For the centuries since Jesus’ resurrection, Mary of Magdala has had her name dragged through every conceivable mud puddle available. Cults, gnostic gospels, and even early religious leaders have accused her of everything from arguing with the apostle Peter to being a prostitute to having a secret family with Jesus. Sadly, many early church leaders attempted to combine all the Marys in the Bible into one person. However, Mary of Magdala has the distinction of not just being the first woman to see Jesus after His resurrection, but of being the first person to see and speak with Him after His death. It is this fact that adds credence to the resurrection of Jesus, as women were not considered credible witnesses in this culture. The fact that the Bible would report a woman as the first witness adds credibility because if people were fabricating Jesus’s resurrection, they certainly would not have included such a fact.
Who was the real Mary of Magdala? Twice in the Gospels, Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2, the writers specify that Mary was healed from seven demons. Though she is sometimes associated with prostitution, with the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet in Luke 7:37, and with the woman caught in the act of adultery, there is no Scriptural reason to assign Mary to any of these stories. What Scripture does say of her is that when Jesus healed her, she dedicated her life to Him and never turned back.
The Gospels only record seven separate healings from demon possession aside from Mary. Those who suffered from demonic possession were unable to speak, hear, see, or experienced other physical infirmities. Jesus used the example of demonic possession to show how trying to get rid of a demonic influence on one’s own or through any means other than Jesus only led to a situation seven times worse, lending insight into Mary’s situation before she met Jesus. (Luke 11:24-26).
Jesus portrayed those under the influence of demons as sufferers in need of mercy, though often they were rejected as outcasts with no hope of restoration. The maniac of Gadara, recorded in Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 5:2-13, and Luke 8:33, was shackled and left to roam the cemeteries. His torment led him to cut himself with sharp stones, as he lived at the mercy of the demons. When the demons that once lived inside of him were sent into the pigs nearby, they threw themselves off a cliff. How one man survived all those demons for so long is incredible to fathom. Jesus’s compassion to specifically make a way to him is also worth noting. Jesus always had to go to those who were demon-possessed, or they were brought to Him by caregivers. The demons never took their victims to Him willingly.
From Mary’s story, we can draw some conclusions about how her life must have been before she met Jesus. Luke 8 describes her as a woman of means who ministered to Jesus from her substance. It is unlikely that she had a family, and John Macarthur suggests in Twelve Extraordinary Women that she could have even been an older widow who chose to follow Jesus. While the Bible does not fill in all the details, it is clear that Mary of Magdala stayed with Jesus all the way to the end of His life. When every male disciple fled, Mary stayed near the cross. When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus hastily wrapped the body of Jesus and laid Him in Joseph’s tomb, she noted where they laid Him before returning home for the Sabbath. She, with Mary, the mother of James the less, was the first at the tomb the morning of His resurrection. And she was the first to speak with Him, when she thought He was the gardener. John 20:13-18 records her joy when Jesus called her by name. She knew His voice, just like Jesus said His followers would in John 10. Mary was the first person to share the good news of the Gospel with the disciples as well. Her faith brought her through the darkest times, and she was rewarded greatly by Jesus.
How does Mary’s faith encourage us today? I am encouraged by the hope Jesus offered her when every religious leader, her own efforts, and every other avenue of help failed. With Jesus, there is no lost cause. I am also reminded that those trapped in Satan’s web of deceptions are sufferers in need of mercy and should never be dismissed as hopeless. And finally, her life reminds us that Jesus has a plan and purpose for everyone He redeems. The past is over; a new life can begin.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame;
he remembereth that we are dust. Psalm 103:12-14
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 10:1-4,10-11
Faith in Jesus is life-changing and eternity-giving. He does not save us for eternity to give us a broken struggle from day to day. His plan is for an abundant life now and forever. Like Mary of Magdala, we can follow Him—no turning back. I look forward to meeting her someday in heaven!
His Song in the Night 