Anchor My Faith

Special Women

Scripture: Luke 8:1-3

In our previous lesson Jesus was reclining at Pharisee’s table, when a sinful woman came and washed his feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them. This produced a teaching moment, for Jesus, because of the Pharisee’s judgment of her. Jesus tells the woman her sins have been forgiven, to go in peace because her faith has saved her.

The gospel narrative we are working from contains 241 sections, so that means we have completed just over one fourth of our journey. I say this because we have come to one of the smallest sections of our journey which identifies some of the women in Jesus’ ministry.

Our text for this section and for this lesson is: ^{Lk 8:1} “Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ² and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.”

Soon after the woman had shown her devotion to Jesus while dining at the Pharisee’s house Jesus “went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.” The twelve disciples traveled with him as did several women. These women were identified as those who were grateful for being healed of evil spirits and various infirmities.

Among them was “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.” She was called Magdalene because she was from a city on the western shore of Galilee called Magdala. There is no evidence in biblical text that Mary Magdalene is the sinful woman of prostitution of Luke 7:37, but some later writers believe she is. Some writers also believe there was a special relationship between Jesus and Mary, even to the point that they were married and had children. I find it truly amazing who the devil can find to use to discredit Jesus. If Jesus had married and had children, then he, being God would have fathered sinless children like himself. If this had happened, this would have been clearly recorded in history.

Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, is identified as one of those women who provided for Jesus and the disciples from their wealth. It is true that the ministry of Jesus was directed to the poor, but there were some of wealth and power that supported this ministry. It is clear, that God raised up these women to provide support for Jesus and his disciples as they traveled. This would be similar for missionaries today who seek a support and prayer team to provide their living while they serve in foreign lands.

Prayer

Father, I can identify with this as I taught in China. There were four women who served as translators that provided the language and cultural interface for me. As God spoke through me to my translators, they then took what they heard and spoke into the hearing of my students. I experienced some wonderful things through this process with these four women. Another, very special woman was the wife of a person I must not identify, who took me into their home and provided for me a place to sleep and meals to eat over a four-year period while I was in a city in China. This relationship continues today as their daughter, and now also a granddaughter, live close to me here in the US. Father, as women supported the ministry of Jesus, women also played a significant role in my ministry. For them, I am very grateful.