Mary Magdalene – The heart of a servant

Her name appears 32 times in 12 verses in the Bible. In all except one verse, we find her at the cross or at the sepulcher. A verse in Luke chapter eight lists her among the disciples as they followed Christ throughout the land. She was there as the Lord taught the Parable of the Sower. What it must have been to hear that parable, for in Christ’s own words, “Know ye not this parable? And how will ye know all parables?”

The name Mary Magdalene, just like Jesus of Nazareth and Joseph of Arimathea, tells us she was from Magdala. Magdala is on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Archeologists who have conducted research in this area found a first century seaport and a first century synagogue. In Matthew 15:39 we see Jesus took a ship to Magdala so we know He was there and we can safely assume that Jesus preached in that Synagogue. In Luke 8, we read that Mary Magdalene had been healed of demon possession. She was a woman who had some real problems before she met the Lord. What kind? Well, you can just imagine. We read about the demoniac of Gadara, who was also possessed. He was cutting himself, running wild and naked-people were terrified of him-so who knows what people thought about her! What we do know is that she came to Christ and as is the natural outcome of any true conversion, she was wholly devoted to Him. There was no question of her faithfulness, no question about her devotion, and certainly no question about the amazing change in her life.

An interesting thing to note about Mary Magdalene is that in most of the passages she is listed with other women who also followed Christ, yet she is always listed first. God honors faithfulness. Now clothed and in her right mind, she became one of the most devoted, faithful, selfless disciples of Christ that we read about in the Bible. It’s a beautiful story. She was so deeply grateful, she left everything for Him. So much so, the Scriptures reveal that she and a few other women ministered of all their substance to Christ and the disciples. There’s a lesson for all in that…

In view of this woman’s conversion, consider with me for just a moment the difference between true converts and false professors. Spurgeon said, “The false professor grieves the Lord’s church more than anyone else.” How? Well, they certainly cause confusion for some by espousing their own brand of Christianity. They really don’t walk with the saved. (They may try to-but not unlike a parade I attended once where the high school band was marching in sync except for the tuba player who, in grandiose display was swerving wildly from side to side, marching to his own rhythm, as they say.) Often, they are contentious and usually find it challenging to restrain their disparaging comments about those within the church family. Sometimes, she will just become the “church recluse”, whose resounding anthem becomes, What about me? Nobody does anything for me…nobody likes me…I don’t fit in…

We speak of counting the cost before one comes to Christ. You ought to know that those who are truly saved like Mary Magdalene, are supernaturally transformed. If they are not, their testimony is false. I did not say we become perfect. We are just sinners saved by grace, but there will be growth, undeniable growth. A steady confession and forsaking of sin. And as we journey on through life-according to the Scriptures- our loving heavenly Father will see that we conform to the image of His Son, Romans 8:29.

As faithful servants of Christ’s, I think there is wisdom to be found in exercising caution when it comes to taking up causes for those who are not conforming to the image of Christ. There is no biblical foundation for shoring up a person’s professed “Christianity”, when their lives do not line up with the Scriptures by claiming their experiences are just different from everyone else’s. Consider, in our lesson, we are talking about a woman who was completely demon possessed before she came to Christ. This woman needed no propping up. She was God the Father’s workmanship, Romans 8:29

So back to Mary. We see her with Jesus and the disciples and then as the gospels continue she is not mentioned until the end of each one. We find that each gospel author mentions her at the cross.

Where were the disciples? They had walked with him, seen every miracle, he taught them, he fed them, he healed their loved ones; they were with the Lord day and night. But where were they now? At the end, at the worst of it all? Only one disciple was at the foot of the cross: John. That’s it. Jesus’ mother was there, Mary the mother of James-a centurion, soldiers. Two thieves. And Mary Magdalene.

You know, it’s a rare person who’ll go through the fire with you. Who’ll stick around when they don’t even know what to say.

Now what on earth could Mary Magdalene do at the foot of the cross? I mean, what could she possibly be thinking? She couldn’t stop anything, could offer no comfort. She, unlike most of the disciples, remained faithful. She did not curse and swear she didn’t know him. She was faithful until the end. What kind of person does this? Someone who is so grateful for all that’s been given her, all that’s been done for her. A thankful person who realizes, “My life did not have to turn out this way.” And so she stayed with him.

Now consider this, because she stayed, she heard every last word Christ spoke from the cross. Profound. She heard the Lord say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” Then she heard and saw firsthand the Lord’s compelling words to the thief on the cross, how that poor suffering thief, who was so hopeless and terrified, turned to Christ and with great compassion, the Lord saved his repentant soul. The hours passed and Mary heard the Lord tell the apostle John to take care of His mother, who no doubt was weeping inconsolably. And how she must have feared as she heard the Lord say, “My God, my God! Why hast thou forsaken me!” Soon, she would hear him whisper, “I thirst”. And then, the triumphant, “It is finished!”

She was there when the sky grew black, she felt the earth quake beneath her feet, yet still, she stayed with him. It’s possible she heard the rough and tough centurion soldier say in an astonished voice, “Truly, this man was the Son of God. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came up to the cross, after they had begged to take down Christ’s body. And so Christ’s body was removed from the cross and lovingly placed in a tomb by these men-and guess who went along to see exactly where the tomb would be? Mary Magdalene.

Three days later, on the first day of the week, long before sunrise, if you would have passed by Mary’s home, you would have seen a light on in the window. Mary, the mother of James was in there with her, and they were preparing anointing spices, a sweet and fragrant potpourri of assorted herbs and spices, to bring to the Lord.

Very early that morning, the Bible tells us, on the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher just as the sun was about to rise-such was their devotion to the Lord. And as they approached the two of them were talking, wondering out loud, “Oh no! We forgot! Who is going to roll the stone away for us?” Then they stopped right in their tracks-and could barely believe their eyes because the stone was rolled away! They rushed inside and saw a young man, sitting on the right side of the sepulcher, dressed in a long white garment. And they were affrighted. The word in the Greek is a combination of astounded and terrified. The angel told them, “Be not afraid, ye seek Jesus who was crucified, he is not here, he is risen-look where they laid him.”

The Bible tells us the two women ran to tell the disciples but the disciples considered their words as idle tales. The disciples, bless their hearts, came out of hiding just long enough to see for themselves if indeed He was gone. And when they saw that He was they all just went home. Everyone left-except for one person. Mary Magdalene. There she was, all alone in the mist of the early daybreak, and she just sat there all alone and cried. The Lord had shown her such love, such compassion, such acceptance. He was everything to her-and now he was gone. The disciples mistrusted her, wouldn’t take her at her word. So as she wept, she got up to look inside the tomb once more, tears streaming down her face. And that time she saw two angels, in shining raiment, and they asked her why she was crying. She told them it was because somebody had taken away her Lord. As she turned around then, she saw a man she supposed was the gardener and for a moment she got her hopes up thinking surely, he would be able to tell her where the Lord’s body was. She pleaded with the man and begged that he would show her where He was so that she would, all by herself, mind you, come and take him away. And she’s crying to break her heart. Then the Lord spoke to her, “Mary.” She looked up instantly because she would know that voice anywhere and when she saw it was the Lord she said, “Master!” We know she was about to throw her arms around Him because Jesus said, “Touch me not for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” He instructed her to go tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord. And off she flew.

Have you ever stopped to consider that the Bible says in Mark 16:9 that when Jesus was risen from the dead He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.

Spurgeon once said, “Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of Christ as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else”.

Just some thoughts to consider as the last of these beautiful summer days herald the coming of the glorious fall.

Thanks for reading.

Liz