Mary of Magdala - First to See the Risen Christ

You know, I love Resurrection Sunday. One year, I would like to use the whole week to gather the church together. I'd like to gather the church on Sunday, the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday, which is not Palm Sunday, but gather you together, talk to you about John chapter 12, and Christ and Bethany and his ministry there in Bethany. Then have you come back again on a Monday and talk about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then have you come back on a Tuesday. And on Tuesday, we would talk about how he goes in and curses the fig tree and cleanses the temple.

And then bring you back on Wednesday. On Wednesday, we talk about the questions and answers that Jesus gives, and he talks about his second coming and preaches the truth to the scribes and Pharisees and all those around them.

And then again on Thursday, he does the same thing. And then Thursday night, he takes them to the Mount of Olives, and then he goes into the John 13 through John chapter 17 and cover all those things for you. Then bring you back on Friday to celebrate the crucifixion of our Lord. Then bring you back on Saturday, yesterday, to talk to you about how Christ would descend into the lower parts of the earth and make a public proclamation that he was a victor over sin, death, and Satan. Then bring you back again on Sunday, celebrate the resurrection.

I would love to do that. The problem is it took me five months to cover those five days we went through the Gospel of Luke. That's a lot of months, right? I'm not sure you'd all come back every night of the week. Maybe you would, I don't know. But one year, I wanna try that. I wanna do that just to give you a perspective on the whole Passion Week, to begin to understand all that was taking place in the life of our Lord, the ministry of the apostles, and how it all led to the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Told you on Friday that Friday was the greatest day of the year, the most important day of the year. That if you had to go to church on one day, only one day in the entire year, Friday was it. Because it's the apex of redemptive history. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to the cross. Everything did. Everything in the New Testament looks back to the cross. But everything in the Old Testament pointed to the cross. So if you had to go to one service the entire year, we want you to come, of course, every week, but if you only came to one, that was the one to come to, right?

Because the crucifixion is the apex of redemptive history. So if that's the case, what is Sunday? What is the resurrection? Well, the resurrection is the climax in redemptive history. In other words, the resurrection is the validation of the crucifixion. The resurrection is the interpretation of the execution. So how you understand Sunday helps you realize even all the more about what took place on Friday. We told you that the cross was the central mission to the Messiah. The cross was the central message of the gospel.

That the cross is the central meaning of Christianity, but the resurrection is the essential mission of the Messiah. It is the essential message of the gospel, and it is the essential meaning of Christianity. We told you on Friday that the destiny of every soul in the room lies in the promise of the cross. And the ministry of every saint in the room lives in the pathway of the cross. Well, if that's true, and it is, then you need to understand that the tranquility of every soul in the room lies in the purpose of the resurrection.

And the identity of every saint in the room lives in the power of the resurrection. You need to understand all that because this weekend is the high point of Christianity. And so we gather together to celebrate the Christ. We gather together to celebrate all that he is. We gather together on the first day of the week.

That's what says in John 20, verse number one. Now on the first day of the week, what's the first day of the week?

Revelation 110 tells us that the first day of the week is the Lord's day. The first day of the week is the Lord's day.

Now we know that every day is the Lord's day, right? But there is a particular day in scripture that's called the Lord's day. It's called the first day of the week.

That's why when we gather together, we don't gather together on Saturday night because that's not the Lord's day. We don't gather together on Friday night. We gather together on Sunday because that is the Lord's day. It's the first day of the week.

We don't want to worship God at the end of the week, Saturday. We want to worship God on the first day of the week, the Lord's day, Sunday.

You don't want to tap Jesus on at the end. You want Jesus to be the beginning of all that you do. That's why we gather together on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. In fact, every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ because every Sunday is the Lord's day. And every Sunday is the first day of the week.

And so we gather together to celebrate the Christ. And I could talk to you this morning about what it means to remember the resurrection. Because Paul told Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, the son of David, risen from the dead. It's essential that you never forget about the resurrection. I could talk to you about the reality of the resurrection. That would be very important. How do you prove the reality of the resurrection? Well, how do you prove anything? With truth. So if you want to prove the resurrection, all you need is truth, the word of God.

