Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. John 20:18, NKJV
She Saw the Lord
Mary Magdalene is one of the most well-known women from the Bible. She was with Jesus through much of His ministry, to the end of His life and after His resurrection. The first time we meet Mary in Scripture, Jesus has already worked a miracle in her:
“...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…”
Luke 8:1-2 (NIV)
Imagine feeling helpless, tormented, hopeless. Indescribably crushed under the oppressive weight of evil and without any way out. You may not need to imagine it–you might already identify with what Mary was going through.
But then, Jesus came and set Mary Magdalene free.
In a moment, He relieved her of her torment. She was healed. And she saw Him. She followed Him. From a distance, she watched the crucifixion as her Savior gave His life for all (Mark 15:40). And then, she saw where he was laid (Mark 15:47).
Ever faithful, Mary Magdalene and two other women who followed Jesus rose early in the morning and went to anoint Jesus’ body.
But there was no one there.
At this empty tomb, Mary wept in grief thinking Jesus had been taken away. But then she heard Jesus’ voice:
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).”
John 20:16 NIV
Jesus then trusted her with an important task. “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17 NIV).
The news of Jesus’ resurrection took flight through Mary Magdalene, the woman who had once been crushed by suffering. Of all the people He could have chosen for this moment of glorious discovery and critical communication, He chose her.
And she went to the disciples with the very same news that had changed her life to begin with: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18 NIV).
Note after sharing the devotional: I currently have two people in mind that I’ve been taking on opportunities to share the Gospel with. One of them I sent a text message with the passage from Jeremiah 29:11-13. I initially brushed it off as a “mistake,” because this passage came up in context with spending time in prayer regarding a current difficulty. I was however reminded that sometimes “mistakes” are actually prompts by the Holy Spirit to respond in faith regarding encouraging another person that I myself might not have initially intended to encourage. After I originally backed out of texting this person this passage, sending it instead to the person I intended to send it, I went back and also texted the first person and included a little note. I did that on faith because there’s never a wrong time to encourage anyone. I pressed “send,” and, a short while later, received a text back thanking me for the text.
Praise God for this first person being receptive to the Gospel. He and I have been in conversation about it for quite some time now (not constantly, but in waves). The second person I think is also open to the Gospel but there are some barriers of understanding that may take longer to knock down. I think my job is to persist but also persist in gentleness. This second person is a nice guy, so it doesn’t do any good to bring the battering ram, but rather the smaller delicate tools, as if I were excavating fine materials buried deep within the dirt.
There are others to whom I do believe God has prompted me to also preach, but I continue to draw a blank on how. I do suspect that a significant part of it has been because the relationship itself between them and me is not anywhere close to where the relationships between the two above-mentioned individuals and me currently stand. In one such case, I finally acted in the last couple weeks on a prompting I suspect God has given me, to gradually bridge that relational gap -- I sent them a link to my Bandcamp site. This individual has known for a while that I write music. But they’ve been in the dark about my output, until recently. There is still more work to be done there, not just with the music but also with the relationship with that person. Some of that work is indeed in my heart as well as the outward relationship.
Baby steps. That seems to be how true healing works most of the time, anyway.
Prayer: God, thank You! Thank You for the resurrection, for healing, for new life in You. You make all things new. Help me see clearly who I need to share this Good News with today. Lead me towards people who need to know Your love and healing. Thank You for new life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.