Men — and Women — of Galilee

Women followed Jesus from the earliest times in his ministry. Sometimes we need to read them back into the Bible.

Although the first astronauts were all men, crews going into the skies these days often include both men and women. The Space X Crew 5, which launched to the International Space Station on October 6, 2022, consisted of two men and two women, and one of the women was the commander of flight.

It is, of course, a good thing that such opportunities and responsibilities are open to both sexes, but historically speaking, it has taken a long time to get there.

That seems jarringly clear in another “going into the sky” moment. We’re talking about the ascension, when Jesus was taken up through a cloud into the heavens. As those who witnessed this phenomenon stood, dumbstruck, staring into the sky, two heavenly messengers, specifically identified as men, spoke to them saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” The original Greek underlying “Men of Galilee” is andres Galilaioi, literally, “men, Galileans.” Unlike...