Christian Crier
Here are seven important Bible verses that relate to Mary Magdalene.
Luke 8:1-3 “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, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.”
Most people might not be aware of it but the primary supporters of Jesus’ earthly ministry were not men but women of means. They supported Him by being submissive to Him and His teachings but also “provided for them out of their means.” Jesus couldn’t have done as much of His earthly ministry without these women’s help and they have today reaped the rewards in heaven before God for their providing for the ministry of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Mark 15:40 “There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.”
Here is an image of the women who supported Jesus’ ministry now seeing Him in excruciating agony on the cross. In fact, the very word “excruciating” has its origins at the cross of Christ and comes from the crucifixion. They looked on at a distance, perhaps because the Roman guards were keeping observers at a distance. Regardless, they supported Jesus, even to the cross and to the very end of His physical life.
Mark 16:9 “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.”
The “he” in this verse is obviously Jesus. He rose on the very first day of the week, which is Sunday, and appeared to Mary Magdalene first. This was the very same woman who Jesus had cast out the seven demons. At that time and in that culture, particularly in Jewish culture, a woman’s testimony wouldn’t even be accepted as valid testimony or as a true witness, but that’s just the point. God revealed to these women the very Son of God, resurrected, and as you will read later, no one believed them.
John 20:1 “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.”
When Mary Magdalene and the other women came to the tomb, they saw that “the stone had been taken away from the tomb” and assumed that someone had moved Jesus’ body but the stone wasn’t rolled away so that Jesus could get out or so that His body could be removed but to let others in to see that the tomb was empty. Even so, as you will later read, they still had a hard time believing that He had risen from the dead, as He had told them over and over again.
Luke 24:10-11 “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”
When Mary Magdalene and the other women tried telling the others that Jesus was alive, they couldn’t believe it. They simply thought of their words as “an idle tale” and “they did not believe them” which is astonishing. Why wouldn’t they believe these women who had been with Jesus during His earthly ministries? What would their motivation be to lie?
John 20:16 “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher)”
Finally, when Jesus insisted on speaking with Mary and she realized that it was Jesus Christ, she turned to embrace Him but Jesus said, “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” (John 20:17), indicating that Jesus ascended up to the Father in heaven after His death but returned later, for forty days and as the Apostle Paul wrote, “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep” (1st Cor 15:6).
John 20:18 “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.”
When Mary went to announce to the disciples that Jesus had risen and proclaimed, “I have seen the Lord,” they didn’t believe her at first. Today, many still do not believe that He was raised from the dead but this shouldn’t surprise us as we know that “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Since the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and Jesus was sinless, death couldn’t hold Him like it does us but this is why the gospel is such good news. Jesus proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
Conclusion
Mary Magdalene was one of the most faithful women on earth during Jesus’ ministry and today, her name is renowned for her faithfulness to Christ and as one of many women who supported Jesus while He was here on earth. Sadly, many will reject Him as the Son of God and by doing so, they reject they only way that they might be saved (Acts 4:12) and as such, shall suffer for all time (Rev 20:12-15).
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In