The Ladies and the Lord

Series on Luke

III The Initiation

D The Activities of His Ministry Revealing That the Kingdom Is:

5 Financed

Text: 8:1-3

Introduction

Finances are a big part of the kingdom of God. Every church has a treasurer, even if it does not have a building or a mortgage. Finances have also been at the center of a good many scandals in the Church at large, especially among religious broadcasters. People have become distrustful of Christian institutions because of this phenomenon. It is no wonder that this problem occurs since as Paul tells Timothy, the love of money is the root of all evil. But Paul also tells us that they that preach the gospel should live from the gospel in I Timothy 5:17 and 18, The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages. The term Paul uses for “honor” implies monetary maintenance. The fact that there have been abuses should not mean that we ignore the express commands of Scripture. Paul, himself, was a tent maker, that is a man who was capable of supporting himself, but he was supported by others in his ministry. Thus we look in this passage at the determination, the dedication and the devotion.

I The Determination

We see the determination in verses 1 and 2, After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him. Jesus was on a determined mission to preach the good news of the kingdom being at hand. His message was that He was the Messiah and the fulfillment of all that had been prophesied was coming to pass. The disciples followed with Him. However, these men were capable of supporting themselves. We know that Jesus had a trade as did all Jewish boys; He was a carpenter. We know that the disciples came from a variety of backgrounds including fishing and finance. They too could support themselves. Yet they forsook all to follow Jesus. They gave up more or less lucrative professions to engage in ministry with Jesus. Thus it became necessary for others to support them in their ministry just as we support pastors and missionaries today. The call to pastor’s and missionaries in our denomination’s Book of Church Order says that a certain amount of support is pledged to these individuals in order to free them from the necessity of pursuing another job to support themselves. The language is to “Free them from worldly avocations and cares.” As we thank God for those that support the ministries of the church today, so we should thank God for those who supported the greatest mission of all, Jesus and His disciples.

II The Dedication

The support for Jesus and His disciples came from an unlikely source that we read about in verses 2 and 3, And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. The three women who are named are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, but there were, Luke says, many others. Mary was so called because she came from Magdala which was a very prosperous town. It was surrounded by fertile fields with active agriculture, and was a Galilean fishing center, renowned not only for the fish caught, but famous for curing them. Its Aramaic name was Migdal Nunaiya and this name gives us a clue to the basic enterprise going on in the area, since the name means “Tower of Fish.” That Magdala was famous for its skill in processing fish is proven by the fact that In the first century the town was called by another name illustrating this. In the Greek language it was called Tarichaea, a place of salting or processing fish. Mary of Magdala is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, and Luke mentions her because she would be the best known of the group. Luke is also ever alert to interactions with the history and the politics of his time, and he also mentions Joanna because her husband managed Herod’s household. Obviously the news of Jesus ministry had traveled far and wide, even into places of power and influence. Luke always notices these things and another example is in Acts 13:1, where Luke writes, In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. We know from Acts 12:1-4 that Herod persecuted the church making the allegiance of these individuals connected to Herod very dangerous, It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. Susanna was important to Luke but we don’t know why because she is never again mentioned in the New Testament by name. We can be reasonably sure that the women who supported Jesus’ ministry came from a variety of backgrounds, but they all had one thing in common; they loved Jesus and sacrificed and dedicated their own means to further His ministry.

III Devotion

Paul talks about giving in in II Corinthians 9 and he says in verses 7 and 8, Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Giving comes from a heart of love and devotion and is enabled by God Himself. In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18, we read about the prayer of the Pharisee, The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ The Pharisee gave all right, but he gave out of slavish obedience to the law and not because he loved God. The women helping Jesus and the Apostles gave out of devotion. That is amply demonstrated by the fact that they continued to minister right through the crucifixion and burial of our Lord. In John 19:25 we read, Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Note that they were there when others had deserted. In fact there was only one of the Apostles at the cross, John. In chapter 23 in verses 55 and 56 we read that after Jesus’ death, The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Thus they are all still tending to Jesus, and later when the sabbath is over and the resurrection takes place, the women are the first at the tomb and we read in Luke 24:1-10, On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. Mary Magdalene and Joanna are mentioned here again as in our text. They were blessed indeed to be the first to discover Jesus’ resurrection and to report on it. To those so invested in Jesus and His ministry, great blessings are vouchsafed. They become rich in the things that really matter. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.