Jesus and Mary

Bible Devotional

Church Scripture Verse for today:

John 20:11-18 (ESV)
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “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.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

My Father and your Father, to my God and your God,” and Mary declares, “I have seen the Lord.” Jesus is saying, “He is God,” and Mary responds by saying, “I have personally witnessed the Greek word, kyrios pronounced ko'-ree-os, which means to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; one who has control of the person. In other words, the one who has the power to give life and death.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode in on a donkey to fulfill a prophecy made hundreds of years before His birth. Then Jesus was persecuted, mocked, and crucified on Friday. But then something supernatural occurred. Jesus did not stay dead; He rose from the dead to life. And when Jesus arose, He appeared to women. Then, out of all the women in Israel, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene? And, I have seen “ko'-ree-os“, the one who is the giver of life and death.

So, when the Bible talks about “fear of the Lord,” it doesn’t mean you are to be afraid of God; it means to revere God. It is that reverence for God that we are to say, “He is the giver of life and death.” So, when Mary says, “I have seen the Lord,” she is implying, “I have seen the one who decides eternal life or eternal death.

But here is the question that I would like to address for today:

Why did Jesus appear first to Mary Magdalene? Why did Jesus not appear to His disciples first? They were with Jesus for 3 years, but He appeared to Mary Magdalene. So, what was the importance of Jesus's appearing to Mary after the resurrection?

You know what is very interesting is that only the women went to the tomb where Jesus was buried, and Jesus appeared to them first. This is very interesting. Every time Jesus does or says things, it is because He has a plan beyond our own understanding.

So, before I get into this, I need to explain something about the gospels first. Now, each of the gospels uniquely share their perspective view about Jesus. For example, I have three grown children. When they were little children, they would see me as their father, provider, protector, and disciplinarian. I was the one giving the discipline.

They have grown up now, and they will all write something about me. Even though I am their father, each one will see me from a different perspective, especially if I discipline one child a bit more than the others. One child might say, “My Korean dad forced me to catch flies with chopsticks!” While another might say, “My Korean dad would catch flies with his chopsticks, and he would make us catch flies with chopsticks.” And, the third one might say, “I had to learn how to catch flies with my chopsticks, because this was our tradition in the Choi family.” So, you got the father, the chopsticks, and three kids, all with different perspectives, about me. By the way, this is just a fake story. I never made the kids catch flies with their chopsticks. Now, I have done it myself, but I never made the kids do it.

So, in a somewhat similar way, the gospels offer different perspectives on Jesus, but all the same Jesus.

Matthew - [Emphasizes] Jesus is the “King of the Jews”
Mark - [Emphasizes] Jesus as the “Suffering Servant”
Luke - [Emphasizes] Jesus as the “Savior of All”
John - [Emphasizes] Jesus as God

It’s the same Jesus, but each author shows Jesus in a different light. The reason I bring this up is that when Jesus rose from the dead, each of the gospels highlights different women appearing at the empty tomb.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke treat the women appearing at the tomb slightly differently, while John provides more detail about Mary Magdalene. But together, they give us the whole picture of what happened after Jesus rose from the dead. Let’s look at Luke’s version.

Luke 24:10-11 (NLT)
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

The women are saying, “Hey, guys! We saw Jesus arise from the dead! He is alive!” But they didn’t believe in them? Should not all men believe in the women? Why did they not believe in the women’s testimony?

You have to remember that in the first-century Judea, a woman’s testimony was not valid in court, nor could she serve as a witness. According to Jewish law at the time, a woman’s testimony was not accepted, but only men's. So, in this culture at that time, a woman’s testimony was not considered important or valid.

Even in Rome at that time, a woman’s testimony in capital cases was often not admitted or received in court. Throughout the ancient Near East, women’s testimony was generally unimportant, and many nations regarded women as second-class citizens. That’s why these Jewish men in the first century didn’t believe in what they were saying.

That’s why I love Jesus and our ancient book. Our Bible is so unique and very special because, among all the ancient books, God would write the names of these Christian women as witnesses and testimony to the risen Lord. Most of the ancient texts did not validate a woman’s testimony, but our God said, "We will validate their testimony.” To God, these women are appreciated, valued, and play a key role in God’s kingdom purpose. In any other ancient book, if you were to write that women encountered the risen Lord, or that a woman met God, they would have thrown the book out.

So, against this cultural backdrop, selecting women to be the primary resurrection witnesses is counter-cultural to the norm of that day. Our Bible is the first one to promote women as equal inheritors of God’s promise.

Galatians 3:28 (NLT)
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

So, who are the women who show up at the empty tomb of Jesus?

Women at the tomb 
1. Mary (Mother of Jesus) 
2. Mary Magdalene (Delivered from seven demons, Luke 8:2) 3. Mary (Mother of James and Joses/Joseph, Matt. 27:56) 
4. Mary (wife of Clopas, possibly be Jesus’ “mother’s sister” John 29:25 - Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene.) 
5. Joanne (wife of Chuza, Luke 24:10; the household manager of King Herod Antipas, Luke 8:3). [She was a follower of Jesus and helped to provide financially for Jesus’s ministry] 
6. Salome (Mother of James and John, Mark 15:40).

Can anyone guess the common female name in the first century?

Mary! In order to distinguish the different Mary’s in the Gospels, they would associate with their hometown, like Mary who lived in a town called Magdala, which was on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee. Hence, that is where Mary got her name, Mary Magdalene, and Magdalene is not her last name. So the proper title is Mary of Magdalene. The other Marys were associated with their husbands or children, such as Mary of Clopas (Husband) and Mary, the mother of James and Joses.

