Believers can make a tragic mistake by undervaluing a particular group of people.
Text: Matthew 27:55-28:10
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2025 CrossTalk Global
Brian: I don't typically attend Saturday yard sales, but I recently came across an article that might change my mind. Where I live, it's common for people selling their homes or spring cleaning to to put unwanted items by the street to see if they can make a little money selling them to strangers. Usually the items sold are junk and go for just a few coins. Typically, but not always. A schoolteacher in New Jersey purchased a moldy old card table off a stranger's lawn for just $25. Appraisers later identified it as a creation by the famed cabinet makers John and Thomas Seymour, and the teacher sold it at an auction for $541,000. A Chinese style porcelain vase, thought to be a cheap imitation, was purchased at a Florida yard sale for almost nothing. But when it was discovered to be Imperial porcelain from the Qianlong dynasty, it sold for 1.2 million at auction. Homeowners can make a tragic mistake by undervaluing the items within their homes. And we can make the same mistake with people. We can devalue or marginalize individuals for many reasons, including their education, their personality, age, ethnicity, wealth, family connections, and even their gender. Perhaps this is why Matthew, in the closing chapters of his Gospel, makes some striking and countercultural observations about an often undervalued member of his society and ours. Join Nathan Norman, Vicki Hitskiss and Kent Edwards as they explore who Jesus valued in Matthew chapter 27 and 28 as he walked towards the cross. Welcome to Crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitskiss and Nathan Norman continue their discussion through the Gospel of Matthew. And if you have a Bible handy, turn to Matthew chapter 27 and 28 as we join their discussion.
Kent: Nathan, Vicki, have you ever seen people undervalued or put another way, just face discrimination?
Nathan: I can remember one of our crosstalk cohorts. It was made up of two distinct people groups. Group A was more highly educated. Group B was not equally intelligent, equally hard working. But Group A really looked down at Group B. They didn't have any positions of power within the church or the Christian community. They didn't have any real say, and they were often thought as lesser brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. Now, ironically, Group B had bigger churches, so take that for what it was, right? But they were undervalued. So meanwhile they've got these large churches. People are coming to faith in Christ regularly. Group A's is struggling, but they have more education and more material means. And so they would discriminate against group B.
Kent: That's within the kingdom of God. I was talking just the other day with someone who grew up in India, and you may be familiar with the fact that India has had for centuries a caste system where people are valued by what caste they were born into. And he was sharing quite openly and sharing the hurt that he felt because as a person, he could not be accepted by other people. Couldn't get ahead with jobs, couldn't get ahead socially, couldn't get ahead with education. He was put into a group and was stuck there, and no one in society would allow him to leave. That's tough.
Vicki: I felt like that as a woman. Sometimes I'm thinking about a board I was on and I would come up with an idea, and there was one guy in particular, and he did not like me on that board, and he wouldn't even acknowledge I was there. Or he would just downplay the idea. And then there was another guy on the board and he'd pick up my idea and he'd talk about it and he'd talk about the good in it. And then the guy that didn't like me on the thing would say, well, Greg's idea does have merit. That sounds a lot like my idea.
Nathan: Oh, my gosh. That's like a Greek tragedy right there.
Kent: Well, you know, it's not uncommon through history, world history, all nations, including our own, that where women are often placed on a lower level, other people in society. It's sad, but true. That's why I was surprised that in the Old Testament there's a surprisingly high value placed on women. For example, in Genesis, we see that male and female were both made equally in the image of God. That's countercultural. And this is carried over into Old Testament laws. According to the Old Testament, mothers are to be honored in Exodus 20, they are to be feared in Leviticus 19, and to be obeyed in Deuteronomy 21. In fact, in the Old Testament, women participated in religious gatherings for worship, just like the men, and brought offerings for sacrifices in the same manner. In fact, as we read through the stories of the Old Testament, many women are featured, aren't they?
