Tuesday 06 February 2024

Psalm 74:18-23

Background

Jesus is now travelling around the countryside ministering to people, and it is crucially supported by women disciples as well as men. We are told Jesus proclaimed ‘and’ brought the good news of the kingdom of God.

The ‘word’ Jesus proclaimed, became ‘visible’ in action. It brought change in healing, release from evil, and in teaching. Some people’s lives were transformed, as Jesus' word bore fruit. The imagery is a reminder of the story of the beginning of creation in Genesis, when God spoke, and different facets of creation came into visible being. The word of Jesus has the same power.

Yesterday we reflected on the story of a woman, who was so deeply grateful to Jesus for his ministry, that at the house of a Pharisee she anointed his feet with oil and dried them with her hair. Today’s verses mention some women by name and ‘others’, who accompany and support the ministry of Jesus, providing for him out of their own resources. Presumably they too, were deeply grateful for the ministry of Jesus. Some had left their homes to travel with him. It must have been costly for them to do or organise this. They are important disciples working with Jesus alongside the 12 male disciples.

The fact that they are named suggests the importance of women. Mary Magdalene, is one of them – from whom seven demons had departed. She had obviously been severely possessed, but we do not know the symptoms. We do know her gratitude and faithfulness in supporting Jesus. Joanna was the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza and shows that Jesus had followers at the court of Herod Antipas. She was presumably a woman of some wealth. Although Luke mentions that John is beheaded by Herod (9.9) he does not tell the story. The fact Joanna was a follower of Jesus shows the risk involved for her and the courage she needed. The third woman, Susanna is otherwise unknown – there is no other mention of her in the Bible.

In Jesus’s itinerant ministry he avoided the major towns of Tiberias (home of the court of King Herod Antipas) and Sepphoris which is only a few hours walk from Nazareth. This may have been to avoid contact with Herod. Some villages and towns rejected Jesus’s ministry, for example ultimately Capernaum.

To Ponder:

• What does it mean to you to 'proclaim' and 'bring the good news of' God’s kingdom? Are they the same, or different?
• What is God doing in your neighbourhood and how are you invited to join in and support it?
• In what way(s) have you experienced a new beginning from God, and how do you express your thankfulness? In what ways has it been costly for you?

Prayer

Loving God, thank you for the wonderful new beginnings you offer us, often close by. Help us to recognise how we can generously support the work of your kingdom in our own neighbourhood. Amen.