Scripture: John 20:1-20; Luke 8:1-3
Theme: Heroes of the Faith
Subject: Mad Mary - Mary Magdalene
Proposition: As we examine the life of Mary we meet a lady
1. Who has been freed to become a follower
2. Who is full of caring, compassion and courage
3. Who goes from weeping to witnessing
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
This morning, I would like for us to look at one of the true heroes of the faith. It is a lady by the name of Mary Magdalene. Her life as we look at it can serve as an inspiration to all of us this morning. If we allow her to, she will help us discover how we can grow closer to the LORD and be a better disciple for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
Mary is one of those people who we find in the center of Jesus' Resurrection Story. In fact, she is one of the most important people we find at the center of Jesus' Resurrection Story. However, she is also a person that has been surrounded by a great deal of myth, confusion and misunderstanding. Depending on what source one is using to do their research on this woman you find some very interesting opinions about her. Some people over the years have believed, preached about and written that Mary was1:
+Severally mentally and emotionally disturbed
+A reformed prostitute
+Married to either Joseph of Armathea or some other wealthy Roman citizen
+Married to Jesus of Nazareth - the wedding at Cana was seen to be their wedding (sad to say some do believe this lie)
+Was not married or a widower but was simply a groupie follower of Jesus and was his live in lover (sad to say but some do believe this lie as well)
+Was at first engaged to Jesus but when Jesus finally discovered that He was in fact the Son of God, broke off the engagement . This left Mary so heartbroken that she turned to a life of rampant prostitution (isn't it amazing how many lies have been told about this woman?)
+Was unofficially the 13th disciple of Jesus. The story goes that Jesus sometime during his Galilean ministry stumbled across his down trodden former finance. She was living a life of sin, riddled with disease (most likely syphilis ) and Jesus graciously heals her. She then becomes the "beloved disciple" that we read about in her book which the Early Church erroneously attributed to John. The Gospel needs to be renamed - The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene.
Perhaps no one aside from our Savior Himself and perhaps Paul has been so wrongfully accused and accosted throughout history as Mary of Magdala. For the first 500 years of history she was pretty much left alone. Her stories and the passages concerning her were put into the background. Then around the year 600 AD things began to change. Pope Gregory I melted all the unnamed women and the lesser name Marys into one single person. Mary of Magdala suddenly became a woman who was sinner, prostitute, demon possessed and the woman who anoints Jesus' feet.
Throughout the Middle Ages the great painters took great pleasure in painting Mary as some brazen hussy. More often than not they focused on her supposed immorality than her holiness. Mary is commonly portrayed as a woman of loose morals. Her image has been contorted and distorted.
It was not until more modern times ( approx. 1969) that the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church decided to revisited Mary and her story to get a more biblical picture of her. Rather than see her in the light of tradition and myth they decided that we need to return and see exactly how the Bible portrays this woman. Author Liz Curtis Higgs has done an excellent job in helping us in this area with her book, Mad Mary.
Sadly, others have not followed and even today in film2 and in print she is still being portrayed in a negative light. Some writers have insisted in calling her the Playmate of the Early Church or the Patron Saint of Loose Morals. A better title is that given today of her by the Catholic Church - the Patron Saint of Contemplation and Converts. She could also be called the Patron Saint of those who have been Slandered.
Matthew 5:10 tells us that "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." That verse accurately applies to Mary of Magdala.
This morning, let's learn some Biblical truths about Mary. Let's turn to our Bibles and see exactly who Mary of Magdala was and how she can speak to us today.
I. The first picture we get of Mary is a woman who was freed by Jesus - Luke 8:1-3
We first meet Mary of Magdala in Luke 8:1-3. She is there alongside of some other women who were following Jesus. She is there with Joanna and Susanna. They were a group of women who had recently been healed by Jesus. Some of them had suffered from incurable diseases while others had been tormented by demonic spirits.
Mary is singled out because she had been possessed by seven demonic spirits. This is why Liz Higgs chose the name Mad Mary for the title of her book about Mary of Magdala. It appears that Mary suffered greatly at the hands of these seven demonic spirits. It doesn't mean however that she was immoral or depraved. More than likely, Bible scholars tell us she was similar to the man we meet in later on in Luke 8:26-39 called Legion.
If you remember his story it was not the story of a man who was a murderer, rapist or thief. There is no mention of him being immoral or depraved. Instead, his story was that of a man who was suffering from mental, emotional and social instability. He was a man that lived among the dead. He was a man who would tear apart his own flesh with pieces of rocks. He was a man who could not be chained or shackled because of his superhuman strength. He was a man out of his right mind.
More than likely our Mary of Magdala suffered from a similar type of possession/oppression. Rather than being an immoral woman today more scholars believe that Mary suffered from emotional and mental instability.