Vicki: My little Bible study group, four of us, we're reading a book by Alice Matthews. It's out of print now, but it's still available. A woman God can use, and she only talks about women. And it's amazing what women have done in the Bible. One of them, Deborah, there are a series. I may butcher this in real life, but here's what I recall happening. There are a series of evil, bad, awful kings. And then Deborah, who is a prophetess, came up and she like turned the place around. God used her. She was good and she was mighty. And it was refreshing, we thought, to have this powerful woman come and rule Israel.
Nathan: Yeah, yeah. I'm going to give the guy answer and then I'll give you a real answer after that. But you know, you got Jael in Judges who put a tent spike through the evil king Sisera's head while he slept. Right. That's why I don't ever want to over define masculinity or femininity. People are like, oh, you know women, they're really thoughtful and think about other people's feelings. And then you got her.
Kent: Some of them have ted pegs, right?
Nathan: Oh my goodness. But you have Miriam Moses sister, right. She was a prophetess. She rescued Moses from death. She made sure that he was adopted by a family and it turns out to be Pharaoh's daughter. And afterwards, when she's reunited with her brother, she leads the women of Israel in worship and dancing in the Lord. She has a beautiful song recorded in the book of Exodus.
Kent: Yeah, she does. I think of Huldah, a woman less prominent but a prophetess that's mentioned both in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. She was a woman who brought good news to King Josiah, letting him know that because of his repentance, God would spare him from witnessing the disaster about to befall Israel. Women played prominent roles in the Old Testament, however, over time, there was a tendency under rabbinical teaching, the scribes and the Pharisees, there was a tendency to give men more prominence and to assign women inferior roles. This included restrictions on the roles they could occupy within the temple and the synagogue. It limited their ability to be educated and even didn't allow them to give legal testimony anymore. In fact, by the time of Christ, every Jewish man, upon waking in the morning, would start their day thanking God for his many blessings. And they would express gratitude for the gift of sight, the ability to dress themselves, the ability to stand, and for not being made a gentile, a slave, or born a woman.
Vicki: No.
Kent: And that was repeated by every Jewish male every morning. That's why the careful reader can be caught off guard by the surprisingly prominent role that women played in Matthew's Gospel. Matthew, a Jew who understood how men and women treated each other, surprises us, especially at the End of Jesus life when he breaks social stereotypes in his treatment of women. Do you remember chapter 26? Do you remember what happened there?
Vicki: Well, if we start at verse six, it says, while Jesus was in Bethany, in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar. Oh, I remember the story. Yeah. We've been talking about a very expensive perfume which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. And Jesus defended the woman, saying, she has done a beautiful thing to me when she poured this perfume on my body. She did it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.
Kent: Yeah, that's how Jesus defends this woman. Do you remember how the disciples responded when she was pouring this perfume on Jesus?
Vicki: Yeah, they thought it was ridiculous. It was like taking money and burning it. They were like, what are you doing instead?
Kent: Let's give it to the poor. Don't pour it on Jesus.
Vicki: Yeah, they were too.
Nathan: Don't waste it on him. He's not worth it.
Kent: Yeah, but Jesus rebukes them. He says, no, this is a beautiful thing. It's going to be told through all the history of the church. This is such a loving thing. Jesus made it clear that this woman had more spiritual insight and love for him than all 12 of those men combined. Isn't that startling?
Vicki: Yes. And indeed, here we are talking about her today.
Kent: That's a high value of women. And do you remember how Jesus male disciples responded when Jesus asked them to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Vicki: They fell asleep, every single one of them.
Kent: And Jesus kept going back. Can you not pray? Wake up.
Vicki: Wake up. Come pray with me. Yeah.
Kent: And they failed miserably. Not a very flattering picture of those men following Jesus. And what happened when Judas arrived in the morning in the Garden of Gethsemane with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs? What happened?
Nathan: The male disciples all ran away.
Vicki: They fled.
Kent: They wanted out of there and fled. Matthew says they folded like a house of cards. They had no backbone. That is not a flattering picture of these male disciples. Is.
Nathan: Is not.
Kent: And Matthew is giving us. He's showing us the difference between the men and women, Matthew.
Nathan: Yeah, I was there. I'm not going to mention. Just maybe you're going to forget that. I was, but I wasn't. I witnessed the whole thing.
