This week, we are studying Mary Magdalene. Among other things, she was the first one that Jesus revealed Himself to, after He arose from the dead.
There are several boatloads of legends about her. In fact, Mary Magdalene may be more well known for the unproven details and the false stories about her life, than she is for what we actually see in the Word! She is often identified as a former prostitute, but I couldn't find anything truly concrete to base that on when I studied. People frequently identify her with the sinful woman from the city, who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair -- but we discussed that before, and you can go back if you like and re-read those posts. Some people even confuse her with Mary of Bethany, Martha and Lazarus' sister, but they are two different people.
Who was she really? And why did Jesus appear to her first? Doesn't it make more sense that He would appear to Peter first, perhaps? Since He said Peter would be the rock the church was built on?
Let's look at one of the passages we'll focus on:
Just like at the birth of Jesus, when the angels announced His birth to the shepherds, we can see here that God is no "respecter of persons." He doesn't look at people the way we humans do!
At His birth, the angels didn't tell the wealthy and powerful people. They told the news to the lowly and poor people of the day.
And here, when He's risen from the dead, it's announced to the lowly again. We know that women in that day were considered second-class citizens, at best. Women were not permitted to do many things that men routinely did. They were looked down upon, and treated as property. (Take a look at many countries today that practice what is called "sharia" law, and women are still treated in this way.) It was so bad that a woman's testimony in a court of law wasn't even permitted -- they couldn't vouch for, or testify about, anything. And yet, Jesus went against all of this, and appeared to Mary Magdalene, and said to go tell the others . . .
Mary Magdalene loved her Savior and Teacher deeply, and she held an important place in His life and ministry. She was one of the women who traveled with the disciples and Jesus, and supported their ministry and efforts. She was present at His crucifixion and at His burial. And she had come early in the morning to the empty tomb. She was the first to see the resurrected Lord.
I think we need to know more about her . . . I'm thinking we can learn from her. Join me this week, if you will, to study Mary Magdalene.