Throughout his ministry, Jesus gathered around him men and women who became a community of 120 people joined in their love for and faith in Jesus. And one of those women was Mary of Magdala. She is mentioned fourteen times, in all four Gospels, and her name is almost always placed first, seemingly implying she was first in service, first in support. However, Mary’s most significant story appears not during Jesus’s ministry, but rather at his resurrection.
Mary’s first encounter with Jesus was as a deeply troubled, severely afflicted woman, in the grip of and suffering from seven demons. We can only imagine how desperate her family had become in their desire to see her healed and freed of her affliction.
After her first, life-changing encounter with the rabbi and healer, all four Gospel accounts describe Mary’s faithfulness and courage, a major financial supporter and patron of Jesus’s ministry, one of only three remaining with Jesus at the foot of his cross until his death, and among the first to arrive at his tomb the morning of his resurrection.
But Mary’s most significant story in scripture comes in her final encounter with Jesus, described in John 20, the day he rose from the dead.
I Adherent of the Messiah
The one who is freed from much, loves much.
II Apostle to the Apostles
Jesus restores the relationships of humankind—to God, to each other, and to the earth.
III Among the Body of Christ
If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.
In this twenty minute talk, we’ll first follow Mary through the years she was a student and supporter of Jesus, then we will spend most of our time in the Garden with Mary at Christ’s empty tomb, and end with a deeper understanding of ourselves as members of the Body of Christ.
Brought to you by Grace and Peace Joanne, LLC
Grace and Peace Joanne on YouTube
Each podcast is designed to offer background scholarship on the topic, including setting, culture, original language, and archaeology, as well as a theological study.
Grace and Peace, Joanne Website
Biblical exegesis from an equalitarian point of view
Books by Joanne
“Broken, Searching, Trusted, Powerful”
“Love Feast”
