Questions
What Does Jesus’s Maleness Actually Tell Us About Discipleship?
Summary: Jesus’s maleness tells us that the incarnation was particular—God became flesh as a specific first-century Jewish man—but it does not tell us that the characteristics he exhibited were specifically masculine. Being male is not the same as conforming to a cultural script of masculinity.
The incarnation was particular. God became flesh not as a generic human but as a first-century Jewish man. Jesus navigated the world with a male body, within a patriarchal culture, in a specific time and place. His maleness was real and conditioned his experience in ways we should not minimize. He occupied the social position of a man in his society, which shaped the kinds of activities he participated in and the relationships he developed (though he was not a slave to cultural convention either; cf. Matt 9:10-11; Jn 4:1-45).
What his maleness does not tell us is that the characteristics he exhibited were specifically masculine. That is, that they derived from his sex rather than from his obedience to the Father. Being born male in first-century Palestine placed Jesus within a specific social and cultural context. It did not make him masculine in the sense that cultural masculinity ideologies intend. Being male and conforming to a cultural script of masculinity are not the same thing.
Discipleship, not masculinity, clarifies what male disciples are imitating when they imitate Christ. They are not imitating a masculine ideal. They are imitating a life of obedience, self-giving, and faithful presence, a life that was lived as a man but that calls both men and women to the same fundamental posture before God.
Key Takeaways: The Particularity of the Incarnation
- The Incarnation Was Particular: God became flesh as a first-century Jewish man within a patriarchal culture—a specificity we should not minimize.
- Jesus Was Not Culturally Bound: He broke social convention when faithfulness required it (Matt 9:10-11; Jn 4:1-45).
- Male ≠ Masculine: Being born male in first-century Palestine is not equivalent to conforming to a cultural ideology of masculinity.
- The “So What”: Male disciples imitate a life of obedience, self-giving, and faithful presence—not a masculine ideal.
About the Author — James Spencer, PhD, is a theologian, author, and host of the Thinking Christian podcast, where he writes and speaks on Christian formation, political theology, and technology. He holds a PhD in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and completed the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He serves as President of the D.L. Moody Center in Northfield, Massachusetts, as adjunct faculty in Wheaton College’s MA in Leadership program, and as an Associate Research Fellow at the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Christianity.com, and Sojourners; he has been quoted in The Telegraph; and he is a regular guest on Stand in the Gap Today with the American Pastors Network. His forthcoming book is Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press, Fall 2026). Learn more at jamesgspencer.com.