Standing at the foot of the cross
were four women and one man according to the Gospel of John: Mary the mother of
Jesus, Mary of Magdalene, his mother’s sister, and Mary the wife of Clopas and
John the disciple Christ loved. God
placed Mary Magdalene at the cross for a set purpose for all to read and
remember. Jesus saves.
The enemy
has purposefully set forth a plan against this woman that rages even
today. The sad, but true skewed minds of
unbelievers, infiltrating the air waves, portraying Mary as the wife or significant
partner of Jesus has circulated for centuries.
It seems the enemy is determined to degrade, ruin, slander and rip at
part a woman who adored her Savior. The focus
of Mary should represent how Jesus uses, saves and redeems those who seek him.
If God wants to use a woman for a specific purpose: anointing his Son before burial
(Mary of Bethany), anointing his Son after death (Mary Magdalene), leading a
battle again foes and settling disputes (Deborah), saving his people from
destruction (Esther) or teaching bible studies (Priscilla), then God can use
whom ever he wants to.
To distort
Mary Magdalene’s story is allowing the devil to win. If we look at the scriptures, focus on Jesus’
words and actions, then we can delve in to the mind of a sinful, sick woman who
was healed by her Savior and determined to follow him not matter where he went,
including the grave. I believe Mary was
a courageous and unwavering; a loving woman who was bold enough to support
Jesus ministry, stand at the foot of the cross, go against her fellow people,
and was anointed by her Savior to “go and tell”.
Jesus saw two worlds that day on
the cross. In Mary, He could see a
depraved mind redeemed to a clean mind, a sinful heart now changed to a clean
heart and simply put good verses evil.
“What the enemy has tried to destroy, God has turned around to use for
good.” (Genesis 50:20). “I will give
them beauty for ashes.” (Isaiah 61:3). “I have come so
that they may have life and live it to the fullest.” (John 10:10).
The bible says Mary was released of
seven demons that had controlled and plagued her life (Luke 8:2). The bible does
not name the demons, but I know she was mentally, psychologically, physically
and spiritually unstable. Some have
questioned whether she was a prostitute, but no where in scripture does it say
this. Whether she was promiscuous,
diseased, and psychologically unbalanced, the message is Jesus rebuked the demons
and she followed Him. Mary was at the
cross when he was crucified; she was at the tomb to anoint him with herbs, she
followed him giving everything she had in support of him. Most importantly, she was the first to see Christ
after his resurrection! It was Mary of Bethany to anoint Jesus before his
burial and it was a freed woman who saw the resurrected King first!
If Mary had a demonic presence of
lust, then she was cured. If she had a
mental disorder, then she was released of bondage. If Mary was held in bitterness, rejection,
self-pity, wickedness, lewd or sexual behavior and if she suffered from hearing
voices or some sort of unstable mind, she was set free by the power of Jesus
Christ. If she was diseased ridden, then
just as the woman who bled for twelve years felt the power go through her body,
so did Mary’s healing. Christian, you
have the same power available to you today.
His breath of life is alive, giving you living water that bubbles up and
overflows never to be thirsty again. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but
whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give
him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Mary’s life is chronicled in the
Gospels. In the Gospel of Luke 8:2-3, she is mentioned as part of
the group of women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases who helped
to support Jesus and the disciples out of their own means. In Matthew 27:55-61, 28:1-10 Mark 15:40,
16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 19:25 and 20:1-18,
she is mentioned at the cross witnessing the crucifixion of Christ, then on her
way to anoint Jesus with herbs and finally witnessing the resurrected Lord when
he calls her by name. “Mary.
Do not hold onto me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to
my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my
God and your God.” (John
20:16-17). Mary was obedient to the
Lord, but not believed by her brothers (Mark
16:11, Luke 24:11). I know how Mary
feels.
In January of 2005, in the middle
of a post partum depression, my mind and emotions raging out of control, it was
the presence of Christ that saved me. I
had been baptized when I was twelve, believed Jesus died for me, but was not
behaving or living the Christian life. Emotions ranging from overwhelming sadness, to
fits of rage to confusing, mindless wandering succumbed by behavior to cutting
my hair off, crying throughout the night, not knowing what was wrong with me, and
doubting my existence as a mother and wife; Jesus Christ came to a sick woman. Covered
in sin, dressed in worldly rags, this Jesus of Nazareth, in all his purity, in
all his holiness came to a wretch like me.
In the middle of the night, in the middle of a habitual heartfelt cry to
the Lord, I had a vision of Yeshua. I
knew exactly who it was and his exact words to me were, “There is a spiritual
warfare between good and evil.” I have never seen him since, but have prayed to
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob I would.
There was no “light”, no Allah, no Buddha, no other person or religion who
cared, loved or wanted me to have life
as Jesus.
Immediately, I was back in the
church, baptized and full of zeal for the house of the Lord. I told my story to several in the church, but
just as Mary of Magdalene, they did not believe. The bible in the Gospel of Luke 24:9-12 reads, “When they came
back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the
others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the
apostles. But they did not believe the
women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.”
Praise God for Peter! I was accepted by one Pastor who prayed with me and
taught me the Word for about four years.
Confident I could tell my testimony to another and would be loved with
open arms, I repeated my vision of the Lord, but was asked if I was on
medication. Not every one will accept or
believe your testimony of the saving power of Christ. This unbelief did not hold Mary back; she was
determined to follow Jesus. I can relate
in many ways to this Mary, but it was her sitting at the tomb after his burial
where I imagine myself the most.
