MARY’S EXPERIENCE
All scriptures related to Mary Magdalene
Jn. 20:1-18
It was a day much like today, when it happened so long ago. It was such a great day, I’ll never forget it!
After I met Jesus my whole life was changed. My name is Mary and I am from Magdala. Magdala was a busy place. We relied on agriculture, fishing, shipbuilding. It was a big trading center and was really quite a wealthy place, and unfortunately, it was not known to be the most morally clean place in the world. The whole region and area had been buzzing about this man named Jesus, who had been doing many mighty deeds and his teaching was mesmerizing. One day, I met this Jesus that everyone had been speaking about. My life had no purpose. I was all around sick—physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Immediately, when Jesus met me, he knew something was very wrong with me. He ordered the seven demons that had been haunting me to leave me. And you know what, they did leave me, and they’ve never come back to bother me. Praised be the Lord, I was never the same. I was whole for the first time in my life. I now had purpose in my life and a relationship with God that I’d never had before. I knew from then on, I would follow this Jesus wherever it led me.
Yes, and I certainly had no idea what was ahead for me with this new life. I didn’t care. I just knew I trusted in the one who had saved me. I traveled with Jesus and the 12 and heard Jesus proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. I saw him perform other miracles and do many loving and kind things for many others, just like he had done for me. Because I did come from the wealthy town of Magdala, I did have the means to support Jesus’ ministry financially. His ministry and time on earth was too precious to be spent on things such as carpentry, so I was so glad God gave me the privilege of providing for the Lord out of my wealth.
As Jesus continued in his ministry, those of us who followed him heard some of the cruel things that were said about him. It seemed like we heard these evil comments more as time progressed. It scared us. Then, Jesus decided he would go to Jerusalem for the Passover. We really feared for his safety in Jerusalem at Passover, because we knew that some of the leaders who hated him the most would be there. He was determined to go, and said it was the will of God, so of course, we went. Something wonderful happened the day he came into town. He was riding on a donkey, and as he rode, people moved out of the way and lined the road. They threw their coats and palm branches in front of him and yelled things like, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” We thought maybe Jesus will be alright after all. But as the week passed, we all began to sense evil intentions towards Jesus. All of a sudden awful things began to happen, and everything was so confusing. We heard how Judas had betrayed Jesus and led his enemies to him. Then, we heard how he was put on trial like a common criminal and he was being whipped and ridiculed, and before we knew it, the Roman authorities had ordered his crucifixion. We were all so horrified and scared. The disciples scattered and I did not know where everyone had gone. Even though I didn’t know if I could stand it or not, I decided I had to stay with my Lord even though he was going to be killed in such an awful way. I went with some of the other women to the place called Golgotha, where the people were crucified. The terrible agony we felt as we saw our Savior hanging on that ugly cross. We cried loudly to see our friend, our teacher, our example, our Savior treated so cruelly. After he died, we followed Joseph of Arimathea to see where his body would be laid. The next day, we prepared spices and perfumes to give his body respect and honor even though he was dead.
Then, that next day came. I was still filled with heavy grief. I left before dawn to go to the Lord’s tomb. It was something I did not look forward to. I knew they had closed the tomb with a large stone and I wondered how I would get in. I was wondering how I would be able to see the mangled body of the one I had loved so. As I said, it was a morning much like today, even though I really didn’t notice much as I went. I got to the tomb and found a most curious thing. The stone was rolled away and the Lord’s body was not there. I ran back to tell the other disciples what I had found. Peter and John went with me to see what had happened. They found that he wasn’t there and went back home. Oh, but I could not leave, I was too upset. I just stood there and cried. I could not believe that someone had stolen his body. I thought, “I cannot even honor the Lord this one last time!” I looked back into the tomb one more time. When I did, there were two men dressed in white in there. They asked me why I was crying. I said, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When I turned around, there was a man standing there. I thought it was probably the gardener. He also asked me why I was crying and for whom I was looking. I said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Then, the most wonderful thing happened! He called my name, “Mary.” He knew my name and I immediately knew then that it was the Lord. How quickly my sorrow turned into joy, and I yelled, “Teacher!” and I wanted to hug him, but he would not let me. But he said, “But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” I couldn’t believe that the Lord wanted me to tell them. I could not run fast enough and when I finally got there I said, “I have seen the Lord.”
And that’s what I come to tell you today, “I have seen the Lord! He is risen! He is risen indeed!”
As I said at the beginning, the first Easter sunrise happened long ago, but I want to tell you this morning that the same Lord who changed my life and made me whole, can change your life and make you whole also.
