman Who Wept at His Feet” and it begins this way:

She stood at the edge of the crowd. She had heard about Jesus, his miracles and his teaching, and she desperately wanted to see and hear him. She had so much she needed to say, so much to tell about her life, and so many questions to ask, but what chance did she have of ever getting close enough to talk with him and have him speak personally to her? And if she did, what would she say? More importantly, what would Jesus say to her for the way she had lived?

Listen to Stories of The Master episode “The Women Who Wept at His Feet”

Shame, sin, revulsion, guilt, hopelessness, and mercy. You can read her story in its entirety and other stories in our newest book, The Women Jesus Loved – an imaginative and biblically-based exploration of familiar stories in the New Testament where Jesus interacted with women.

Here is what one reader has said:

The Women Jesus Loved drew on my heart strings like no other. I was drawn into each woman’s struggle, desperation, and plight that in many ways is still being fought today. Each story was told with such detail and emotion, a story of the faith of women and how their faith moved Jesus, the real Jesus,  the one who loved and still loves and cherishes women.  Jesus’ compassion for women is just as stunning today as it was 2000 years ago!  Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing this truth with us!

               – Judi Noble Executive Director-Eagle’s Wings

The Women Jesus Loved will be released mid February. Pre-ordered copies are limited, order yours today.

A trendy discussion, and belief, for some people is that Jesus loved and married Mary Magdalene. This has been unfortunate for two reasons.

First, there is no historical evidence for such a marriage. None! Zero! A recent, “spectacular manuscript find” that talked about Jesus’ wife and that received much press turned out to be a modern hoax.

But second, something much more serious is at stake – the revolutionary attitude and actions of Jesus toward women has been obscured. In a world filled with men who have treated and continue to treat women as second-class citizens at best and as objects of pleasure or property at worst, Jesus stands apart. Jesus loved women with the liberating love of God.

This month we are releasing our latest book – The Women Jesus Loved – an imaginative and biblically-based exploration of familiar stories in the New Testament where Jesus interacted with women. The fact that he interacted with them at all was astonishing in his time, but the way in which he spoke with them, the mercy he gave, and the importance he bestowed upon them revealed a message the world needed to hear and still needs to hear – God loves women as much as he loves men, and women are equally valuable in his eyes and must be treated with equal respect and honor.

For those familiar with the stories of Jesus, this will not come as a surprise and hardly seem revolutionary. But if we could time-travel back to the ancient world or even transport ourselves to some parts of our world, we would find Jesus’ attitude toward women a bold departure from many cultural and religious norms.

This is what the world needs to hear because the way the world treats women and little girls is shocking, depressing, and alarming. Here is just one fact: 50,000 little girls are domestic servants in Morocco and some of them are made to work 16 hours a day, sleep on the floor, and eat only scraps. Why does the world treat women and little girls this way?

Many things can and must be done about this and the multitude of other evils that are inflicted upon women and little girls. The most important is that the world must take a fresh look at Jesus. The Women Jesus Loved is one such look. The stories in this book are taken from my larger list of stories that I call Stories of the Master, my retelling of the story of Jesus and the stories he told using historical and cultural details that we modern people often miss, but details which make the stories come alive.

My prayer for all who read is that they would see Jesus with fresh eyes and come to experience his saving love just as the women in these stories did.

My prayer also is that God would use this book to liberate women – and men – from the suffering and slaveries that still exist in the world today.

The book will be released mid February. You can pre-order your copy today.