There are people in the Bible who are marked by some very intriguing contrasts. Take Joanna, for example.
She was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager—which means that she must have been very wealthy and powerful compared to most other women in first-century Palestine. This also means that her husband was directly connected to the very man who put John the Baptist to death and who played a role in Jesus’ death. Yet she was also among those who followed Jesus faithfully and financially provided for Him and His disciples.
Her husband must have known and likely supported her association with Jesus. Perhaps this is one of the ways that Herod had become acquainted with Jesus’ activities (Luke 23:8). Because of her close relationship to Jesus and to the other women who followed Him, Joanna was among those who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and were first told by angels of Jesus’ resurrection.
Yet her high societal status and her financial support of Jesus and His disciples did not stop the disciples from dismissing her report about the resurrection as nonsense. They insisted on going to the tomb themselves to see what was going on (Luke 24:10–11).
It seems that Jesus must have cured Joanna of an evil spirit or a disease (Luke 8:2), which may be why she became such a devoted supporter of Jesus’ ministry.