Mary Magdalene - First to See Jesus Raised From the Dead

Mark 16:9-11 as a human being… Mary Magdalene was nobody special really. What made her special is Jesus’ appearance to her... Likewise, you are nothing special, [not a gathering of the beautiful, the rich, the elite] what makes you important, significant, noteworthy is that you have been brought into the body of the resurrected and living Christ.

People try to spice up the gospel record by imagining Mary as an alluring reformed prostitute who either seduced or tempted Jesus… this is just guesswork, speculation, even blasphemy which the scriptural record does not say anything about.

We know few details about this woman but people have taken the mostly empty jar and filled it with all sorts of ridiculous fables. She appears in some obviously fake writings from the 2^nd and 3^rd century. Although, every few centuries or so, they do capture the imagination of people who get into secret knowledge and promote alternative agendas.

l Mary is sometimes depicted as the real spiritual teacher who presents Jesus’ true teaching to be about getting in touch with our true spiritual self… insight she received by special visions. The teachings sound a lot more like Greek philosophy or Buddhism than anything Jesus is recorded saying in the gospels.

l This fictional depiction of Mary also presents her as in conflict with the male authority figures within the church because she is a woman… which gets a lot of people very excited.

Note: people who buy into one of these ideas tends to get caught up in the other.

Contrary to what has been devised by human imagination Mary Magdalene was not destined to be one of the great leaders of the Church. The Bible makes no further mention of her after the record of the resurrection.

And yet... Jesus appeared to her first among all the people that He knew.

God does everything for a purpose, so let’s spend some energy thinking about this woman.

What We Do Know

Luke 8:1-3 Anything else about her background outside of that has no documentation.

l The last name Magdalene simply indicates she was from the small fishing village of Magdala which is about 5 miles from Capernum (Peter’s home town).

l Mary was one of several women who travelled with Jesus and His disciples contributing financially to His ministry from some money that she had.

l Formerly, she had been tormented and in bondage to seven demons, whom Jesus drove out from her. 

Those details are enough to tell us that she had every reason to love Jesus and appreciate what He had done for her personally. Her sorrow over His death was deep and personal... and so was her reaction to His resurrection.

Mary’s Dark Past

Mary Magdalene did have a dark past… but there is no evidence of any lewd or sexual immorality. The darkness in her life was from demonic activity. The bible doesn’t delve into any lurid details… the emphasis in on the simple fact that she was delivered from this form of bondage by the intervention of Jesus himself.

Features of Demonic Activity

Matthew 8:28-29 possibly angry, or violent outbursts [perhaps even directed at things representing God’s goodness]. mark describes this as insanity.

Mark 5:1-5 self harm, mutilation

Matthew 15:22 suffering

Note: demonic possession can cause physical infirmities: fits and seizures, blindness, etc.  BUT, We do not therefore assume that all physical ailments are the direct result of demons. The bible makes a clear distinction that some ailments are the result of physiology... but its important to recognize that some of the same afflictions are because of spiritual oppression.

Oppression from evil spirits can come about through choices we make that open the door for demons to walk through. Choices in sexual behavior, substance use and  abuse, entertainment, or the company we keep. Oppression from evil spirits can also infect us simply by living in a non-biblical, anti-biblical, or occult oriented social setting. {friend group?]

The dramatic casting out of demons take place when Jesus ventures into pagan territories like Tyre, or Gadarenes… areas with institutional worship of demons through idolatry.

The point is that Mary Magdalene was a woman who was tormented and suffering horribly. She was in the clutches of wilful and evil spirit beings... beings who chose evil over good and desire to infect human being. People possessed by demons are described in scripture as, miserable, sorrowful, lonely, outcasts, victims whose lives had been ruined.

One way or another Mary Magdalene was a woman who was tormented and suffering horribly… she was in the clutches of, not  1, but 7 demons… perhaps indicating she was subjected to multiple different varieties of anxiety, misery, isolation, self hatred, physical affliction, anti-social behavior.

Luke 11:24-28 it is not enough to sweep you house clean.... to remove leaven... even to remove sin... fill your house with the good things God is teaching you to do. Eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth... during the festival as way of reminder... and every day in reality.

With 7 demons, Mary’s life was a horror, and she had no means of escape… then one day she came before Jesus… He looked upon her with pity, and set her free. Just like that.

Why Mary Magdalene?

Why would Jesus appear to this woman? And before all others for that matter…  not Peter or John who He was so close to. Or, why not appear to everyone when they are all gathered together? … so none could have the preeminence.

