Category: New Testament
Scriptures:
Mark 15:40-47
Mark 16:1-11
Mark 15:40-47
40 There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.
44 Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.
45 When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
46 He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.
Mark 16:1-11
1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
4 for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.
5 Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed.
6 He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him!
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”
8 They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
9 Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
Commentary
Mary Magdalene watched as Jesus was crucified. She sat across from the tomb as His broken body was laid inside and the stone rolled in place to seal the opening (Matthew 27:61). This is how many women are. Their love for those that are important to them supersedes their desire to turn away from the pain. Mary didn’t want to watch Jesus being tortured and crucified, but she could not she leave Him to go through that alone. It was imperative to her that when He looked out from the cross, He would see love reflected from her eyes to His. She had to be there to care for Him in any way she could, even if that meant just being a kind face among the angry mass at the cross or being among the few that watched over His body until it had been laid to rest.
At sunrise that Sunday morning after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of James, and Salome arrived at the tomb to find the stone rolled aside. As the women entered the tomb, they saw an angel that told them Jesus wasn’t there. He had risen! The angel instructed them to go tell the disciples that He had risen. The women were shocked and fled. Yet, they were also filled with joy. They didn’t just flee in fear, they rushed to obey. They ran toward what the angel was calling them to do – spread the Good News (Mark 16:1-8).
We know of Mary Magdalene only because she walked away from her past. She could have just continued in her life letting her past determine her steps and remaining possessed by the demons that held her captive. However, Mary reached out to Jesus, she trusted in Him to make everything right within her. She allowed the Lord to throw her past out and make her a new creation in Him. She would no longer be known as a host for demons, but as the Apostle to the Apostles.
It is time we stop letting our past get in the way of our future and follow the Lord wholeheartedly so that we may complete the mission He has laid out for us.