Joanna and Susanna
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, King Herod's household manager, and Susanna are named among the women who traveled with Jesus and the twelve, supporting the ministry out of their own resources after being healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Joanna's position - married to a high-ranking official in Herod's court - meant she risked real social and political exposure by openly following an itinerant preacher whom Herod's circle viewed with suspicion. Luke names both women again among those who discovered the empty tomb on the first Easter morning and reported it to the apostles, placing them among the very first witnesses to the resurrection.
Biography
- Spouse
- Chuza (Joanna's husband, Herod's steward)
- Era
- New Testament
- Nationality
- Jewish
Family
Did You Know?
Joanna's husband Chuza managed the household of Herod Antipas - meaning Jesus's ministry was partly funded from inside the court of the man who beheaded John the Baptist.
Luke lists the women who financed Jesus's ministry 'of their substance' - the only Gospel to record how the ministry was funded at all.
Joanna is named again at the empty tomb, making her a witness to both the ministry's cost and its vindication.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Women Who Supported Jesus's Ministry
Luke 8:1-3
These women's material support sustained an itinerant ministry that owned little of its own, and Joanna's position in Herod's court shows the gospel reaching every social level.
1nd it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
Joanna at the Empty Tomb
Luke 24:9-10
Joanna is named among the first witnesses of the resurrection, reporting it to the eleven apostles.
9nd returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.