And it tells us that the tomb was empty. And so everything you need to do to prove the resurrection is in the word of God. I could talk to you about the results of the resurrection. How as a result of the resurrection, he truly comforts the mournful. He really convicts the doubtful. He converts the sinful. He commissions the faithful and how he compels the hopeful. Because there's so many results to the resurrection. And so I could talk to you about all kinds of things, but today I want to talk to you about the reaction to the resurrection.

One person's reaction to the resurrection. Many people had reactions to it, but just one. And it's the very first one to see the resurrected Christ.

And it's the very first one to speak about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the first one to see the resurrected Christ and the first one to speak about the resurrected Christ was Mary of Magdala, Mary Magdalene.

She is a great picture of devotion. And passion. She is an example of what Jesus does in the soul of a person. To understand Mary of Magdala is to understand what Christ wants to do in your soul. Her story begins with the darkest of human misery. And ends with the brightest in human history. Mary of Magdala. The Bible says in John chapter 20, now in the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb while it was still dark and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

Now she gets there and she sees that the stone's already been rolled away. The question always comes, do we know where this place is? And the answer is yes, we do. It's not where the church of the Holy Sepulcher is in Jerusalem. Most people say that that's the place. Again, I'm here to tell you that it's not the place. But that we do know where the garden tomb is. Because we know from John's gospel in verse number 41 of chapter 19, now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. So wherever he was crucified, there was a garden.

And in the garden, a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So wherever he was crucified, there was a garden. Well, we know exactly where he was crucified because he was crucified on Mount Moriah or Mount Calvary at the place of the skull. We know where that is. And we know that where he was crucified, there was a garden tomb. And how do we know that that's the garden tomb? And how do we know that's the place where Jesus was laid? How do we know that? You know, to understand ancient history is important.

Because in the days of Jerusalem, there were three main water sources in the city, just three. Two of them are nowhere around the place of crucifixion or the garden tomb. But there is one. It's located in the garden tomb today. Holds 250,000 gallons of water. So to have a garden, you need water in order to keep the garden going. And in the garden, there were olive presses. And today, they have found an olive press in the garden tomb. So we know exactly where this place is. We don't speculate. We understand.

Because as you read the text of scripture, it explains to us where it is. But the most important thing is not where it is. The most important thing is who isn't there. And that's the risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But Mary, she came to the garden tomb. And it says, so she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. So Peter and the other disciples went forth and they were going to the tomb.

The two were running together. And the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first.

And stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. So Simon Peter also came following him and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen wrappings lying there and the face cloth, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered and he saw and believed.

For as yet, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes, but Mary, they did not understand what the scripture said. They should have, but they didn't. Christ always talked to them about the crucifixion. Mark 8, Mark 9, Mark 10. He talked about the necessity of the cross. He talked about the cruelty of the cross. He talked about the brutality of the cross. He talked about the certainty of the cross. Always in the context of the victory of the cross.

But they missed all that. They just couldn't understand why their Messiah had to die, but Christ told them. He explained it to them. Even the two on the road to Emmaus, they didn't grasp what the scriptures said either. And that's why Christ said, oh, foolish men and slow of heart, not to believe all that the prophets had said. They told you this. How did you not see it? How did you not understand it? How did you not believe it? So they went home, but not Mary. She stayed. Who is Mary of Magdalene?

Who is this woman? Let me talk to you about her identification. Who is she? Well, the Bible tells us in Luke's gospel, the eighth chapter, these words. Verse number one.

Soon afterwards, he began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The 12 were with him. And also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. And Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod, Stuart, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means. Mary of Magdala. Jesus, of course, was called Jesus of Nazareth. She's called Mary of Magdala.

