Couples

It’s a wonderful thing to have a life partner in faith. Ecclesiastes puts it this way:

Two are better than one… For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

All of this could be understood literally—having a partner helps in a lot of practical ways. But that phrase at the end makes me think the writer has something spiritual in mind. Where is he coming from with that “threefold cord”? He’s just been talking about how two are better than one.

Most Bible students, including me, figure the third member of the braided cord is the Lord. Two help each other for sure, and if they are both twined together with the Lord, they are strong indeed.

We don’t really meet a lot of couples in the Bible. There are some—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Joseph and Mary, Priscilla and Aquila stand out. But here’s another couple, who have so little said about them that they’re nearly invisible.

As you’ll remember, there was a group of women who accompanied Jesus as he traveled around preaching and teaching. This is only mentioned one time. Luke writes:

Soon afterward he [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8:1-3)

So at least some of these women had money, and they all apparently chipped in to help manage the crowds. One who’s named was Joanna, and we’re told she was the wife of Chuza—who is described as Herod’s steward, or household manager. That’s a very high position in a very wealthy and powerful man’s staff. So it’s a good guess that Joanna was one of the ones with money.

Later, Joanna would be one of the women who were most loyal to Jesus, all the way to being there at his crucifixion, which Luke also tells us (Luke 23:55-24:11). These women were not only witnesses of his death. They followed along and watched their Lord’s burial, and then on the day of his resurrection, they were the very first witnesses of the risen Christ.

This is all we have to go on, but don’t you wonder why Luke bothers to mention Joanna’s husband, and what his job was? It must matter. It seems likely to me that Chuza was very supportive of Joanna’s role in providing for Jesus and his followers. Under the very nose of Herod! This couple was united together in their loyalty to Jesus, the third strand of their braided cord.

And here’s another almost invisible couple. Also among the loyal women was the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Matthew 27:55-56). These brothers were business partners with Simon Peter and Andrew (Luke 5:10). Zebedee was present when Jesus called James and John to follow him (Matthew 4:21). We never learn “Mrs. Zebedee’s” name. But again in this couple, I think we see a strong partnership in the Lord. Zebedee was left to run the entire fishing business, with all four of the fishing partners now following Jesus, and on top of that his wife was following too. You can imagine the family discussions that must have occurred! But there seems to be no question that both of them were all in, completely committed—because of the strength of that third strand.

Love, Paul