Luke's account stresses that concern for the multitudes motivated Jesus' mission. Mark, on the other hand, presented opposition from the Jewish religious leaders as a reason for His activities. Matthew stressed Jesus' desire to present Himself as the Messiah to the Jews. All these were factors that directed Jesus in His ministry.
8:1 This verse is Luke's summary of Jesus' next preaching tour (cf. 4:44). As the first summary statement, this one also states Jesus' ministry as consisting of itinerant preaching primarily. Luke noted the presence of the Twelve with Jesus to qualify them as reliable witnesses of His death and resurrection.
8:2-3 Luke's mention of the women in this section prepares for his citing them as witnesses of Jesus' resurrection later (cf. 23:49, 55; 24:6, 10; Acts 1:14). This is Luke's third recent reference to women who benefited from Jesus' ministry to them, several of whom responded by ministering to Him (cf. 7:12-15, 36-50). Their example provides a positive example for female readers of Luke's Gospel.
". . . traveling around with a religious teacher conflicts strongly with traditional female roles in Jewish society.229Such behavior neglects a husband's rights and a wife's responsibilities to her family. It would probably arouse suspicion of illicit sexual relationships. In his later teaching Jesus will repeatedly tell his disciples that his call requires a break with the family (Luke 9:57-62; 12:51-53; 14:26; 18:28-30). The last two of these passages speak of leaving house' and children,' which could apply to either a man or a woman, but these statements are male-oriented in that they also speak of leaving wife' but not husband.230Nevertheless, 8:2-3 refers to women who have evidently taken a drastic step of leaving home and family in order to share in the wandering ministry of Jesus. The discipleship of women is conceived as radically as for men--perhaps even more radically, since women of that time were very closely bound to the family--involving a sharp break with social expectations and normal responsibilities."231
Many people have concluded that Mary Magdalene had been a prostitute. However the text gives no warrant for this idea. It simply says that seven demons had indwelt her. "Magdalene"evidently refers to her hometown of Magdala. It stood on the west side of the Sea of Galilee. Joanna was present at Jesus' crucifixion and empty tomb (23:55-56; 24:1, 10). She is the first of Jesus' disciples identified as connected with Herod Antipas' household. Chuza was evidently Herod's manager or foreman, some high ranking official in Herod's employ (cf. Matt. 20:8; Gal. 4:2).
"It may be that the special knowledge of Herod and his court reflected in Lk. came through him; he and his wife are no doubt named as well-known personalities in the church and are evidence for the existence of Christian disciples among the aristocracy."232
Susanna, otherwise unknown to us, may also have been of special interest to Luke's original readers. The support of these and other similar unnamed disciples explains how Jesus was able to continue His ministry financially. These women and undoubtedly some men provided money by giving sacrificially out of love for what Jesus had done for them (cf. 7:36-50). It was apparently unusual for Jesus to have female followers (cf. John 4:27) though this was more common in the Hellenistic world than in Palestine.233
