Throughout the history of the world, kings were famous for their harems. A harem is a group of women, consisting of wives, concubines, and servants, who live in the king’s court. Among other things, the purpose of the harem was to satisfy the desires of the king. The Egyptian pharaoh’s had harems. The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire kept large harems. In Mexico, Aztec ruler Montezuma II, kept four thousand concubines. Unfortunately, even in the Bible, King David and King Solomon had harems. I Kings 11:3 tells us that Solomon had a harem of 700 wives and 300 concubines.

Genghis Khan, the Mongolian ruler, apart from being one of history’s biggest conquerors, could well be one of the most prolific lovers of all times. Genghis had six Mongolian wives and married many daughters of foreign kings. Apparently the inmates of his harem numbered anything between two to three thousand. Geneticists from the Russian Academy of Sciences believe the brutal ruler has 16 million male descendants living today which is nearly 8% of the population of Central Asia.

Ismail ibn Sharif, ruler of Morocco from 1672-1727, claimed to be a direct descendent from the prophet Mohammad. He was known in his native country as the “Warrior King,” who defeated the Ottoman Turks and won independence for Morocco. He also holds the distinction of fathering probably the maximum number of children in history—more than 800.

Although harems are still somewhat prominent in middle-eastern cultures today, they have been largely out of style in modern American society, except in the cases of John F. Kennedy, Hugh Hefner, and Kody Brown, the star of the TLC reality show “Sister Wives,” which documents the lives of the Utah polygamist, his four wives, and seventeen children. Sadly, throughout history, many men of high position have used their power, money, and even religion to exploit women for their own pleasures and purposes.

This is why the gospel accounts of Jesus’ treatment of women are so surprising! Jesus, as God in human flesh, is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Eph. 1:21). If he so chose, he could have had the largest harem in human history.

But instead, he never abused his power by treating a woman with disrepute. He never suppressed a woman with his supremacy. He never objectified a woman with his authority. He never manipulated a woman with his money. He never even wounded a woman with his words. From the sinful woman who wiped his feet with her tears to the woman caught in adultery, Jesus always treated women with the utmost dignity, respect, and compassion. Jesus never had a harem, but from the early days of his ministry, as he traveled about from one town and village to another proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, many women willingly became his followers.