Where's Magdala? Magdala is four miles north of Tiberias. It's about three and a half miles from Capernaum. It's on the Sea of Galilee, right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It's known for its dine and textile factories. It's a unique and important city, but she's called Mary of Magdala so that you can differentiate between all the Marys in the Bible. Mary, the wife of Clopas, Mary, the sister of Martha, Mary, the mother of Mark, Mary, the mother of Jesus. How many Mary's do you have? So you got Mary of Magdala, Mary Magdalene.

So it's important to understand that. And as you identify Mary of Magdalene, you will note that there's no mention of a husband. There's no mention of a family. There's no mention of children. Though there's no mention of home obligations that allows her to travel with the Messiah and the 12 and to be there to support and supply needs that are necessary along with the other women who were with them. Now, Mary of Magdalene gets a bad rap. The Jewish Talmud tells us that Magdala was a place of harlotry, prostitution.

The Jewish Talmud says that. The Bible does not say that. So because the Bible does not say that, we just can't assume that the Jewish Talmud is correct when it says that Magdala was a place of harlotry. In the year 1324, the Catholic church developed what was called Magdalene houses in order to rescue prostitutes from harlotry. And so Mary got this name, Mary of Magdalene, and was characterized by being a prostitute, but she was not. She is not. She is a person who had seven demons, but the Bible nowhere says that Magdala was a place of prostitution, nor that Mary herself was a prostitute.

Some associate her in Luke chapter seven as the woman in verse number 36, where it says, now one of the Pharisees was requesting him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner, a prostitute. And when she leaned or learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and kept wiping them with the hair of her head and kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who was touching him, that she is a sinner. So they will assume that that is Mary Magdalene, but it's not. There are three women, John seven, John four, I mean, Luke seven, John four, John eight, who are not named, right? The woman of Samaria, the woman in Luke chapter seven, who was a woman of harlotry, and then you have in John eight, the woman who was caught in adultery, but none of them have a name.

Mary Magdalene is specifically named. In fact, she's mentioned 14 times in the New Testament by name. So that would differentiate her between the women who are not named, Mary of Magdala. Of the eight times that Mary is mentioned in the scripture, she's always mentioned with other women, eight of the 14 times. And as she's mentioned with other women, listen carefully, she's always mentioned first, not second, not third, not last, first.

What's that tell us? That tells us that she was a leader of the women. How do we know that? Well, look at the list of the apostles.

Who's always mentioned first? Peter. And all the list of the apostles, Peter's always mentioned first.

Why? Because Peter was the leader of the 12. Mary of Magdala was the leader of these women, whoever they were. We know some of them by name, others we don't, but she was the leader of them. So 14 times she's mentioned, eight of those times, she's with a group of women and she's always mentioned first.

That's who Mary of Magdala is. So you go from her identification to her devotion, because she was deeply devoted to the Messiah. She was deeply committed to the Messiah. There was something about her life that helps us understand how to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, with all your strength. If you want an example of that, Mary of Magdala is your example. She loved the Lord with all that she had. She was a little weak in faith, as we will see in a moment in John chapter 20, but she was not weak in her love for the Lord.

She loved him dearly. Five times she has mentioned, she has mentioned that the death and the resurrection of the Messiah. When the disciples themselves would flee, she did not. When the disciples ran and doubted, she did not. When the disciples were commended and compelled to love their God, and they said that they would, and they would never deny them, they did. So much so that Peter was even questioned after the resurrection, Peter, do you love me? I gotta ask you, do you really love me because you weren't around when I needed you?

You weren't around in the most important time. Do you love me? Never asked Mary Magdalene, do you love me, why? Because the most important time she was there. She was there at the crucifixion, at the foot of the cross. She was there at the garden tomb, at the resurrection. She was there because there was a supreme devotion about her that she just could not live without her Lord. How do you know you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? You just love him so much. You can't live without him.

That was Mary of Magdala. You will note that the only time she speaks is in John 20. That's important, I'll tell you that in a moment. You also know that there is a time she's not mentioned first, that's at the foot of the cross.

