Learn to Love Like Mary

“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying.” – John 20:11

Despite her sordid past, Mary Magdalene was the first witness to Jesus' resurrection.  

Early in His ministry, Jesus delivered Mary Magdalene from seven demons, and she was forever grateful. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much—sticking by Jesus' side through thick and thin. As Jesus hung on the cross, she was there on Golgotha. When Jesus was buried, she followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the graveside. On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene was there at the tomb. And for her love ... she was richly rewarded.  

When she first saw Jesus – possibly because she was blinded by her tears – Mary didn’t recognize Him. But everything changed when Jesus spoke one simple word: “Mary.” Hearing Jesus say her name, she immediately recognized the voice of her Shepherd. As Jesus taught in John 10: “I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me” (v. 14).

Then, when Mary went to embrace Him, Jesus surprised her by saying, “Do not hold on to me” (John 20:17). Instead, He asked her to let go of Him, go and share the news of His resurrection with the disciples. And how did Mary Magdalene respond to Jesus’ commands? With obedience. As difficult as it was to leave her Shepherd, Mary hurried to the disciples with the good news: “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18).

Here are three lessons we can learn from Mary Magdalene: 

Lesson #1: If you have been forgiven much … love much. As Jesus said in Luke 7:47, after a sinful woman bathed his feet with her tears, “Her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene’s past. We do know she had been possessed by seven demons, and Jesus had set her free and forgiven her sins. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much. Now, it took a LOT of Jesus’ blood to cover all of your sin, right? You have been forgiven much—so love much.

Lesson #2: Learn to recognize the voice of your shepherd. Christians often ask, “How can I recognize God’s voice?” Here’s how: Learn to tune your spiritual ears to Jesus’ unique frequency. You can do that by filling your heart and mind with the Word of God. The better you know God’s Word, the more you will hear and recognize the unique voice of your Shepherd. As Jesus declared in John 10: “[The Good Shepherd] calls his own sheep by name … and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (vs. 3-4).

Lesson #3: It’s tempting to cling to Jesus and keep Him to yourself, but He has an important job for you to do. So, let go. Then go, and tell. Because Mary Magdalene loved Jesus so much, she was quick to do exactly what He asked her to do. She did it out of her deep love for Christ. And out of our deep love for Christ, you and I must do it too. Rejoice over your living Savior. And go tell the world!

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley

 

Set Free by the Empty Tomb

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36

Last week as we celebrated Easter, I remembered a story I once heard about a first grade teacher who gave her class an assignment that involved plastic eggs. She passed out an egg to each of her students and told them, “Easter is about life. So, I want you each to take your egg home and put something inside it that is a sign of life.” The next day the kids returned with all sorts of things in their plastic eggs: leaves, blades of grass, an ant and even a butterfly. But when one little boy opened up his egg, it was empty. The other kids laughed. The teacher asked him, gently, why he didn’t do his assignment. He answered, “I DID do my assignment. My egg is empty because on Easter Jesus’ tomb was empty. Isn’t that a sign of life?”

It certainly is. And today I’d like to take a look at one of the first people to discover the empty tomb: Mary Magdalene. That empty tomb transformed her life. And it can transform yours as well.

 

All four gospels mention women going to the tomb at sunrise on resurrection Sunday to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Matthew, Mark and Luke mention several women in the group, but each time, Mary Magdalene is at the top of the list. And John doesn’t even mention the other women. He focuses entirely on Mary Magdalene. What was so special about Mary Magdalene? That’s just the thing: As best as we can tell, she wasn’t very special at all. In fact, before she met Jesus a year or two earlier, she was pretty messed up.

Now, over the centuries many Christians have assumed that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute with loose morals. But nothing in Scripture supports that. When Mary Magdalene is introduced in Luke 8, we read that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (verse 2). So, most people who knew Mary Magdalene wouldn’t have said, “She’s a floozy!” They would have said, “This lady has lost her mind! Those demons are making her as nutty as a fruitcake.” But one day Mary Magdalene met Jesus. He drove out the seven demons and set her free. And she was never the same again.

From that point forward she stuck with Jesus wherever he went—regardless of whether he was popular or unpopular, regardless of whether the crowd was shouting “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday or “Crucify him!” on Good Friday. Mary Magdalene was one of the few remaining followers of Jesus who was faithful and courageous enough to stand at the foot of his cross. She was the first to arrive at Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning. And she was the first to see Jesus after he rose from the grave.

This woman had likely been tormented by demons for years, but she was set free from her demons by the power and authority of Jesus Christ. And she was forever grateful to him. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much.

This transformed woman became even more transformed when she experienced the empty tomb and saw her risen Savior face-to-face. She ran back to the disciples and exclaimed, “I have seen the Lord.” They probably thought she had lost her mind again. But she hadn’t.

This oppressed woman had been transformed by Jesus Christ. And she was more in her right mind than ever before. Once again, Jesus Christ had set her free.

Honestly, many of us need to be set free in much the same way as Mary Magdalene. Some of us are held captive by our past. We look back on who we used to be and we’re the first to admit, “I was nuts! I was out of my mind. I wasn’t rowing with both oars in the water.”  And what’s worse, we know our family and friends had a front row seat to our nuttiness. They saw it all! They heard it all! And sometimes we feel like crawling into a hole. We know that we’ve deeply hurt the people who mean the most to us. We’ve burned so many bridges. And even though we’ve made big changes in our lives, we can’t repair the damage we’ve done. We’re still haunted by the demons of our past.

Well, I have good news for you. Just as surely as Jesus drove Mary’s demons out of her, he can drive the demons of our past out of you and me—if we’ll let him. There were likely times when Mary Magdalene thought about the woman she used to be, and she felt like crawling into a hole. But Jesus Christ had set her free. So, she boldly stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. And she boldly led the ladies to Jesus’ tomb on Resurrection Sunday. And after seeing Jesus with her own two eyes she proclaimed to the rest of Jesus’ followers, “I have seen the risen Lord!”

So, if you feel like a prisoner of your past, Jesus holds the key to your prison cell. He alone can set you free. As Jesus himself says in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” So, journey to the empty tomb today. Come to Jesus and take hold of his forgiveness. Take hold of his healing. And take hold of his peace. Because the tomb is empty, because Jesus is alive … you CAN be set free from the demons of your past. You CAN be set free from  your guilt and shame. Jesus Christ can set you free. And if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.