Don’t ask me why she caught my eye this morning . . . but she did . . . and I just can’t shake her. She kind of appeared out of nowhere . . . though I must have seen her before, I’ve never noticed her. In terms of how much “air time” she’s given, she’s, at best, an extra on the set . . . her “15 minutes of fame” is less than but a few seconds . . . there she was gone. But . . . and that’s the important thing . . . there she was . . . Joanna.

Today I started reading Luke’s account of the resurrection morning (24:1-12) . . . that first day of the week when, very early in the morning, the woman who had followed Jesus’ lifeless body to His burial place, returned to the tomb with spices they had prepared to further anoint His cloth-wrapped body. Instead they found the stone rolled away . . . and they encountered two men who emitted the glory of heaven itself . . . and were asked by them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” . . . and were informed by them, “He is not here, but is risen!” (do I hear a hallelujah on that one, brothers and sisters!). These women then returned from the empty tomb and went to the disciple-filled room where Jesus followers continued to grieve and let them know that Jesus was alive. And, Luke records in verse 10, “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.”

There she is . . . Joanna. Where did she come from? Ask me who was there that resurrection morning encountering angelic beings and I would have gotten Mary . . . probably that there were two Mary’s there . . . but Joanna? But there she is . . . the detail captured by Dr. Luke through his careful research concerning Christ . . . penned by inspiration of the Holy Spirit . . . God-breathed . . . “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Tim. 3:16). So . . . nice to meet you, Joanna.

Her name is the female version of John . . . literally her name means “Jehovah is a gracious giver.” Yeah!!! And she knew, firsthand, of what her name spoke. The only other reference to her in the Bible is earlier in Luke’s gospel . . .

“Now it came to pass, afterward, that [Jesus] went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities — Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.” (Luke 8:1-3)

Ok . . . so I blew right past her when I was reading Luke 8 . . . but there she is . . . with Jesus and His disciples . . . one of a group of women who had been healed by Jesus of demon possession and / or some sickness . . . and who were part of a group who determined to meet Jesus’ physical needs from their own pocket books. Though in the background . . . not a “headliner” like Peter but one of the names in small print that scroll quickly by as the credits are run at the end of a move . . . she is called out by God Himself as follower of Christ (He knows all His sheep by name, amen?) . . . a supporter of Christ . . . and as a member of that resurrection morning contingent who loved Jesus beyond death . . . and encountered angels . . . and were the first to process the implications of a risen Savior.

She was the wife of Chuza, a fairly high level manager in Herod’s house . . . so she was probably a woman of some means . . . and her husband worked for “some mean” boss. Not exactly a godly environment . . . nor a Jesus friendly environment . . . but that’s exactly the kind of environment that my Lord reaches into . . . and from which He redeems and rescues . . . the sort of environment that is transformed by grace . . . and into which He sheds light. You gotta wonder what evening conversations were like between Chuza and Joanna . . . him, perhaps complaining of what it was like to work for Herod . . . her, for sure, in wonder describing what it was like to follow Jesus.

She was there that day when Jesus healed her . . . she continued through the days to follow and feed Him . . . and she went back on that first day of the week after His crucifixion . . . and there encountered angels . . . saw the empty tomb . . . and was among the first to know that Jesus is alive. Blessed woman . . . nice to meet you Joanna.