“Culturally, it would have been acceptable for the apostles to marginalize the female followers of Jesus after he returned to the Father. It wasn’t acceptable to Jesus. Throughout Mary’s story, Jesus was making value-laden statements about women that went against the culture’s view of them. He clearly expected the men who followed him to see things his way and to value the women as he did. Women weren’t ancillary, but crucial to Jesus. He didn’t give them small jobs. He gave Mary two of the most significant—as the first witness to his resurrection and as an apostle to the apostles.”