Women in the New Testament
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the importance of women in the leadership of the early Church and give different perspectives on this using the writings of Paul.
Key learning points
- Women have a significant importance in the New Testament writings.
- Women were present at both the Resurrection and at Pentecost.
- Paul's letters are used to support a variety of views around women's leadership in the Church today.
- Junia was a female leader that Paul wrote to, but her name was changed to a male one in later translations of the Bible.
Keywords
Apostles - early Christian leaders responsible for spreading the message of Jesus
The early Church - the Christian community in the first few centuries after the life of Jesus Christ
Junia - a woman mentioned by Paul as ‘well known among the apostles’, depending on the translation
Paul - an apostle who spread Christianity and authored many of the New Testament letters
Pentecost - the event when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers, marking the Church's birth
Common misconception
That Paul's letters always oppose the leadership of women in Christianity.
Some letters can suggest this, but others commend women in various leadership positions in the Church.
Teacher tip
Other women commended for their work for the Church in Paul's letters that can be explored in more depth are Lydia, Phoebe, Priscilla and Aquila.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'Almah' is a Hebrew word meaning 'young woman' or ' ', depending on translations.
Q2.Matthew links his story of the birth of __________ to the prophecy of Isaiah about the birth of the Messiah.
Q3.Mary agreed to bear a child whilst still a .
Q4.The is a set of Christian prayer beads.
Q5.Sacred __________, which can help Christians to connect more deeply with their religion when they pray, are called icons.
Q6.The idea that women should be equal to men is central to ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The early Christian leaders responsible for spreading the message of Jesus are known as the .
Q2.The biblical event where the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers, marking the Church's birth, is called the .
Q3.Before his conversion, Paul __________ Jesus' followers.
Q4.Paul had a conversion experience on the road to .
Q5.In his letter to the Romans, Paul greets Andronicus and .
Q6.Which of these statements about Paul's letters is accurate?
To help you plan your 9 religious education lesson on: Women in the New Testament, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 religious education lesson on: Women in the New Testament, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Matriarchs: are the women of the Bible victors or victims? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.