Jesus Meets: Joanna

 Luke 8:2 (NIV)—

‘…and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases…Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household…These women were helping to support them out of their own means.’

 We meet Joanna twice; once here and once again in Luke 24 at the tomb on that first Easter morning alongside Mary and ‘the others.' But how did this woman we know so little about become one of the very first witnesses to the resurrection?

Encounter leads to devotion:

We don’t know exactly what happened when Joanna first met Jesus, but we know it must have radically changed her life. She becomes one of his disciples and devotes her whole life to following him. For Joanna, encountering Jesus led to a life of devotion.  

Devotion leads to obedience:

Unlike some of the other women we meet in the gospels, Joanna wasn’t by any means an outcast. She was married to a key member of Herod’s household. We know that Herod wasn’t a huge fan of Jesus or his devotees, but Joanna’s devotion to Jesus leads her to high-risk obedience. She chose to risk her reputation, her social-standing, her financial security, and even her life. Costly obedience always begins with deep devotion.

 Obedience leads to legacy:

I don’t imagine for a moment that when Joanna first met Jesus, she envisioned that she would be immortalised in the gospels (or become the namesake for 1000s of girls born in the UK in the early 1980s!) and yet her life leaves a legacy. How differently would we live our lives if the choices we made were for the benefit of the generations to come and not for our own short-term comfort or gain?

Prayer - Lord Jesus I pray for a fresh encounter with you by the power and the presence of your Holy Spirit. Would you lead me into a life of devotion, which in turn would outwork in radical obedience. I pray my life would leave a kingdom-shaped legacy.