I knew I was saved, I saw his
presence, loved the church, but wasn’t accepted, believed and felt
rejected. All the Gospels account for
the women, including Mary, who witnessed the burial and the tomb, but the
Gospel of Matthew pens, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there
opposite the tomb.” (Matthew 27:61). I’ve sat in the same spot as Mary, asking,
“Where are you?” Looking at the tomb, I as Mary couldn’t understand the turn of
events taking place in my life. I had an
amazing, transforming, holy experience in my life, but was not believed. You may have your own story of how Christ
saved you, your testimony of healing, the presence of Christ in your life, but some
will not believe. Do not be discouraged,
Mary wasn’t. “After the Sabbath, at dawn
on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at
the tomb.” (Matthew 28:1) You be
first at the tomb, prepared to anoint Him, prepared to follow him and prepared
to go and tell!
Mary loved Jesus for the truth, but
she was also SET FREE! When you have been set free from bondage, released of
the ungodly strongholds and have the knowledge of knowing you are redeemed from
the Blood of the Lamb, you are set free.
It was not in Mary’s own strength to heal herself by “positive
thoughts”, but the faith and believe in Jesus Christ. Psalm
40:1-3 represents this well, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to
me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of
the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to
stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a
hymn of praise to our God. Many will see
and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”
The Lord released me of anger,
jealousy, bitterness, covetness, lustfulness, idolatry, manipulation, confusing
thoughts, double-mindedness, worldly thinking and a haughty spirit. Jesus set me free over a decade of praying,
believing in the hope of change through His strength, changing me from glory to
glory, praising and glorifying His precious name.
Mark 7:20, Jesus of Nazareth lists thirteen things in which make a
man unclean, “What comes out of a man makes him unclean. For
from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft,
murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and
folly. All these evils come from inside
and make a man unclean.”
Inspired by the spirit, the Apostle
Paul writes in Galatians 5:16-21,
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
sinful natures. For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with
each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
under law. The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witch
craft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who
live like this will not inherit the kingdom
of God.”
Jesus said, “If you
hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-21). Are you tried of
following the world and its desires which will leave you alone, destitute,
hopeless and addicted? Are you tired of
the anger, jealousy, hatred, bitterness, loneliness, stupidity and greed? I pray you are or the Spirit is leading you
to be. I pray you continually are
knocking, seeking and the door is opening for you to receive the blessing,
hope, love and faith in Christ Jesus.
His Spirit is the same yesterday,
today and tomorrow. His eyes roam this
Earth looking for someone to bless for Psalm
11:4-5 says, “He oversees the sons of men; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the
wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.” Once you have been in darkness and now you have
stepped into the light of Christ, as Mary, the spirit wants to give all good
things to the Lord. The flesh will
fight! The flesh remembers how the body responds to what it desires and the
cravings of the world, Ephesians 2:1-10,
but the spirit seeks the Word of the Lord.
Mary followed the Lord, gave him what she had, stood at the crucifixion,
was first at the tomb, a changed and redeemed woman.
Jesus saw this woman while on the
cross. He saw who he was dying for and
the healing in which was bought for the price he suffered. Love Christ for his death for you, love God
for his mercy to reveal this glorious plan to you and love Jesus because he
loved you first.
Let us pray and
CONFESS the Word of God.
Abba Father,
My heart is
overwhelmed within me. Overwhelmed with
the joy of salvation through Jesus Christ, overwhelmed you healed and delivered
me from my sins (John 3:5, 16, Romans
10:9). I pray to be first at the
tomb (Psalm 5:3) sitting at your
cross, waiting to hear from you, prepared to anoint you with my prayers, hopes,
joys, struggles, triumphs and defeats. I
know you have a plan for me; a plan to prosper and not fail, a plan to grow and
not wither, a plan to teach and not withhold anything good thing from your
kingdom (Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:11,
Psalm 1:1-3). Strengthen my spirit
to follow your voice (Matthew 4:19, John 10:1-10). Strengthen my heart to forgive and love those
you have placed in my life who may not believe me (Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 23:34).
Strengthen me to stand firm in my belief and boast only in the name of
Jesus of Nazareth (Galatians 6:14).
I thank you
for your precious blood on the cross; I thank you for your unfailing love and I
thank you for choosing me. I thank you
for seeing something in me no one else can see. You’ve seen what I can be and
not what I am today. Thank you for not
seeing the broken, clutter, confused, confound mind and body, but a free spirit
who you can use for your glory. I’ve been set free from __________________ (Galatians 5 or Mark 7:20 lists things that can make a man unclean). I thank you for seeing beyond the sin,
delivering me from death and allowing me to boldly go and tell. I will spread this precious seed which is
still growing throughout the earth (Colossians
1:6). May I be a woman to offer my
body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this my spiritual act of
worship. I will not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of my mind.
Then I will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good,
pleasing and perfect will for my life (Romans
12:1-2). Since, I have been raised with Christ, I want to set my heart on
things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. I will set my mind on things above, not on
earthly things (Colossians 3:1-2).
With regard to my former way of life, help me to put off my old self, which was
corrupted by deceitful desires; I am new in the attitude of my mind and will
put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
(Ephesians 4:22-23). May I always be
determined to know the power of your resurrection, and give my whole heart to you!
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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