By: Sara Barton, DMin and Associate Acquisitions Editor, HarperChristian Resources
Why God Uses the Unlikely
When we picture Jesus traveling through the cities and villages of Galilee proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, we usually picture him and his twelve disciples. We don’t often picture women traveling with Jesus, but Luke tells us they did.
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. (Luke 8:1-3, NIV)
From Small Beginnings to Kingdom Purpose
I was doing my daily Bible study, and this line grabbed me: “Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household.” There’s a lot to wonder about in that description. A woman followed Jesus while her husband worked for Herod? She used her own means to support Jesus— where did she get that money? Hmmm.
I did a little research and read various articles and books, but then I found a commentary on The Gospel of Luke by Amy-Jill Levine and Ben Witherington [1] that helped me with my questions. In this article, I want to share the surprises I found along the way. Even though the biblical references to Joanna are short, there’s more than meets the eye.
I learned that as the wife of Herod’s household business manager, Joanna was not a peasant. She would have been a middle or high-status woman with some wealth [2]. So I find it surprising that instead of living in comfort, she traveled around Galilee with an itinerant rabbi preacher with a ragtag following. We’re familiar with the gospel scenes when James and John left their father’s fishing business to follow Jesus and with Matthew walking away from his tax collector’s booth. Like the twelve, Joanna also left. In choosing to follow Jesus, she left a powerful household where she was one degree of separation from power and privilege.
The second surprise about Joanna is that in the highly patriarchal culture of ancient Galilee, women did not usually associate with men outside their circle of relatives, much less travel around with them.[3] Joanna took an usual step way back then that is still unusual in many places today. It can still be seen as radical for women to be included in ministry. It seems that Joanna was courageous, and she didn’t let what others thought of her get in the way of following Jesus.
A third surprising part of Joanna’s story is her financial support of Jesus. Joanna’s husband was employed by Herod Antipas, the very Herod who beheaded John the Baptist, so I wonder if her husband’s employer would have known or approved that she was supporting a cousin of John the Baptist. Could it be that Joanna was potentially putting her husband’s career at risk, and maybe even putting their lives at risk by associating with Jesus? Joanna is getting more and more daring as we go along.
And there are still more surprises to come because Joanna was in the room, or shall I say, the tomb where it happened, for the biggest surprise of all time. She was there with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and other women (Luke 24:1).
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus (Luke 23:55 - 24:3).
Joanna and the other women at the tomb then heard those astounding life-changing words with their own ears, “he is not here, but is risen!” (24:6)
So— more surprises!
This is the fourth surprise, if you are counting. Notice how the women had a role to play as patrons and donors- and they had a role to play as witnesses to the good news of a risen Christ. This is surprising because at that time in history, women were often considered too emotional or uneducated to be valid witnesses.[4] So they could not serve as witnesses in a court of law, but look what God gave them anyway: they were the last at the cross, the first at the tomb, and the first to proclaim Jesus to be risen. Most lawyers would tell you it wouldn’t be a good idea for winning a legal case, to take a chance on the credibility of your witnesses.
At the tomb, the women were told to remember what Jesus had taught them - and they did. They remembered they had faith, and they ran to tell the surprising good news.
Joanna may not be not a biblical leading lady like Sarah, Rachel, or Mary. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon or engaged in a Bible study about Joanna, but she’s interesting, inspiring, and surprising. She’s an unexpected qualified witness who proclaims good news!
Your Calling Might Look Small, But It’s Significant
What were Joanna’s qualifications? It’s this simple: she knew Jesus and was healed and saved. Her life was so changed by Jesus that she sacrificed her time, money, and safety to follow him. She stayed with Jesus when others didn’t, even at the foot of the cross, and all the way to the tomb.
And what are our qualifications? You may feel small and unknown, like Joanna, almost a footnote in history. But it’s this simple— we also know Jesus and are changed by him. So we too are called to follow him out of our safe places and witness to the world.
Let’s remember, our God is a God of surprises!
Invite Your Group to Discover Their Place in God’s Plan
If you’re leading a church, small group, or Bible study, these themes resonate deeply with people feeling weary, ordinary, or unsure of their purpose.
Help them see that God’s pattern has always been to call the unexpected. Use this moment to guide them into that truth.
📘 Explore this full collection for studies on people God chose and transformed for His purposes.