Mary Magdalene: Faithful to the End

By Vida Li Sik, South Africa

Follow along in reading and reflecting on the story of a woman whose faithfulness outweighed suffering and worry, a woman whose life was a living testimony of Jesus’ grace. Passages in this devotional: Luke 8:1–3; Matthew 27:55–56; Matthew 28:1–10

Transformed by Jesus

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out… These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” Luke 8:1–3 (NIV)

Mary Magdalene had suffered immensely. It must’ve been absolute torture not to be in control of her behavior -- to scare family, friends, and neighbors, and to be ostracized because people didn’t know how to deal with her. Then Jesus came along. He knew exactly what to do and transformed her life. No longer was she defined by what she was before, but by what she became after meeting Jesus. She was so grateful that her new life revolved around Jesus. He became her world. She followed Him and served Him and His disciples out of her own means.

“Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” Matthew 27:55–56 (NIV)

Mary Magdalene followed Jesus all the way to the cross. She did not let fear, disappointment, or worry about the future make her shrink back from the commitment she made. She was in it for the long haul. She refused to let go of her relationship with her Savior.

Honored by Jesus

The Bible mentions her by name for being at the foot of the cross of Jesus and His burial place. And fittingly, as the first witness, Jesus entrusted her with the message of His resurrection in Matthew 28:1–10 (NIV).

Reflection: Like Mary Magdalene, you can find unconditional love, acceptance, undeserved grace, forgiveness of sins, and a new family who love you despite your past. Do you remember where you came from and are you still grateful for what Jesus has done for you? Sometimes, fear of people, difficulties, or worry about the days to come can make you stumble in your walk with God.

Respond: Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus treat women with special tenderness. Does His love inspire you to keep following and serving Him and His family, no matter what challenges life brings your way? Will you, like Mary Magdalene, be faithful to the end?

Mary Magdalene: A Friend for All Times

By Zoe Scott, Sydney, Australia

A friend loves at all times and a [sister] is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17)

We meet Mary early on in Jesus’ ministry. She was one of a group of women who supported Him and His disciples out of their own means. She is introduced as Mary Magdalene, that is Mary from Magdala, to distinguish her from other Marys like Jesus’ mother and Martha’s sister.

Magdala was a prosperous centre for catching and salting fish on the Sea of Galilee. It was also near Jesus’ home base of Capernaum. To be able to travel with Jesus and provide for Him, Mary must have had some wealth and be free to leave her home. Maybe she was a widow to be able to serve Jesus in this way.

In the following days, we will walk with Mary of Magdala, and prayerfully grow closer to our Lord by examining her life.

Day 1 – Friday, March 5 -- Set Free!

Read:  Luke 8:1-3

Jesus had exorcised seven demons from Mary. How horrible to be controlled by those evil spirits! Imagine all those thoughts fighting you day in, day out! What words were spewing out of her mouth? Was her body being thrown about in uncontrolled spasms? Maybe she was in chains or even homeless like the demon-possessed man in Mark 5.

Many of us can by paralyzed by anxiety or kept awake by worry. We can be driven by dark thoughts to grim imaginings or to acts of self-harm. We can be isolated by these moods and fears or shunned by our family and friends who are frightened of us and for us.

Jesus drove those demons away for good. What freedom! What a sense of wonder! Imagine waking up in the morning and testing your mind for those fears, those shouting compulsions. They are not there anymore. All gone!

What was her response? To follow Jesus and care for Him. Why would she do that? From gratitude. Every day of peace and calm, every day of structured thinking and sane actions would be heavenly to her.

Truly Jesus knows what binds us and He can, and will, set us free.

Reflect:  What has Jesus set you free from?  Were you grateful at the time?  Are you still grateful today?  How do you show Jesus your gratitude?

Respond:  Consider ways that you can be like Mary Magdalene, using your means (money, talents, resources, etc.) to help Him spread the Good News.

Day 2 – Saturday, March 6 -- There During the Dark Times

Read:  Matthew 27:45-56

Three years later Jesus is dying on a cross. The twelve men are hiding from arrest. The women are there, including Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ own mother. Crucifixion is a painful and degrading death. Jesus is naked. His face is bloody from the crown of thorns. His back has been shredded by whips and every breath is a painful gasp for air. Urine and faeces drip down the wood. Mary is loyal and supportive even now.

Reflect:  How do we show our loyalty to Jesus in the difficult times? How do we show up when the church is being ridiculed or persecuted? Do we still read and pray, still meet with other disciples, when others are leaving?  Maybe you have been through times when the church has fragmented or your best friends have left. Or maybe you have been shunned or forced to leave home because you want to follow the Bible. Or maybe it has been dangerous or illegal to be a disciple of Jesus. What did you hold onto at these times?

What can you hold onto for the persecution that will surely come in the future?

Peter says “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)

Respond:  Find a promise in the Bible to help you stay close to Jesus when life is very hard and uncertain. Memorize it to help you face the uncertainties of the future.

Day 3 – Sunday, March 7 -- Do Whatever I Can

Read:  Luke 23:55-24:1

After Jesus’ death, His body was laid in a fresh tomb wrapped in cloths and spices. Mary and her friends from Galilee followed to see where it lay, then had to return home to keep the Sabbath. All Jesus’ followers were Jews and could do no work on the Sabbath, the seventh day, according to the Ten Commandments. But the women prepared spices and perfumes to preserve Jesus’ body according to custom once the Sabbath had passed.

