Stay Close | Mark 16:9-11
Tuesday | December 22, 2020 |
Mark 16
The death of Jesus, let us never accept His sacrifice as common.
The resurrection of Jesus, the one thing that separates Christianity from every other religion.
I'd like to focus on verses 9 - 11.
"Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it."
A woman? Jesus first revealed himself to a woman?
Why not John 'the beloved?' Why not one of the other two men from the inner circle, James or Peter? These three men would be the top choice, right? Or one of the remaining eleven disciples? Some would even think appearing to his mother would have made the most sense, so why Mary Magdalene?
Could it be because she was the only one who would have no doubts? You see, it is very commonly believed Mary Magdalene is the one who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair before anointing them with her alabaster jar. Mary had such a deep love and admiration for Jesus because of her past he freed her from.
Personally, above all mentioned, I believe Mary was the only one in recent days who had been so close to Jesus' feet that there was no way she wouldn't recognize every curve and detail, even with the presence of scars. You see, in order to wash someone's feet with your tears, you have to be close. And Mary stayed close even after that encounter. We see in the gospel of John, Mary stood at the crucifixion until the end.
We also see at the beginning of chapter 16 Mary was at the tomb with more spices on the Sabbath morning before he appeared to her, so she saw the open and empty tomb and heard the angel's declaration.
Because Mary stayed close, she never missed out.
Mary Magdalene was with Jesus before, she was with Jesus until the end, she was present after he died, and she was the first person Jesus revealed himself to. Even in the face of mass mockery that Jesus wasn't who he said he was, "proven" by his death, Mary was there. SHE KNEW.
Because Mary stayed close, she never missed out.
She came close to Jesus in her sinful state and became free.
She stayed close to Jesus, even until his death, because she believed and never abandoned or denied.
She stayed close, returning to the tomb because she loved Jesus and wanted to care for him even in his death.
And Jesus came close to her, first of everyone. AuthorPastor Leslie Brown
