Mary Magdalene

Introduction

It’s so good to be back from taking a week of vacation. To just focus on family and friends and not think about work is freeing and refreshing. We got to camp, see friends, and experience Mammoth caves. Thanks to Ryan and others for covering while we were out of town.

Can you imagine living a life without a vacation?

Imagine living a life when all your time is controlled by your worst boss.

That’s the life Mary Magdalene lived for some time.

Can you imagine living a life totally controlled by someone else.? demonic possession in the Bible is described as someone completely out of their mind. They are inescapably controlled by another spiritual presence. This causes them to act like wild beasts. Too hurt themselves. And in some cases gives them supernatural powers like gifts of prophecy. In all cases it's slavery. It's not something we talk about much today. And as Christians we have the privilege of being protected by the spirit of the living God. The God that made the universe protects you from demonic possession. That's incredible!

And yet there is a woman in the scripture who experienced the suffering of not one but seven demons. We don't know much of her story but what we do know is that Jesus set her free. At some point she went from living in slavery to living in the light. At some point Jesus intersected her life and exerted his mighty power to give her freedom.

We don't actually find out this specific encounter where Jesus saves Mary. But we do see multiple references in the scripture to what he did for her. And as a result of what he did she invested her life serving and advancing His ministry.

Mark 16:9 ESV

9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.

Luke 8:1–3 ESV

1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

In addition to being someone that Jesus saved in a powerful way, Mary was also the first one who got to see Jesus risen from the dead.

John 20:1–18 ESV

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

this woman that Jesus saved from demonic oppression experienced Jesus being there for her at her worst. And in every one of the four gospel accounts the writers took pains to make sure they mentioned Mary Magdalene in their accounts. She was just that important to the story. It was important for her to be there for Jesus. Jesus was there for her and she was there for Jesus when he sacrificed his life for everyone.

You know before Jesus came into Mary's life she suffered on her own. She lived in bondage to demons. She lived enslaved to sin. But Jesus was there for her. Jesus loved her as he loved all of us.

Can you imagine what it was like for Mary to watch Jesus die on the cross and then wait? She waited through Sabbath which was Saturday. Sabbath is normally a day of rest and yet for Mary it was a day of waiting and grieving the loss of the one who did so much for her.

Probably not that Mary

Sometimes throughout history and even in what I've taught in the past commentators and pastors have tried to link Mary Magdalene with the woman who was caught in adultery. But honestly there's no reason to make this connection scripturally these are most likely separate people. It's most likely that Mary simply suffered from demonic possession. It wasn't much more or less than that as horrible as that is.

I wonder how much of a undeserved reputation Mary had though? I wonder how much people assumed about her because of what they knew about her past? I wonder how much of her life was defined by what people knew of her past.

That happens sometimes in our lives doesn't it?

You know, Jesus is and has been and will be in the business of transforming lives. He is moving people from a life of bondage and slavery to freedom. People like Mary and many others. He is giving new life to broken lives.

No matter where you are today, no matter what brokenness you have in your life Jesus cares for and loves you.

No matter where you are Jesus offers new life to you. I love how Paul puts it:

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Let's dwell on that truth for a moment: you are a new creation if you have trusted in Christ Jesus as your savior. You are a new creation if you have placed your hope in Jesus he is transforming and recreating your life. I know there's a lot of times that certainly feels like the old nature clings to us but truly in Christ Jesus we are a new creation.

But we need to also remember that being in Christ means Jesus is Lord of our life he's the one we live for and submit to and the one to whom we bend our will and desires. Following Jesus is something that is as simple as something a little kid can grasp and it's so complex we will never entirely finish growing.

There's a lot of talk about identity today. We talk about racial identity. We talk about gender identity. The Bible actually has a lot to say about identity. But it's actually a quite simple message. Our most important identity is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That's the identity on which we should construct everything else in our lives.

Choosing to follow Jesus Christ means choosing to embrace a life where he is at the foundation of who we are. We must wrestle with how we spend our money through the lens of our faith in Jesus. We must wrestle with the relationships we choose to invest in through the lens of our relationship with Jesus Christ. We must wrestle with how we see our gender and our politics and our job through the lens of our faith in Jesus.

But truly is following the teachings of Jesus so hard? Truly he said his burden is easy and his yoke is light. Truly he calls us to love God and love others. He calls us to a life of obedience but it is a life that results in good.

If our identity is wrapped up in being followers of Jesus Christ people should notice the difference in how we live. People should notice that we are different in how we work and in how we relate in our friendships and in how we post online.

Jesus changed Mary magdalene's life from the inside out. And the change that he put in her gave her the freedom he gave to her transformed all of her life.

You might say that Jesus believed in Mary. He believed in her enough to set her free. And because he saw her and believed in her he equipped her to live a life caring and serving and investing.

Mary was the first one to see Jesus that morning and she couldn't stop telling others who she saw. We know that Mary was the first one to see Jesus that morning but it's also safe to assume she was probably with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them a little bit later.

Luke 24:36–53 ESV

36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.

I'll bet that Mary soaked in every moment of this experience. Jesus told his followers to be his witnesses. And I would bet that she witnessed and soaked in the story of what happened so that she could share his story with everyone she encountered.

Mary found freedom from sin and a life of repentance following God. But this freedom and repentance were not just private matters for her period there was something that changed how she spent her time and the rest of her life. And her choices and how she spent her time changed the world.

You know Mary was not one of the leaders of the church. She did not write any of the gospel accounts. She was simply present. And I'll bet as the church exploded people wanted to hear her account across the Roman Empire. Person after person wanted to hear the story of what Jesus had done in her and what she saw. But you know even if that didn't happen... even if Mary just lived a relatively quiet life in Jerusalem I can only imagine the story after story she told two person after person.

You know nothing on Facebook annoys me more than my wife's freezer cooking Facebook page. Five years ago we set up this page to sell that cookbook she wrote. Since that time we have done nothing with it. And yet hundreds and hundreds of mostly women have found and liked this dumb page giving it nearly 1000 likes. I'm frustrated because I spent a lot of effort and money growing my Facebook presence whether it's the churches or my little business on the side. When I complained to Facebook about the obscene popularity of my wife page they said that that page grows because it's something that women care about. And women share what they care about. Women talk to, socialize, relate, share stories. That's why her page has nearly 1000 likes. And that's I imagine is how Mary story spread. As women heard her and related to her and talked with her and celebrated and shared the story of Jesus.

She couldn't possibly keep this news to herself.

Conclusion

What has Jesus done for you? What has he spared you from? What has he saved you from? How can you speak up and share that good news with someone else? How can you encourage our missionaries who are spreading the news of Jesus Christ around the world? How can you invest in children's ministry here as we reach the next generation for Jesus? How can you share your story again and again pointing people to Jesus with your friends and family?