Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene epitomizes the believer whose heart is wholly given to Christ. This woman's life was marked by her love and affection for Jesus.

As far as the world was concerned, Mary Magdalene was not a great theologian. When the disciples got together to discuss the deeper things of the cross, she was probably silent, since women of that day rarely spoke openly of spiritual matters in the presence of men. Yet she had something they did not have; she had a revelation!

"The first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb" (John 20:1, NKJV). Mary came to the tomb while the others still slept. When she found the stone rolled away and Jesus’s body missing, she ran to find Peter and John.

When the disciples arrived at the tomb, they went in and saw the linen clothes neatly folded but no body. They understood clearly that Jesus was not there. The Bible says the two disciples "...saw and believed" (John 20:8). They remembered Jesus’s words to them about his resurrection on the third day. Two verses later, we read, "Then the disciples went away again to their own home" (John 20:10). They were satisfied with the knowledge that Jesus was no longer there, so they went back to business as usual.

Isn't that just like the church today? Many Christians say, "I've seen the power of the gospel so, of course, I believe." They identify their present relationship with Jesus by mere head knowledge. Not so with Mary. Knowledge was not enough for her. She wanted Jesus himself, and she was not going to move. "But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping" (John 20:11).

Mary’s spirit was crying, "This world is intolerable without him. I can't go home." She simply loved the Lord, and she was determined to stand gazing into that tomb until her breaking heart found answers. Sure enough, Mary's heart of devotion brought her a visitation of the divine.

"And as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting . . . where the body of Jesus had lain" (John 20:11-12). While the other disciples were back home, Mary was seeing things nobody else could see because her heart was given to Jesus.