Mary has just seen her Lord killed and buried. No one knows what will happen next. Will their group disband? Were they following a mirage, a joke? What would Jesus want them to do now?

Mary doesn’t know what the future holds, but she knows how to prepare a body for burial. So she does that. She prepares a final gift to give to Jesus.

Reflect:  Often we don’t know why life is happening as it is. 2020 is a case in point. But often we know just the next thing to do.

Are you a woman who dithers, a woman who worries or a woman who acts? What is something that you can do for Jesus even though you don’t understand the big picture?

Respond:  Do that for Him today.

Day 4 – Monday, March 8 -- He is Missing

Read:  John 20:1-18

John 20 gives a poignant account of Mary’s experience at Jesus’ tomb. She goes there as soon as she can, while it is still dark. Waiting for the Sabbath to be over and the morning to come must have been agony. The stone has been rolled away from the tomb! Grave robbers! Jesus’ body has been stolen!

She runs back to the disciples with this terrible news. Where is her Lord? “We don’t know where they have put him” is her heartfelt cry (v2). You can hear her grief. This is the last straw. After watching her Lord die and be buried, she has no tomb to visit. No way to show her grief. All she had left of Jesus was His body and now even that has gone.

Peter and John run to the tomb and see the grave clothes lying empty. They can see that Jesus is not there and start to believe Jesus has risen. They go home but Mary stays, weeping. Her loss is overwhelming. When she looks into the tomb, she sees the angels that Peter and John saw but she can’t process this. Again she says, “They have taken my LORD away and I don’t know where they have put him.” (v13).

Then Mary sees a figure in the garden. Again her grief pours out of her, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him” (v15b). Three times she cries out! See how she loved Him!

Mary has such an extravagant, single-minded love for Jesus. It is a love that won’t be pushed aside. It is a love that is fierce; frightening even. After being freed from demons and spending three years with Jesus, knowing and loving Him more and more, has everything just come to nothing?

Reflect:  Do I love Jesus with my whole heart like this? Do I? We are called to. In Mark 12:30, Jesus quotes this as the most important commandment.

Respond:  Read Mark 12:29-31 and consider how to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Meditate on it. Jesus’ words are there to be obeyed, not just decorated and stuck on the fridge.

Day 5 – Tuesday, March 9 -- He has Risen!

Read:  John 20:11-18

The first person to see the risen Christ is Mary of Magdala. Mary sees Jesus and she thinks He is the gardener. (LOL!) But when He says her name, “Mary.” she knows Him. Her Master Teacher is here. From grief to euphoria in an instant; Mary’s heart must have been racing. 

What a blessing and honour. That is what God’s love is like. He knows that we are but dust yet He loves each one of us extravagantly. Mary was an unimportant woman from a small Roman province miles away from anywhere. But she was important to Jesus.

Reflect: When we see Jesus cry at Lazarus’ death (John 11:35) and come personally to Mary Magdalene by the garden tomb, we see Jesus’ love in action. Jesus meets us where we are. He accepts us as we are – old or young, wise or simple, weak or strong. Do I realise Jesus loves me that much as well?

Where did Jesus come to meet you in your life?

Do you have a story from the Bible or a passage that describes how God came to you?

What are some of the ways you feel God’s love in your life?

Respond: What is your story about meeting Jesus and understanding His love? Maybe write it down or note some key points and share it with someone.  Or, ask someone else to share her conversion story with you.

Day 6 – Wednesday, March 10 -- What Does it Mean?

Read:  Matthew 28:1-20

Initially, Jesus’ resurrection meant that He had returned to Mary and the disciples. Jesus was back.  They still had their leader. What a relief! But it wasn’t the same. Jesus was alive again because He had defeated sin and death. Now He could not die.

Grief and joy together are part of remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection. As we come to know Jesus, we join Mary and her friends in their grief at Jesus’ suffering. We weep at His horrible and tortuous death and rejoice at His return.

The resurrection means that Jesus paid for our sin with His own blood and that the payment was accepted. That is the good news! Paul describes it like this in Romans 4:7-8: “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

It is good to meditate on what Jesus endured for us.

Reflect:  What does it mean to you when you think of Jesus dying for your sins?  What emotions and actions does it evoke?

Respond:  Read through a gospel account of the crucifixion and think about how Jesus was treated. Thank God for the sins that no longer control you. Pledge to follow Him loyally as Mary did, wherever He may lead.

Day 7 – Thursday, March 11 -- Into the Future

Read:  Luke 24:1-12

Mary’s story does not end here by the garden tomb. She is probably with the disciples in the upper room as they meet to pray while they wait for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:14). She is mentioned in all four gospel accounts. So the early church knew her and her colorful story.

Mary had a message to share. Jesus had driven out her demons and healed her. She had known Jesus throughout His ministry, seen Him heal, listened to Him teach. She was even with Him at the cross and saw His resurrected body. Imagine what a treasure she was to the early church: “Mary tell us your story again! What did Jesus look like? Why were you so upset? Didn’t you know Jesus would return?”

Our stories are powerful too! Each of us has a changed life to share. We have trusted God’s word and believed His promises. Seeing God work in us gives other people hope… and hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:5).

Reflect:  What are some ways that God’s love is reflected in your life?  What stories of Jesus’ love and victory do you have to share with the people around you?

Respond:  Mary was a woman of action who loved God with her heart, mind, soul and strength. She freely shared the good news of God’s love.  Let’s imitate her!