Which could mean that Mary might have suffered from:
+A compulsive desire to curse the LORD GOD
+Continually having suicidal thoughts and actions
+Possessing a deep spirit of hate, malice and bitterness
+Manic depression, restlessness and insomnia
+Horrible visions, hallucinations and dreams
+Having a violent uncontrollable anger
+An overwhelming desire to hurt herself perhaps through cutting
+Hearing demonic voices
Let's be clear, in no way is that to say that everyone who has similar symptoms is either mad or possessed/oppressed. But as you examine all the people in the Bible that suffered from demonic possession/oppression they all displayed some of those behaviors.
What I do know is that Mary did not want to live that way. After all who would want to suffer from any of those ailments? I also know that she met Jesus on day and when Jesus came into our world He changed all the rules. Jesus conquered Satan and all the demons of hell. Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave. I know that Jesus graciously brought healing, peace and order in Mary's life. Jesus set her free. He freed her from any demonic possession and/or oppression. Mary was free.
I love the song that Martin Luther wrote called "A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD". I deeply appreciate that little phrase that we find in verse 3 - "FOR LO HIS DOOM IS SURE! ONE LITTLE WORD SHALL FELL HIM!"
I don't know what word Jesus used to free Mary. I just know that under His care and with His touch she went from being:
+Mad Mary to being a committed, consecrated follower of Jesus.
+Mad Mary who had been possessed/oppressed by the demons of Hell to being filled with God's Sweet Holy Spirit
+Mad Mary who had been bound by a power greater than herself to being a person free to be a child by the Light of Jesus.
If we knew nothing more about Mary than this story then what a great example she is for us. Mary show us:
+ Any life, no matter the past or present circumstance can be transformed by Jesus
+Jesus' touch and words will always bring peace and freedom
+That although the Devil and Demons act like they have power the true power rests in Jesus Christ our LORD! The Devil is no match for Jesus.
II. The 2nd picture the Bible we shares with us of Mary is a picture of her compassion, her caring and her courage
Luke shares with us in Luke 8:1-3 that Mary along with Joanna and Susanna and others provided the money and the supplies to keep Jesus' ministry ongoing. We all know that any ministry involves a certain amount of costs. It cost Jesus and his disciples to travel around Galilee. It cost to provide them shelter, food and clothing. Just like today Jesus' ministry could not have happened without some generous supporters and backers. Mary of Magdala was one his best financial supporters.
After her encounter with Jesus she invests her life, her future and her resources into Jesus' ministry. She even begins to follow him alongside the other disciples and followers. It is here that the ultra liberal would like to tell us the sordid stories of Mary being Jesus' groupie lover. Let us be clear, Mary was never a groupie or live in lover of Jesus. She was a faithful disciple.
If people would just read the Bible then they would understand an important fact concerning this woman. Eight of the nine times her name is referenced in scripture she is listed first. It was customary at that time for a woman either of higher rank or advanced age to have their name listed first. Good manners and tradition dictated that a person would list the eldest and then come on down the line.
So, if you examine all those lists I think you can safely conclude that while it is true that Mary was a prominent woman it is also just as likely she was the eldest. Perhaps Mary was even a little older than Jesus' mother Mary who at that time was at least 46 years of age and could have been as old as 48- 50. That means that our Mary of Magdala would have been more of a mother figure in the life of Jesus than a potential wife/girl friend. That puts a different light on Mary of Magdala doesn't it?
What we do know is that Mary not only supported Jesus' ministry but when others left him she was still there. She was there along with the 12 when the thousands that he had fed suddenly deserted him. She was there after he was arrested and the other disciples ran away. She was there at the cross with his mother.
All of that took a great deal of courage. Even after Jesus was branded a criminal and hung on a cross Mary would not desert Him. She showed her great courage and love for Jesus.
Over the years I have had to be around quite a few deaths. It is never easy to be with someone during their last hours. It can be quite heart wrenching. You can tell when the hospital begins to sense that the end is near. Suddenly, many of the doctors begin to disappear. Then the nursing staff leaves more and more things to the family. Sadly, even some of the family begins to find reasons to go away. At times the closer to death someone gets the fewer and fewer people there are at their bedside. Not all the time thankfully, but it does happen a lot.
None of us like watching someone slip away. It is not a great deal of fun. I remember once when a man was dying in our church back in Grenada, Mississippi. His death was not easy. He died of a horrible type of cancer that had ravaged his body and mind. He had these two daughters could have been related to Mary of Magdala because of their caring, compassion and courage. Even when it got tough they never abandoned him. They were there through it all. They had courage, faith and love. They were an inspiration to everyone that was around. Through them I got to see a glimpse of what Mary of Magdala must have been like.
