Bible Hero, Mary Magdalene

JESUS released Mary Magdalene from the torture of seven demons that had completely controlled her. Before Jesus drove these demons out, we get a picture of Mary as “bereft of will and reason, with vacuous eyes, screaming and tearing at her clothes.”¹

After Jesus healed her, “She is thought to have been beautiful and gracious. Her love was warm and glowing.”² Filled with gratitude to her Lord, she—like other women who had received healing—became one of His followers. Mary exuded warmth and love. Her thankfulness was as noticeable to others as her former afflicted state had been. She found joy in being part of the Master’s band of followers.

When Jesus chose to go to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Mary and the other women among his followers accompanied Him. These women were in the crowd that followed the Master to Calvary, where they watched in sorrow as their Leader endured a horrible death—one reserved for the vilest of criminals.

On the morning of the third day after Jesus’s death, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the garden of Gethsemane.They brought burial spices to complete the preparation of His body.

They were alarmed by what they found. The stone the soldiers had placed over the tomb’s entrance had been rolled away. When they looked inside, they discovered His body was missing. Had someone taken it?

The three women hurriedly left the garden and ran into the city to tell the others. Mary later returned alone to the garden tomb.

Overcome with emotion, she fell against the stone. Then she heard a man ask, “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:15)

Believing him to be the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

The man calls her by name: “Mary.” (v. 16a)

She looks at him through her tears and recognizes Him. “Rabboni!” (v.16b)

He gives her instructions, and she runs into the city to share the good news that Christ has risen.

The Christian world owes a debt to Mary Magdalene. She was the first to carry the news of Christ’s triumph over the grave. If she had kept it to herself, the disciples would not have been empowered to spread the message of the Christ throughout the known world.

Has Jesus Christ healed you or me of illnesses? Has He provided for our needs? Has He blessed us in unexpected ways? Has His presence made a difference in how we live? Shouldn’t we tell others about what He has done for us? Indeed, we should eagerly share our testimony before others in our worship services.

1. Women of the Bible. Frances Vander Velde, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids © 1957,1985, p.216
2. IBID