Later on, Jesus would appear to the whole group together later, but first only to Mary. I think He might have done it this way to emphasize that He [supreme over all creation] is dealing with individuals… one on one… in a loving, caring relationship.

Individualism and the Church

The Father draws you to Himself through Christ...  not in the form of some mystical, transcendental, other-worldly experience. He brings you into the BODY of His Son... which is the Church. Within this body God wants all of us to learn about relationships...

Unique individuals learning to interact with other unique individuals in righteousness, truth, and love. This is what God is all about "let them be one even as You and I are one" is what Jesus prayed that final night Ephesians 4:4-7. 

Corinthians 12:24-26 You are brought into a body... but you are treated and appreciated as an individual 1 . God created humanity with lots and lots of diversity. He's not looking to erase your individuality... but to focus it and point it in a positive direction... which is toward life everlasting.

Mary's Perseverance

Mary was a follower of Jesus. She had money, she travelled with Jesus and the disciples. When hostility from Jewish leadership, and from the general public was growing… Mary stuck with it... she was a disciple… [not a drive-by seeker]

She was present at the execution of Jesus.

John 19:25 at first standing close enough to hear him speak. Then the jostling crowds elbowed their way in for a better look, and to hurl abuse. The faithful followers were pushed back Matthew 27:55-56. But they stayed to the bitter end.

Matthew 27:57-61 the men appear to have departed but women followed the burial party. They saw it was a hasty procedure and decided to come back later to properly clean and prepare the body.

Mary was among the first to get up and return to the tomb John 20:1-10.

Mary’s Personal Encounter

John 20:11 the others John, Peter etc. have gone home, Mary stays behind crying (klah'-yo) the word here means sobbing her heart out, there is a different word in Greek for just crying silently… Mary was sobbing loudly, taking great gulps of air, wailing… because Jesus was gone. She would never see Him again… and now even His body had been taken away. Could it really be over?

She’s not thinking theologically, or of prophecy… she just knows He’s gone and she’s alone.

Verse 12-13 now the angels who do know the plan and the spiritual reality of what’s going on ask her “why are  you crying?” [genuine wonder?]

But Mary doesn’t know He’s resurrected. She looking for closure, to take care of Him and serve Him one last time, to prepare His body properly and redo the hasty last minute job done by Joseph and Nicodemus so they could get Jesus body in the tomb before the Holy day Sabbath three days earlier.

Verse 14 Mary turns around and she is looking at Jesus but doesn’t recognize Him. Why? If we were to read some of the other instances where Jesus appeared to the brethren they too did not immediately recognize Him. Mark 16:12, Luke 24:13-16, Matt 29:17, John 24:15… read them and you’ll see that in each case it was only when Jesus revealed Himself to them that they recognized Him. And so I was with Mary…

Verse 15 Jesus first words to Her are a bit distant… He refers to her as “woman” and repeats the angels question “why are you crying”. She’s probably still sobbing when she begs for His help in finding the body that is supposed to be there.

Verse 16 Then He says her name… Mary. When she hears His voice like the sheep who recognizes the shepherd, she recognizes Him and cries out to Him…  

Jesus Christ Knows Your Name

He knows everything about you. Every hair on your head and every victory… every defeat. He knows how to call out to you in a way that you too can recognize Him and be sure.

Jesus Physical Presence

Verse 17 she has found him again and doesn’t want to let go… Mary wants to hang on to His physical presence (which is what she is accustomed to). But this cannot be… Jesus had to ascend to the Father to take on the glory of the firstborn from the dead. The first born of many brothers in the Family of God.

Jesus is the wave sheaf offering presented to God on the day after the weekly Sabbath that occurs during the festival of unleavened bread.

He’s telling Mary that moving forward their relationship would be more than a mere restoration of what went before… it was going to change. “I’m not staying here in the flesh… don’t try to hold on to that. You will benefit more when I am risen, glorified, and present with you in a better way”.

Moving forward, Christ's physical presence on earth is His body... which is the Church. His spirit is within you through baptism and the laying on of hands. Together the body, and the spirit will work together to transform you… So it would be for Mary... So it is for you.

Verse 17 Jesus tells Mary “Go and tell my brothers”… Before they had spoken of servants and masters, then He called them His friends… Now He calls them brothers. He also says “I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God”.

Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection the relationship levels up! The door is now opened up so that we may become like Him... living on the same plane of existence. Christ retains the preeminence of the first born but we are brothers and sisters… in the family of God.

Conclusion

Mary knew she owed Jesus a lot… everything really. He saved her from torment… He saved her from death… and now He had opened up the door to life everlasting. .. she saw Him raised from the dead… and she will see Him again.

So it was with Mary… so it is with you.