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NT Characters: Joanna
For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
Name, marriage, means
- Joanna = "God is gracious"
- Wife of Chuza
- Chuza was steward (financial controller) of Herod Antipas, son of the Herod (the Great) who'd tried to dispatch Jesus c.6-4 BC.
- Herod Antipas reigned 4 BC - 39 AD. He had John the Baptist decapitated, and also was part of the process that condemned Jesus.
- She may be the Junia of Rom 16:7, if New Testament scholars Ben Witherington and Richard Bauckham are on the right track.
- Wealthier -- upper class. Many such women were attracted to Christianity, as we read about in Luke-Acts.
Scriptures
- Luke 8:3
- Luke 24:10
- Romans 16:7
- Titus 3:3-5, 2:11-14
Impact of Jesus on her life
- She was set free, either healed of a medical situation or freed from an evil spirit. Either way, her life was transformed by the Lord.
- She traveled with the apostolic band.
- Older?
- "Empty nest"?
- Became a supporter of the ministry, providing
- homes?
- food?
- funding?
- The women of Luke 8:3 were probably flexible because they didn't have to stay home with their children.
- Joanna chose to put her allowance to good use.
- She formed friendships with fellow believers. (Recall the comments from the podcast on Mary, the mother of Jesus, who continued to build friendships even later in life.)
Thought questions
- Joanna was loyal emotionally and even financially, because Jesus had touched her life, and she was grateful. Do I ever forget that I too have been touched by the Lord? That I have been redeemed from a life of uncertainty, darkness, secrecy, sin, anxiety, and alienation? See Titus 2-3.
- If I am a person of means, how am I using my fortune to advance God's work?
- The fact that such a person as Joanna was drawn into the ministry tells us something about the Christian faith -- what it is and what it is not. How does the story of Joanna address charges of Christianity being "chauvinistic"?
- If I am a parent, do I look forward to time when I will be freer to travel for the sake of the ministry?
- Do I tend to rush past the "minor" characters of the Bible?
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By Douglas Jacoby
4.9
6767 ratings
For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
Name, marriage, means
- Joanna = "God is gracious"
- Wife of Chuza
- Chuza was steward (financial controller) of Herod Antipas, son of the Herod (the Great) who'd tried to dispatch Jesus c.6-4 BC.
- Herod Antipas reigned 4 BC - 39 AD. He had John the Baptist decapitated, and also was part of the process that condemned Jesus.
- She may be the Junia of Rom 16:7, if New Testament scholars Ben Witherington and Richard Bauckham are on the right track.
- Wealthier -- upper class. Many such women were attracted to Christianity, as we read about in Luke-Acts.
Scriptures
- Luke 8:3
- Luke 24:10
- Romans 16:7
- Titus 3:3-5, 2:11-14
Impact of Jesus on her life
- She was set free, either healed of a medical situation or freed from an evil spirit. Either way, her life was transformed by the Lord.
- She traveled with the apostolic band.
- Older?
- "Empty nest"?
- Became a supporter of the ministry, providing
- homes?
- food?
- funding?
- The women of Luke 8:3 were probably flexible because they didn't have to stay home with their children.
- Joanna chose to put her allowance to good use.
- She formed friendships with fellow believers. (Recall the comments from the podcast on Mary, the mother of Jesus, who continued to build friendships even later in life.)
Thought questions
- Joanna was loyal emotionally and even financially, because Jesus had touched her life, and she was grateful. Do I ever forget that I too have been touched by the Lord? That I have been redeemed from a life of uncertainty, darkness, secrecy, sin, anxiety, and alienation? See Titus 2-3.
- If I am a person of means, how am I using my fortune to advance God's work?
- The fact that such a person as Joanna was drawn into the ministry tells us something about the Christian faith -- what it is and what it is not. How does the story of Joanna address charges of Christianity being "chauvinistic"?
- If I am a parent, do I look forward to time when I will be freer to travel for the sake of the ministry?
- Do I tend to rush past the "minor" characters of the Bible?