Jesus Establishes the Women's Corps 

Jesus did many things that were amazing, but one of the most astonishing acts performed by the Master during his time on earth was his unexpected announcement on the evening of January 16th, 29 CE. He declared that the following day, ten women would be chosen to be dedicated to the ministerial work of the kingdom. Accordingly, Jesus asked David Zebedee to send messengers to Bethsaida to call ten devout women who had previously served in the administration of the encampment surrounding the kingdom’s first hospital.

Although these women had listened to the teachings given to the young evangelists, they never dreamed that Jesus would commission them to teach the gospel and to care for the sick. The ten women who were subsequently elected and appointed by Jesus were: Susanna, the daughter of the former chazan of the Nazareth synagogue; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, (steward of Herod Antipas); Elizabeth, the daughter of a wealthy Jew from Tiberias and Sepphoris; Martha, the older sister of Andrew and Peter; Rachel, the sister-in-law of Jude, Jesus' brother; Nasanta, the daughter of Elman, a Syrian physician; Milcha, a cousin of the Apostle Thomas; Ruth, the eldest daughter of Matthew Levi; Celta, the daughter of a Roman centurion; and Agaman, a widow from Damascus. Later on, Jesus added two more women to this group: Mary Magdalene and Rebecca, the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea.

When Jesus designated these initial ten women for the purpose of teaching the gospel and ministering, he delivered an emancipation proclamation that forever liberated women for all time. From that moment onward, men were no longer to view women as spiritually inferior. This announcement came as a profound shock, even to the twelve apostles. Despite having heard the Master declare on numerous occasions that "in the kingdom of heaven, there is no distinction of wealth or poverty, freedom or servitude, male or female, for all are equally the children of God," they were utterly astounded when he suggested formally commissioning these ten women as religious teachers and even allowing them to travel with the group.

Jesus authorized these women to establish their own organization and instructed Judas, as treasurer for the apostles, to provide funds and pack animals for their mission. Susanna was elected as their leader and Joanna became their treasurer. From then on, they funded themselves and never again relied on the apostolic group for financial support.

The entire nation was stirred by this event, with Jesus' enemies capitalizing on it for their own purposes. However, the women who believed in the good news remained steadfastly supportive of their chosen sisters and expressed unwavering approval of this long-overdue acknowledgment of women's role in religious work. The apostles themselves initially embraced this liberation of women and granted them rightful recognition after Jesus' departure.

The women's corps were effective in their ministry and eventually expanded their efforts by training an additional fifty women in home visitation and ministering to the sick and afflicted. Perpetua, Simon Peter's wife, became a member of this group and led the enlarged women's work under Abner. Other notable members included the wives of Philip and Matthew, as well as the mother of James and John. Perpetua remained with Peter, accompanying him on his missionary journeys, and she met a tragic fate when she was fed to wild beasts in the arena on the day of Peter's crucifixion in Rome.

In the early days of the Christian church, women who served as teachers and ministers were known as deaconesses and received widespread acceptance. However, despite Paul's theoretical acceptance of women’s rightful place as evangelists, he was not able to fully incorporate them into his own attitude and found it challenging to put them into practice personally. Likewise, the apostles' initial embrace of the women’s corps eventually faded and, in later generations, regressed to their old customs.