Woman of the Word: Mary Magdalene

Welcome to the last week of the Woman of the Word series. This is a bitter sweet moment for me. I enjoyed writing these and seeing what the Lord has been teaching me through this series. Thank you for rocking with me girl! It's been been awesome. Today we look at the life of a Woman in the New Testament. Her name is Mary Magdalene. She is counted among the women who journeyed with the Lord. She was also there to witness His crucifixion and was the first person to proclaim the Good News of Jesus' resurrection. She, a woman, was the first to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whenever we hear about Jesus' disciples we know that they were all men. But women also followed Jesus and among these women was Mary Magdalene. Luke 8:1-2 says that; "Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;"

Many scholars of the Bible state that Mary was a prostitute and we know that she was demon possessed because the Lord cast out seven demons from her. But in the end this woman is counted as one of those who followed Jesus. Mary, like all of us was a sinner. The fact that seven demons were cast out of her shows just how severely possessed she was. For the number seven symbolises completion. The demons had absolute possession over her, she had no more control and the demons were in control of her life. Being demon possessed caused Mary to suffer psychological as well as emotional illness. No one could cure this. But Jesus did. His heart is always to set us free and heal us. And He did this for Mary. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." - Galatians 5:1

For Mary this was for freedom of demonic possession, and different things for all of us. Like people-pleasing, same-sex attraction, sexual immorality and many other sins that keep us bound.

Being bound to sin can cause a lot of guilt and shame inside of us. But even in that moment when we feel guilty and ashamed, the Lord comes and sets us free from the bondage of sin. He not only frees us from the sin, but from feeling guilty and ashamed, because those emotions keep us from worshiping God.

Jesus is the Lord. Mary knew this and she followed Him as a response to what He had done. We follow Jesus not because it is a chore or because we have to. When we fully understand what He did for us which was to take our place which was to endure the just wrath of God for our sins. Shedding His blood on the cross to pay for the penalty of our sins. Putting us in right standing with God and all we have to do is to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that He is the Lord and we are saved. We follow Him as a response to what He has done for us not for what we can get from Him.

When the Lord was crucified, all His disciples scattered for the fear that they would also be killed. One of these disciples was Peter, who denied Him 3 times. But Mary Magdalene who was one of the women who went to witness the Lord getting crucified stayed until the very end. When all the disciples fled she stayed until the end, and even saw where the Lord was buried. When things get tough in this Christian life, because they do, will you stay until the end? Because Mary did and as a result, she went to Him tomb and found that He was no longer there. He had risen. She saw that the tomb was empty. She went to tell the others what she had seen. She was the first person to proclaim the Gospel.

Jesus is the Word. In Him are all this and through Him who is the Word are all things. Let us therefore become women of the Word. Women who follow Jesus and stay with Him no matter what. Listen, God favours women. He favours all His people but women too. We are made in His image. Let us remain in God friend. He is for us.

Journal prompts:

1. Is Jesus the Lord in your life?

2. When tough times come, will you stay with the Lord?

3. Do you walk intimately with the Lord?