This is still common in Asia, and still to this day. Our fi rst child’s name in Korean is Eun-Hae, meaning "grace," and mom is called Umma, and dad is called Oppa. So, people would call the mom and dad "Eun-Hae Umma" or "Eun-Hae Oppa” to get your attention. That is why Jesus is called Jesus of Nazareth, because that is where Jesus grew up. Jesus grew up in a town called Nazareth.

So, when we say Jesus Christ, the word “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. The word “Christ” comes from the Greek word “Christos,” meaning “anointed one,” or “chosen one.” So, when we say Jesus Christ, we are saying, “Jesus the anointed one,” or “Jesus the chosen one.” So, the word “Christ” is the title signifying Jesus was sent from God to be a King and Deliverer.

Now that we have a backdrop and context of who arrived at the tomb, I want to address this question: Why did Jesus appear first to Mary Magdalene? What was so special about Mary? That is our primary focus for today.

Let’s begin with Mary being delivered from demons. Now, remember that this is what we know for certain. Some said that Mary Magdalene is a prostitute, but we have to be careful that we don’t add to something that is not specifically stated in the Bible. But this is what we do know for certain.

Luke 8:1-3 (NLT)
Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

So, you have quite a few women financially supporting Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus was going about sharing the good news, and along the way, he was doing the deliverance of getting rid of “evil spirits and diseases,” including Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus cast out seven demons. The number 7 often symbolizes completeness or wholeness.
But in Mary Magdalene’s case, she had seven complete oppressions from the demonic spirits. Meaning she was maxed out and full of demonic oppression that was in her. Basically meaning there is no return for her, and she is in the devil’s stronghold.

Listen, parents, some of you have kids who are now teenagers or young adults. And you feel like they have strayed from God or are far from God. They used to go to church, but now they are far from church or God. Pray! Pray that God will send a strong believer in their path, and that God will bring them back home.

So, when the devil is thinking, “Man! I have her maxed out, and she will be in darkness forever!” But we have a mighty God, who can break all chains.

- Mary had a tormented soul, but Jesus set her free. 
- Mary was a broken crackpot, but Jesus mended her. 
- Mary was fallen, broken, cracked, chipped, and tormented, but Jesus came to give her        life. [John 10:10 ESV, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they    may have life and have it abundantly.”]

Now, whether it was literal demons, mental illness, trauma, or a combination of spiritual affliction and emotional pain, she was full of demons. So, the Bible put the number seven there for a reason to let all of us know that when Jesus comes into your hearts, it doesn’t matter how far your sins go or what strongholds you are in; God’s love goes even deeper.

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

This is exactly what Mary Magdalene encountered. The full resurrected power of God was upon her soul, and she was set free.
- That is why when Jesus was arrested, persecuted, mocked, and beaten, Mary Magdalene was there, while most of the male disciples fl ed. Almost all the guys took off!

Matthew 16:21-22 (NCV)
21 From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, where the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. He told them he must be killed and then be raised from the dead on the third day. 22 Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that. He said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!” [And Peter is the same one who denied Jesus three times. We will talk about him more next week.]

-  Mary Magdalene was there when she witnessed Jesus carrying the heavy wooden cross over 600 meters to Calvary, where He was to be crucified. She followed Jesus to the cross.
-  She was there when they drove the nails into his hands and feet.
-  She saw His bloody body being taken down and laid in the tomb.
-  She was among the first to return after the Sabbath to care for His dead body.
-  She remained close and faithful even after Jesus' death.
-  On the third day, early in the morning. Mary returned to the tomb to anoint His body. But the stone had rolled away, and the tomb was empty.

From the beginning of her transformation to the death and burial of Jesus, Mary Magdalene was there, and Jesus knew that. Jesus knew in advance that Mary Magdalene would be the perfect eyewitness from His death to His burial. She was faithful from the beginning to the end.

And that is why Jesus chose Mary Magdalene. 
-  She became the first to proclaim the good news to others. 
-  She became the first to ever receive a command from Jesus to “go and tell others of the      risen Lord.

Out of all the people in the land of Israel, God would reveal Himself to women in the Ancient Near East. Out of all the women in the world, God has chosen Mary Magdalene to be the first to spread the “Good News.”

Mary Magdalene was faithful from the conception of transformation to the fulfillment of her mission. This is truly one of the most powerful redemptive story that a demon possessed women who was left for dead, becoming the first woman with a commission to share that Jesus rose from death to life.

Now this verse will start to make sense for you.

Philippians 1:6 Amplified Bible
I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

My friends, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ and allow Him into your hearts, God will work and continue to perfect and complete you, so that you can enjoy the fullness of life until the Lord calls you home. God not only wants to give you freedom, but also an abundant life to the fullest.

Listen, your sin will not be so deep that God Almighty cannot pull you out of it because His love for you is so wide and deep. He will pursue out of all the people in Israel, women and men, and call your name.

[I would like you to put your name where the line is shown.]

-  Mary Magdalene’s name is in the book of life. 
-  (Your name:) __________________________ is in the book of life.
-  God established Mary Magdalene’s legacy because of her faith. 
-  God will establish (your name:) __________________ because of your faith.
-  (Your name) ____________ is not defined by your past or your pain. 
-  (Your name) _________ is defined by Jesus who called my name.
-  Jesus entrusted Mary Magdalene with the greatest message to share. 
-  What did Jesus entrust me to do? What is my mission to fulfill?

Listen, my friends: Jesus rose from the dead to give us a mission, as He did with Mary Magdalene.

  • What did Jesus entrust you to do? 
  • What is the mission you must fulfill before the Lord calls you home? 
  • What will be your legacy?