No doubt the pain of watching Jesus die on that cross was excruciating. I am sure seeing him being so humiliated that way was almost more than she could bear. But Jesus' mother needed someone and Mary of Magdala was that someone. Even if she could not help Jesus she could let Him know that in the midst of all the swearing and cursing His name she believed in Him. When everyone else had left Him, she would be there till the end.
Once again, Mary is an inspiration to us all. She knew:
+That the work of the Kingdom needed support - time, resources and courage
+That Jesus and Mary in their toughest hours needed someone to care, comfort and love them. We need more people in our world like Mary.
III. The final picture we have of Mary is a woman who is transformed from a weeping disciple to a courageous witnessing disciple.
One of the final times we find Mary in scripture she is at the tomb of Jesus. She is weeping over the loss of her rabbi, spiritual mentor and friend. Luke tells us that she mistakes Jesus for the gardener. Her heart is broken at the thought that someone has stolen the body of Jesus. All she wants to do is to rescue Jesus' body. Verse 12 tells us that she saw two angels in white but in her grief Mary does not even see them as angels.
But then as we read in verses 15 - 17, Jesus comes and speaks to her and suddenly everything is different. Jesus' resurrection completely transforms everything in Mary's world. Mary the Demoniac becomes Mary the Declarer of Good News. Mad Mary becomes Jesus' first witness. This woman who had at one time suffered from hearing the dark voices of hell, that morning heard the first words of her risen Lord Jesus. He was calling her name.
That is all it took. Mary immediately becomes Mary the great witness. Notice verse 18 - I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!
Wow! What a turn of events. She had gone to the tomb to care for and put spices near the body of Jesus. She had gone to pour out her heart in sorrow. But Jesus changed it all. He always does.
Mary's story shows us the great grace of Jesus. If you were going to tell someone that you had just risen from the dead how would you do it. Would you send another star? Would the heavens suddenly open up? Would you tell another bunch of shepherd or call out to some wise men?
Would you let your first words be to a woman who at one time everyone thought was crazy? Would you have you spoken your first Resurrected words be to a woman that had a past history of mental illness and/or demonic possession?
We may not - but Jesus certainly did. Our LORD is no respecter of persons. Our Savior and LORD doesn't care about your pedigree or your past. He is only interested in your present and future. He doesn't care what you have done wrong - after all He is able to forgive you. He doesn't care about you failures, He can give you the strength and courage of His Holy Spirit. He doesn't even care what others will say about you - He will give you courage to be His witness and His ambassador.
I love this about the LORD. Some thought Mary was touched. No doubt some thought the death of Jesus had sent her back into being emotionally and mentally unstable. But God always reaches down and lifts up those who others would look down on. He transformed Jacob the cheat into Israel, the Prince of God. He calls Moses the murderer to become Moses the Law Giver. He places forsaken Ruth into the Messianic line. He takes David from the anonymity of the sheepfold to the hallways of the palace. He anoints Bathsheba's child to build His Holy Temple. He calls a fourteen year old girl to carry the Only Begotten Son. Our God is amazing.
God called Mary of Magdala:
+He freed her to become one of His Greatest Followers
+Mary responded to that call by giving herself, her future and her resources. She followed Jesus all the way to the cross and the grave. Her compassion, caring and courage are inspirational.
+Mary becomes Jesus' first witness - He gives her the mission to go and tell the others - I am Risen. From weeping to witnessing.
This morning, Mary of Magdala is a true hero of the faith. She shows us that:
+We all can be transformed by the touch of Jesus
+We can all give to the work of the Kingdom
+Love will always conquer fear
+We all have a mission - to tell the world of the Risen Christ.
This morning, let us sing that song - "I WILL SERVE THEE" in closing. Our altars are open for any to come and give their life to Jesus. Our altars are open for any who simply want to come and spend some time with your Lord.
1 For an interesting (and somewhat upsetting) study on Mary seek out the opinions about her given to us through the years by the Roman Catholic teachings, Pope Gregory I, the Gnostic Gospel of Philip and more modern sources like The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary the Magdalene, by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson.
Where Mary went and what she did after she left the apostles is debatable. One of the most extreme views is that Mary was pregnant with Jesus’ child and went to France, where her descendants eventually founded the Merovingian line of kings, made famous recently by the Da Vinci Codes by Dan Brown. Brown’s book, a highly fictitious book, depicts Mary as the Holy Grail in Da Vinci’s the Last Supper, rather than the chalice that he drank with. Brown's work was highly influenced by the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, which was the basis of his writing. Sad to say some people really believe some of the lies that have been spread about this precious woman.
2Films like King of Kings, Jesus Christ Super Star and The Last Temptation