In John 19, standing by the cross of Jesus where his mother and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So the one time she's not mentioned first, she's behind Mary, the mother of Jesus, of course, and Mary's sister.

See, Mary Magdalene knew her place. She didn't try to usurp his mother's place. He didn't try to usurp Mary's sister's place. She knew her place. Because you see, when you're devoted to the Christ and you love the Lord, you only wanna speak about the things of the Lord and do your speaking to the Lord. You ever know those people that always talk? They're always talking, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You can't shut them up. They talk so much, they talk above you. They talk so much, you can't even interrupt them.

You can't interject a sentence because they're always da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You ever know those people? Guys or girls, they talk too much. They should learn a lesson from Mary Magdalene, right? Her devotion kept her quiet because she was interested in learning and listening from the Lord. And she never tried to presume upon a closer relationship with the Lord than was necessary. She knew her place. Not to usurp authority over a mother or sister, but she knew her place. A devoted person knows their place because they're secure in their love for the Lord and His love for them.

They're not looking for anything else. That's a devoted person. That was Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene. How many people do you know they're always looking for a leg up, a step closer, more prominence? She was quite comfortable being third in line at the cross.

She wasn't like, look at me, I'm first in line at the cross. I'm right here at the feet of Jesus. I'm the most devoted one. No, she was quite comfortable staying back because she knew her place. People of devotion know their place. And Mary Magdalene did. Oh, by the way, another reason you know she wasn't a harlot is because the Pharisees were the most critical people that ever existed. The Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees, if they could find fault with Jesus, they'd have found fault with Jesus.

If they could accuse him of having an association with the harlot, they'd have found fault. Did they accuse him of that? But not once did they ever accuse him. Not once did they ever ridicule him. Not once did they ever come against him because there was an association with a woman of harlotry. Not once. In fact, there wasn't a criticism of the fact that he was the son of David because they knew he was, right? All they had to do was go down to the temple, check the records, the genealogy, and know that he was the son of David.

So they never questioned him about that. So there are certain things that never happened in the life of Christ which would tell you that Mary of Magdalene was not a woman of harlotry. But what was it behind her devotion? What was it that was behind her commitment? What was it that was behind her great love for the Lord? So you move from her identification to her devotion to her, number three, liberation.

She was a liberated woman. In the biblical sense, not the modern sense. She was a liberated woman. She has been set free. She had seven demons in her, right? That's what Luke chapter eight tells us. She was demon-possessed. Seven, a number of completion. Seven, a number of domination. So she was completely dominated by demons. And what does that look like? How do we know what that looks like? Well, we have a story in Luke's gospel, in Luke chapter eight, that talks to us about the demoniac from the place called the land of the Gerasenes or a city called Cursi, right?

And this demon-possessed man, it says, in Luke chapter eight, these words, it says, he was possessed with demons. He had not put on any clothing for a long time. He was not living in the house, but in tombs. And he was seized many times over. He was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. And yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. So there's a characteristic of a man who was compelled by demons. He was demon-possessed. And he couldn't be held in chains because he would continually break them.

So the blacksmith in the city of Cursi was a very rich, wealthy man because he had to keep making chains for this demon-possessed man. Now, imagine living in this city with a demon-possessed man that runs around the city naked, who's completely possessed by demons, that chains cannot hold him, right? You think LA is a bad place to live? Think about living in Cursi. The parents would run. You wanna talk about a lockdown? Cursi was locked down. Nobody came out of their house. Nobody went to work. They were afraid of the demon-possessed guy.

You think our lockdown was bad? Check out Cursi. It was worse. Nobody wanted to be outside with this guy because he was so dangerous. Of course, until Jesus shows up. He comes running down to Jesus and the disciples. Completely naked, having broken loose of the chains that bound him. And he comes and he says, seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before him and said in a loud voice, what business do we have with each other, Jesus, son of the most high God? I beg you, do not torment me. That's such a beautiful statement.

