Luke 8:1-3
Mary of Magdala
1 After this, 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; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Mark 16:9-20
Mary of Magdala
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Matthew 28:1-10
Jesus Has Risen
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
John 20:11-18
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to 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.' "
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Mary Magdalene of Magdala is often called the second most important Mary, behind Jesus' Mother in the Bible...She seems to stand out more than the other women in the four gospels, other than Jesus' Mother Mary...Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four of the gospels...Mary had been suffering for quite some time and could not find relief for her pains...Then one day she heard about this Healer, who was near the region she was in, and people were talking about Him...They said He had an authority or and that there was "just" something about Him -and that He was a Healer...Could He perhaps help her?...Mary was possessed by seven demons...This One she searched for had touched many and healed them...Could He help her?...She met Him...And then He touched her...For the first time in quite sometime she had found relief, a comfort, and a great peace...Jesus had healed her...She would never forget her healing and this special feeling of wellness, she now had...Somehow after this meeting, this healing -He knew her and knew about all her...And she would always feel this feeling of this mysterious and curious peace, as she listened to Him teach to others...I might guess she would never forget His eyes, when He healed her...There is this Greatness about this Most Unique Man, and she knew it...She was lost and now feels found...
Jesus helped the lowly, the poor, the outcasts, and those that society sometimes tries to avoid...All these groups were discriminated against, but none more so than the women, especially the ones who were the outcasts among regular women...Women were excluded in parts of the Temple, their role in public was second class (or lower) as we compare the women of today with during Jesus' time, and they could not be taught the Torah by Rabbi's...Women were treated very inferior around the men of His time...And despite all this women and Mary of Magdala followed Him, and He allowed them to listen to His teachings and travel around with Him as He ministered to others...No other teacher or rabbi would do this...Do regular or decent rabbie would have woman actively involved in their classes and teachings...Who is this Man, that treats women as equals?...Who is this Man, that is treating women as well, men?...This was just not done in His time...
But as you read through the four gospels we sometimes miss that...Jesus treats everyone equally, including women...And Jesus was a Rabbi, the Greatest Teacher...But Jesus did not believe that women were inferior and He did not discriminate against women...Treating women equally would have created even more controversy around Him as He taught...Having women around probably regularly brought out comments for having Mary Magdalene and the other women around, who were helping to support Him out of their own means...
Mary after her being healed would remain in and around the ministry of Jesus and be a follower of His...She had been in the darkness for so long, but now she had seen and felt this Strange Light...She would never forget her healing by this Teacher, and as she saw Him often Teaching others, we must think that she saw and felt His authority as others did, now that she listened and got to know Him...She would stay with Him through His final teachings, and be near Him when He was arrested, and be there watching Him die on the cross...And now this one-time sick, inferior, possessed, discriminated woman was looking around for Him because she knew where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had laid Him to rest...She sees a Gardener and asks Him, if He knows where her Master is...The Gardener somehow knows her name...He calls her by name, "Mary"...She knows immediately...He was gone and is now found...And she would be given a great gift...She the inferior one, the one who was once filled with darkness, was the first to see the Light reappear...