Articles
Women Supported Jesus - Luke 8
Women Supported Jesus - Luke 8
That you might know assuredly the things believed… Without great fanfare or descriptive adjectives, Luke tells of some of the things that Jesus did while He was on the earth. Luke 8 is one of those hodgepodge chapters that lumps several things together: the parable of the sower, the lesson of the lamp, the concern of His mother and brothers, the stilling of the sea, the Garasene demoniac, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the healing of the woman with the bleeding problem.
Almost as an aside Luke tells of some women that were with the group as He went from one city and village to another. Luke doesn’t tell of travel arrangements or reactions to such a mixed group. Luke in fact mentions SOME women and notes that they had been healed (by Jesus) either of evil spirits or of sicknesses. How many? We don’t know. After naming three specifically, he again notes that there were ‘many others’.
Luke does name three. The first named is Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out…”. Being demon possessed was socially crippling but was not immoral, hence there is no basis for so many people trying to link her with the sinful woman of Luke 7:37. Magdala was a town on the Sea of Galilee’s western shore. It was situated about 3 miles north of Tiberias (which was south of Capernaum). People were often identified by their place of residence as she is here. When were such demons cast out of her? We have no record. She later watched the crucifixion (Matt. 27:55-56), saw where they laid Jesus (Luke 23:55), and helped in the anointing of his body (Luke 24:10). As so often happens in the New Testament, further details of her life and death are simply absent.
The second woman named was Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. The name Chuza seems to have Syrian and Nabatean roots but whether that says anything of where he came from or not we don’t know. He was some kind of administrative official for Herod. This is (the) Herod ‘the tetrarch' who had arrested and beheaded John the Baptist (cp. Luke 3:1, 19). He is again mentioned in Luke 9 where he is perplexed about who Jesus is, again in 13:31 where it says he wanted to kill Jesus, and finally in 23:7-15 when Jesus stood before him but refused to respond to him. How intriguing it is that the wife of one of his administrative officials was a follower of Jesus and that she used their money to support Jesus in his teaching! Did Herod ever learn of this? Did Chuza ever become a disciple? Did her following Jesus cause marriage problems for her? So many questions simply go unanswered for the story is about Jesus.
The third woman named is Susanna. Word study books will tell you that her name means ‘lily’. Now you know all that there is to know about her. Not much!
These three women along with the ‘many others’ contributed to the support of the group (i.e. to ‘their’ support). They took of their own money and means and used it to allow Jesus and the disciples to concentrate on teaching and preaching. We thus get the first glimpse of such support that would become the norm of preachers of the gospel. Later, the brethren collectively as the church would support such preachers (cp. Phil. 4: ; 2 Cor. 11:8-9, etc.). Individuals also helped as they had opportunity and ability. This shows the close connection that those supported actually had with those who shared with them. Not everyone could go about preaching. Some could thus be a co-worker with these preachers by providing a means of living unto them. Brethren, it still works this way. Much of what you give in our collections is sent to such preachers. You are making a difference in their ability to preach and teach. They receive this gift of support from you and such becomes “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing unto God”.
Hugh DeLong
