Jesus chose twelve specific men who would be called His apostles, but He had many followers, called disciples, including women.
The Bible says that many women traveled with Jesus and His apostles during His ministry, as He went throughout cities and villages preaching, and they gave to financially support His ministry (Luke 8:1-3).
As is written in notes in the Life Application Study Bible, edited by Dr. Bruce B. Barton, “Jesus raised women from degradation and servitude to fellowship and service. In Jewish culture, women were not supposed to learn from rabbis. Jesus was showing that all people are equal under God. In first-century Jewish culture, women were usually treated as second-class citizens and had few of the rights men had, but Jesus crossed those barriers. He treated all people with equal respect. He treated women with dignity, as people with worth.”
Mary of Bethany, and her sister, Martha, were friends of Jesus. Mary would often sit at Jesus’ feet, eager, as Herbert Lockyer wrote in All the Women of the Bible, “to learn of His will and word.” "Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)
As Sue and Larry Richards wrote in Every Woman in the Bible, “In setting household tasks aside to sit as a disciple at Jesus’ feet, Mary was taking a bold step. She was claiming a right that those in first-century Judaism assumed was for men only. Jesus confirmed Mary’s choice (Luke 10:42). Jesus was not denigrating the tasks women performed for their families. Rather, Jesus was opening the door to women to a privilege that had long been denied them. Women, like men, are called by God to explore the depths of His Word. Women, like men, are invited to listen to Jesus and to grow to spiritual maturity.”
Two of His apostles, James and John, wanted Jesus to grant them permission to sit on His right and left, saying, “We would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire” (Mark 10:35-37). But it was a woman, Mary of Bethany, who was humbly content to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to Him (Luke 10:39) and to anoint His feet with expensive ointment. 'Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment' (John 12:3).
Judas Iscariot objected to this woman's devotion to Jesus, but Jesus did not agree with Judas, for Jesus was the one who had welcomed her, and He defended her. 'Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this' (John 12:3-7).
Although Judas had wrongly questioned the sincerity and integrity of this soul who hungered to hear a Word from God, Judas himself, hand-picked by Jesus, was used by Satan to secretly plot to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3-4, Luke 22:48, John 12:4-6, John 13:2, Mark 14:10-11, Matthew 26:14-16).
In contrast to the honesty of Mary and Martha, who had not understood and had expressed their feelings of sorrow and disappointment to Jesus over His delay in coming to heal their brother, Lazarus, before his death (John 11), Judas' insincere devotion was made evident as he betrayed Jesus with a kiss (Matthew 26:47-50, Luke 22:47-48).
As Jesus was led away to be crucified, women followed, weeping (Luke 23:27), and women, including Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, were present as Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:49, John 19:25), while His apostles were hiding in fear and denying that they ever knew him (Mark 14:50).
After Jesus’ death, women continued to minister to Him. When Joseph of Arimathaea, a secret disciple, begged Pilate for Jesus’ body and took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher, the women followed to the sepulcher (Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56).
The first person to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection was a woman, Mary of Magdala (Matthew 28:9, Mark 16:9, John 20:14-16). She was the first person to share the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, as He instructed her to go and tell the men (Matthew 28:10, Mark 16:10, John 20:17-18).
When the church was beginning to be established (in the book of Acts), Judas was replaced, and the women were included along with the men as Christ's followers as their number increased (Acts 1:12-14).
The apostles, regretting their denial of Jesus, became emboldened after the resurrection and 'turned the world upside down' for Jesus.
God used a woman to bring Jesus the Messiah into the world, and God has used women as well as men in Biblical times and in modern times to do His work as disciples.
The heart -- of a man or of a woman -- is what truly matters in being a follower of Christ.