You Can Handle the Truth!
I was recently invited to join Kathy Afzali and Annabell Garner for an episode of their delightful podcast. Topic for discussion: Luke, Theophilus, and a forgotten disciple of Jesus named Joanna.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In this episode of You Can Handle the Truth, we uncover the story of Joanna—a woman many Bible readers have overlooked. Our guest, Shane Rosenthal, author and host of The Humble Skeptic podcast, takes us deep into the Gospel of Luke to reveal why Joanna may have been the central eyewitness for Luke’s Gospel and the granddaughter of Theophilus, the high priest. We explore ancient ossuary findings, literary structures in Luke, and why the Bible’s reliability is stronger than ever. If you’ve ever wondered about the role of women in Scripture, historical accuracy in the Bible, or the faith journey of a Jewish skeptic turned Christian apologist, this is your episode.
Click here to watch. You can also listen via Apple, Spotify, or your preferred portal.
Click here to download a pre-release PDF of Luke’s Key Witness.
Episode Breakdown
(00:00) Intro: Meet Shane Rosenthal
(00:49) Joanna: The Woman Bible Readers Miss
(02:00) The Ossuary Discovery: Joanna & Theophilus
(03:36) What’s an Ossuary? Explaining Ancient Burial
(05:11) Women Supporting Jesus Financially – Luke 8:3
(07:22) Joanna’s Nobility and Historical Context
(08:15) Literary Chiastic Structure in Luke 24
(10:14) Scripture Reading – Luke 8:1-3
(12:25) Joanna’s Husband: A High Official in Herod’s Court
(15:51) Joanna’s Role as Luke’s Eyewitness
(20:41) Luke’s Gospel as Historical Evidence
(22:00) Scripture Reading – Luke 24:9-11
(24:16) Women’s Testimony vs. Disciples’ Doubt
(28:33) Scripture Reading – Romans 16:7 and Junia/Joanna Debate
(29:22) Joanna’s Latin Name and Apostolic Role
(33:10) Jesus Revolution: Shane’s Baptism by Chuck Smith
(35:09) Shane’s Testimony: From Atheism to Faith
(38:01) Archeology & the Gospel of John
(43:10) Luke’s Goal: “So That You May Have Certainty” (Luke 1:4)
(44:44) Joanna: An Unsung Hero of the Resurrection
For additional programs related to Shane’s book, Luke’s Key Witness, see the following episodes of The Frank Turek Podcast, The Alisa Childers Podcast, and Fighting for the Faith with Chris Rosebrough. For more information about You Can Handle the Truth, click here.
Related Articles
The Date of John’s Gospel, Revisited, Shane Rosenthal
Can We Trust Luke’s History of the Early Jesus Movement? Shane Rosenthal
Simon of Cyrene: An Intriguing Archaeological Discovery, Shane Rosenthal
Is Luke a Trustworthy Historian?, Sir William Ramsay
The Distinctiveness of Luke’s Gospel, Richard Bauckham
Authenticating the Fourth Gospel, Shane Rosenthal
Water Into Wine? Shane Rosenthal
Coming Soon: A New Series on the Gospel of Luke
Who was Luke? Was he a Jew or a Gentile? How about Theophilus—what can we know about him? When did Luke write his Gospel, and what was its ultimate aim or purpose? I’ve been recording a variety of interviews with scholars from around the world, and I’ll start airing those conversations soon!
TOP 25 Episodes of The Humble Skeptic Podcast
Take a look at some of the recent additions to our list of the most downloaded episodes. There are currently six programs from 2025 that have broken into the Top 25, including our two most recent episodes, How Did Jesus View the Old Testament (currently #8), and In the Beginning Was the Word (currently #25). The David Rohl interview on the book of Exodus (which aired in March) quickly rose all the way to the #2 position, but The Pilot Episode is still holding on strong at #1.
01 The Pilot Episode
02 Did the Exodus Ever Happen? — New to the Top 10!
03 Is Faith Irrational?
04 Faith Founded on Facts
05 What Did the Earliest Christians Believe?
06 Locating Golgotha
07 Christian Narcissism — New to the Top 10!
08 How Did Jesus View the Old Testament? — New to the Top 10!
09 The Angel of Yahweh — New to the Top 10!
10 Dealing with Doubt
11 Faith & Experience
12 Death, Ghosts & Views of the Afterlife
13 Which John Wrote John?
14 Greg Koukl on Blind Faith
15 Authenticating the Book of Acts
16 The Intersection of Church & State
17 The Big Picture
18 The Galatian Controversy
19 The Woke Revolution
20 Decoding the Prophecies of Daniel — New to the Top 25!
21 John Lennox on Evil & The Challenge of AI
22 Greg Koukl on Street Smarts
23 Rethinking Apologetics
24 John Lennox on Faith & Science
25 In the Beginning Was the Word — New to the Top 25!
Luke's Key Witness
An ossuary dating back to the first century was discovered a few decades ago near Jerusalem. This ancient burial box belonged to a woman named “Yehohanah” (Joanna) who was the granddaughter of “Theophilus the high priest.” The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about a man by that name who served as high priest from 37-41 AD, and since Luke dedicated his Gospel to a “