Possibility That Joanna Was One of Luke's Witnesses
There are 13 separate references to Herod in the Gospel of Luke, only four of which can also be found in the other gospels. This means that there are nine references to Herod in the Gospel of Luke for which Luke had to have a source independent of another gospel. Hastings (1958) suggests that Joanna could easily have informed Jesus and Luke of the splendid style in which Antipas and his court officials lived. Joanna may have been one of the eyewitnesses available to Luke as a source for his Herodian material.
Joanna is among a group of women who are the first resurrection witnesses, along with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and other women (Luke 24:1). These women went to the apostles who thought their testimony about the risen Lord was nonsense, though Peter and some others decided to look at the tomb for themselves. Joanna is therefore to be included in the "ones with them" that Jesus calls "witnesses" (martyrs) (Luke 24:48). She is also one of the apostles mentioned in Acts 1:2-3 that Jesus chose. These apostles complied with Jesus' charge to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 repeats Luke 24:48 by calling this group "my witnesses (martyrs)".
Acts 1:13-14 gives the list of these apostles as the eleven, the women, and Mary, mother of Jesus, with his brothers. When the time came to choose a replacement for Judas the same criterion of witness from the beginning is used (Acts 1:21-22).
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