Seducement

We're talking about Joanna, a disciple of Jesus who is mentioned by name in Luke 8 and 24. He identifies her as being the wife of Chuza, the chief steward for Herod. And, as we talked about yesterday, a lot of feminist theologians have jumped all over this, claiming she must be named so that we can understand how Herod knew so much about Jesus, as if the king wasn't paying attention to what was happening in his own realm. 

But I told you there's an easier, better way to interpret Joanna's presence in the Gospels. And here it is: 

She is the seduced. 

Let's back up here for a minute and start from the beginning. Or, the beginning-ish. Joanna is the wife of the king's chief steward. But if you go back through the Scriptures, there is another such woman named in the Bible. 

Or not named. 

She was the wife of Potiphar, Pharoah's chief steward way back in Egypt. Remember this? 

Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery after revealing a couple of dreams that he had about how his brothers, the other 11 tribes of Israel, would bow down to him, while he was wearing his special coat of many colors that demonstrated his father's special love for him. When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was sold into Potiphar's house as a slave. Potiphar was the chief steward for Pharoah. 

After he had been there awhile, and we don't know exactly how long, Potiphar's wife found herself alone with the rugged Hebrew, and she attempted to seduce him. When that didn't work, she grabbed his coat as he ran away, made false accusations against him when her husband came home, and got him thrown into prison, where he should have rotted and died, except for the fact that God gave him a special ability and a hedge of protection so that he could save the entire world, and especially his brothers, from certain death, fulfilling several prophecies while doing so. 

Okay. That's the back story. Now, fast forward back to Joanna. 

Joanna is the wife of the chief steward, but this time, she's not the seducer. This time, Joanna is the seduced. She is captivated by the Bridegroom, by the Lover of her soul. She's not creating stories; she's swept up in them. 

In the story of this special son whose Father has a special love for Him. In the story of this son of Abraham, son of Isaac, son of Jacob, Son of God whose brothers will all bow down before Him. In the story of this Hebrew given special ability and a hedge of protection so that He could save the entire world, and especially His brothers, from certain death...fulfilling several prophecies while doing so. 

Do you see it? 

Joanna in the Gospel of Luke is the echo of Potiphar's wife from Genesis. She is the redemption story of the seducer, who has become the seduced. The one so desperate to be loved has discovered that she is loved...and becomes a lover herself in return. A follower. A disciple. 

She doesn't grab onto the edge of His coat; she wraps Him tenderly in grave clothes. 

Do you see it? 

Joanna is one more story that God is re-telling in the New Story. One more scene that gets rewritten when Jesus gets on the scene. One more woman who becomes a symbol of redemption because yes, Jesus loves her. 

The Bible tells us so.

Maybe she had Chuza's ear and he had Herod's and she played some kind of behind-the-scenes role in everything that unfolded in Jerusalem for a few years. We can't rule that out. But given everything we know about the Bible, about the way God tells His story, about what is written right there for us, is this: we've seen Joanna before...and now, we see her with Jesus, transformed. 

And isn't that what Jesus does best?