Kent: And what happened when Jesus was arrested, taken to a kangaroo court with false evidence being made against him, The Only perfect person to walk this planet was sentenced to death. Spat on, punched, slapped and insulted. And what happened while this was going on? How did Peter the Rock respond?
Vicki: He swore he cursed. He said he didn't even know who Jesus was.
Kent: Not a very flattering picture of this. Male disciples. And Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion, flogged, stripped, mocked, nailed to a cross and publicly humiliated. Do you remember his last words?
Nathan: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Kent: Truer words were never spoken. Not only did God the Father at that moment abandoned Jesus, but so also did his disciples. Matthew doesn't mention any of the twelve disciples as being present. None of them were there during his time of need. But do you know who was there in chapter 27, verse 55 and following?
Vicki: There were women there. They were watching from a distance. They'd followed him to Galilee to care for his needs. There was Mary Magdalene. Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
Kent: As Matthew says, there were many women and no men. That's a startling image, isn't it? But it doesn't end there. In chapter 28, we read that after the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Notice the men didn't go, but the women went. And what happened next?
Nathan: It says there was a violent earthquake. For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
Kent: I kind of wonder if Matthew didn't have a sense of humor. Here. Here are the soldiers trained for battle. Fearsome warriors. They are so afraid they shook and became like dead men. But not the women. The women were not afraid. The women were the ones with courage. And the angel said to the women.
Vicki: In verse five, he said, don't be afraid. He is not here. He has risen. Just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. And then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead.
Kent: Let's pause and just think of the honor that these women are given. You will be the first to come and see the empty tomb. You will see the place where Jesus is not. And then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead. They are given the huge honor of being able to inform the disciples who didn't come to the tomb that he had risen and they did. They started to go in verse eight.
Vicki: So they hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy. Boy, they were pumping full of chemicals, don't you know? And they ran to tell his disciples. And then suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. And they came to him. They clasped his feet and they worshiped him.
Kent: Isn't that another huge honor to be.
Vicki: The first to see him?
Kent: Jesus comes, comes to these women in a personal visit. Not only were they honored to know about his resurrection, see the evidence of his resurrection, but he came to them in person. They came so that they could put their arms around him, touch him, express their love for him. Do you think Jesus valued these women?
Nathan: Absolutely.
Kent: Jesus gave the two Marys an even greater honor than he had previously by appearing to them first. And only later would Jesus appear to the men in Galilee. Look, as I make this observation, as Jesus is walking towards the tomb, Matthew is demonstrating that these women were at least as faithful in their discipleship as Jesus. Eleven disciples, wouldn't you agree?
Vicki: Oh, at least.
Kent: And that he entrusted them to carry out his purpose, to share the most important message in history. That Jesus died for our sins and rose again. And they were entrusted to pass on that message to the other disciples. What Matthew is demonstrating is that unlike the culture of his time, Jesus valued both men and women equally. He demonstrates that in the closing chapters of Matthew. But we also see it in the growth of the early church. You remember in Acts 1, the women joined the disciples in prayer, received the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, men and women. In Acts 12 we read that the center of the church in Jerusalem was at the home of Mary, the mother of John, Mark. And by the way, who was Paul's first convert in Europe.
Vicki: Do you remember Lydia? She was the seller of purple.
Kent: Yeah. In Acts 16. And remember that Paul sent Priscilla along with her husband to teach Apollos the full truth of the gospel?
Nathan: Yeah, in the Greek. I mean, it's crazy because it's Priscilla and Aquila, which. That has significance linguistically. You always put the name of the most important person first. And you see that with Paul and Barnabas. Originally it was Barnabas and Paul. And then as Paul kind of becomes more important, it becomes Paul and Barnabas. And Luke is making a very important point there. Like Paul is starting to rise above in level of importance than Barnabas. And Luke does the same thing. Priscilla and Aquila.
Kent: In Acts 16, Philip's four daughters, all prophesy women, have a prominent role in the new Testament after the resurrection. And that's why Paul could say to the Galatians in chapter three, he says.
