Payback - Joanna

Luke 8:1-3

Have you ever wondered how Jesus and the twelve disciples paid for things as they traveled? We know Peter and a few others were fishermen before they met Jesus, but they left their nets to follow him . . . apparently giving up their paychecks, too. Matthew the tax collector did the same thing, as presumably the others did.

Noble as that was, they still had to eat and still needed places to sleep as they traveled. With all the walking from town to town, they probably needed new sandals once in a while too. Where did the money come from?

Sometimes they ate and slept in the homes of friends like Mary and Martha. However, there were also people who financially supported Jesus and the disciples, and many of them were women.

Joanna was one of those women. She followed Jesus after he cured her (see Luke 8:2-3). Although we don’t know what her specific ailment was, she was dedicated to the one who healed her. She traveled with Jesus and the disciples, along with Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and other women. Luke says these women supported Jesus and the disciples “from their own resources” (verse 3).

Joanna’s husband, Chuza, was the manager of King Herod’s household, a job that probably came with a lucrative salary. Joanna could have used the money her husband earned to live well, buy fine things, and pamper herself. Instead, she chose to travel simply with Jesus and his other followers, sharing her money with them.

You may know people who have given up higher-paying jobs to do ministry. Can you give something from your own resources to help them make ends meet? This is one way that you, like Joanna and her colleagues, can give back to God. Giving doesn’t have to be only in the collection plate on Sunday mornings. Sometimes a specific person, ministry, or mission comes to your attention, and you realize that you have the means and desire to offer some financial support. Joanna chose who and what she supported with her money, and in the same way, you can choose to support the people or ministries that are important to you.

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

2 Corinthians 9:7