Joanna’s Easter Witness

Joanna... I'm guessing most have probably not heard an Easter sermon that mentioned her. But there she is in the middle of the action in Luke 24.

A. They told all these things to the eleven
  B. And to the others
      C. It was Mary Magdalene
          D. Joanna
      C. Mary, Mother of James
   B. The others with them
A. Told this to the Apostles

Luke 24:9-10

So who was Joanna? The wife of Chuza, the Steward (Manager) of Herod's household - Luke 8:3. Luke describes her as part of a group of women "who had been cured of evil spirits" by Jesus and were following him (8:2). Joanna and Mary followed Jesus to the cross and then to the tomb.

Perhaps Joanna was Luke's primary witness to the resurrection, and that's why Luke has her at the center of his account. Whatever the reason, this woman, like Anna in the Temple, proclaimed Jesus. The prophetess Anna announced his arrival, & the witness Joanna announced his resurrection. I thank God for their testimony.

We believe because the Spirit uses the apostles' witness in the Scriptures to bring us to life in Christ. But the apostles first heard the great rumor of hope from these faithful sisters, whose words they dismissed as "nonsense" (24:11). Thank God they "kept telling" the story (24:9)!

Grace transformed Joanna from an afflicted woman married to a man of high rank in a kingdom of dark, murderous power to a follower of the true Bridegroom, whose Kingdom of Light will never end. She couldn't stop telling the story. Neither should we.