Vicki: In Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who are baptized in Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew, nor Gentile, nor slave, nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Kent: That's a powerful statement. One of the observations we can make as we follow the Gospel of Matthew all the way to the empty tomb is that the women who loved Jesus played an equally important role as the men in the Gospel of Matthew and in the church today. Men and women are equally loved by Jesus. Men and women are equally used by Jesus. Despite what their culture and our culture may tell us, men and women are equally valued by Jesus. May we do the same, and may it be demonstrated in our churches.
Brian: In our churches, often men seem to be more valued than women. They preach, they're elders, they lead. But in the Bible, Matthew demonstrates that women who follow Jesus are at least as faithful in their discipleship as men. And Jesus himself entrusted women to carry out his purposes. We need to value what God values. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement for to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers together, let's bring God's Word to life, to our lives. This week, the crosstalk podcast is a production of crosstalk Global, equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more to support the work of this ministry, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. this summer, we're training biblical communicators in India and Kenya. Help us train the next generation by clicking Donate in the show notes and making a donation of any size. You can also support this show by sharing it on social media and telling your friends. Tune in next Friday as we conclude our discussion through the Gospel of Matthew. Be sure to join us.
Nathan: Okay, so two things. One is, I have to imagine in the conversation John had with the other apostles, which ultimately led to him writing his gospel, this was one of the conversations. He's like, and furthermore, I was there at the foot of the cross, too. I was there. And then one of the probably Peter says to him, like, yeah, but you're basically one of the girls anyways. And then everyone's like, dude, you can't say that anymore. You can't say that anymore. Right? The other thing more seriously, I really appreciate this. Dr. Richard Rigsby from Talbot My Hebrew professor, may he rest in peace and rise in glory. He had pointed out when we were translating through Genesis, in Genesis 3, about the enmity that God put not just between the woman's seed and the serpent, but between the woman and the serpent. And he said, if you look at history, women have been oppressed and mistreated by every single culture. And every single culture has innovated new ways to oppress and hurt women. And he said, and I think it goes all the way back to the fall. Satan has a particular hatred for women. He has throughout all of history because he knew through the woman would come the head crusher, the one who would undo his work. And after Christ, every single woman is a reminder of his ultimate defeat from the seed of the woman. And so Satan, he says, Satan can have a man any day, he can destroy a man every day, but he has a particular hatred for women. And that makes a lot of sense. I mean, you think of the innovative ways that our culture demonizes women, and even in a time of post feminism, how we still try to hurt, demonize, abuse, mistreat, control women.
Kent: Your discussion just reminds me of a true story. And you may want to or may not want to.
Nathan: I'm still recording it. Keep it going.
Kent: Many years ago, in one of my very first churches, I was talking after the service to a number of people and some of the elders came up to me and they were visibly upset, and I'm. What's the problem? And they said, your wife is not submissive. And I thought you're like, tell her. What are you talking about? How would you know? Because women are not supposed to be submissive to men. They're supposed to be maybe submissive to their husbands, but not. What are you talking about? And they said, she's not submissive because we were having a conversation. She came in and joined that conversation. She came and joined that conversation as an equal.
Nathan: Holy smokes.
Kent: And I was quite annoyed, as you couldn't understandably. But one thing was clear. They undervalued a beautiful, intelligent, competent woman.
Nathan: Wow.
Kent: That's a true story.
Nathan: I can't even. I like. Yeah, that's.
Kent: She came and considered herself an equal.
Vicki: What?
Nathan: Yeah. Show me the chapter and verse on that one.
Kent: Evangelical church.
Vicki: Wow.
Kent: Born again Christians.
Nathan: Yeah. I'm not surprised, though.
Kent: I. I just. I was.
Nathan: I'm not surprised.
Kent: I was so insulted. Obviously. Still am. May we do the same and may that be demonstrated in our churches.
Vicki: You said that perfectly. Just say it louder. Unless you can turn up the volume.
Nathan: Just say it louder.
Kent: Which part?
Vicki: May we do the same? May it be demonstrated in our churches.
Kent: May we do the same, and may it be demonstrated in our churches.
Nathan: Now say it like a revivalist. May we do the same, and may it be demonstrated in our churches.