Presence or Absence? The Question of Women Disciples at the Last Supper

Abstract

This article examines the literary role of women in the passion and resurrection narratives and the practice of the historical Jesus which lies behind the Gospels. Jesus probably included a wider group of disciples than the twelve at the Last Supper, among whom were a number of women. This is reflected in the uneven dynamic between female presence and absence in the Synoptics. Only in John is there the real possibility of women's presence at the Last Supper, although Mark uses the motif of presence/absence to contrast female fidelity with male infidelity.