He's the son of El Elyon, the son of the most high God. He is equal in nature to El Elyon, the most high God. And he is God. And the demon knows it. Pharisees didn't know it, but the demon did. The demons are very articulate when it comes to understanding the identity of the Messiah. Have you come to torment me? Because they know that their end is nothing but torment. So now Mary Magdalene, she's demon-possessed. Completely dominated by demons. Here she is. Maybe her hair is all matted, disheveled.

Maybe her cheeks are sunken in. Maybe she has been tied with chains and barred down. Maybe she doesn't live in a home, but lives in tombs like this man from Cursi. We don't know, but she was dominated by demons, right? And somebody liberated her. Somebody set her free. That was the Lord. That's why her life begins in the darkest of human misery. But it ends with the brightest in human history. Because the Lord would liberate her soul. See, that's what the Lord does in your life and mine. He liberates our soul.

Colossians 1, 13, for he rescued us from the devil. From the domain of darkness. Transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Bible says, 2 Timothy chapter two.

The Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach patient when wrong, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition. If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. Every unbeliever is held captive by Satan to do the will of Satan. In essence, every unbeliever is satanically possessed or demonly possessed because they're in bondage to Satan.

They need to be rescued. They need to be liberated. They need to be set free from that bondage. How does, what is the bondage that Satan keeps them in? Hebrews 2, 14. The bondage of the fear of death. It chains them. That's why the resurrection frees us from all that. And she's set free. She's been liberated. 1 John 3, 8. The Lord appeared for this purpose that he might destroy the works of the devil. And that's exactly what he does. You see, when you're preaching the gospel, the person you're preaching to is enslaved to Satan.

He's been taken captive by Satan to do Satan's will. And so our job is to preach the liberating message of the Messiah. He's come to set us free. And with that, the truth of the gospel is proclaimed. Ephesians 2 says something similar. And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you formally walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. How many times does that have to tell you that when you are an unbeliever, you are walking according to the prince of the power of the air?

Why? Because you're held captive by him to do his will. You're enslaved to Satan. So Mary of Magdala becomes this prime example in the scripture of somebody who has been liberated from her possession, demon possession, set free that she might serve the Lord. And upon being set free, she is completely devoted to the Messiah. Her devotion is rooted in her liberation. Her devotion, her love for the Lord is rooted in the fact that she has been liberated from the bonds of Satan. Listen, when you're set free, you can't help but say, Lord, I'm yours.

Take me, I'm yours. I'm here to serve you. I am free from the bondage of Satan and I can now serve you. I'm free to serve the king. That's what the Lord does. That's what Mary does. That's what she does. She follows him wherever he goes. And her devotion is seen as she takes it from her private means. So whatever those private means were that she and the other woman had, they would use those means to buy food and to cook and to take care of the disciples all along the way. That's what they did. And they were looking for recognition.

They just served the Lord because they loved him so. Mary, she was the leader, Mary of Magdala. Wow, what a testimony. Her identification, her devotion, her liberation. Before her passion. This takes us to John chapter 20. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping. Now remember, Peter and John went home and they missed the blessing. They went home and they missed the blessing. Remember on the next Lord's day, they gathered together or on the Lord's day, they gathered together and Thomas isn't with them.

Remember that? And on the very next Lord's day, Thomas is there. He still doubted, right? He missed the gathering on the Lord's day. And when he missed the gathering on the Lord's day, guess what he missed? The appearance of the Messiah. He lived a whole week without understanding who the Messiah was. But the other 11 did, or the other 10 did at that time. That's important to realize this. Whenever you miss church, guess what? You miss the blessing. You miss the opportunity. You miss the opportunity to see the Messiah for who he is and what he's done.

So Mary stays. She's not missing the blessing. She's in despair. She's distraught. She doesn't know what to do. But her devotion keeps her at the tomb. She stooped and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting on the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying. They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord. What a statement, my Lord. If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord. She understood Christ as her Lord, not just her savior.

And he is that, but he was her Lord. He was her master, because she'd been mastered by who? Satan. So she understood true mastership. She understood true lordship. She understood that. They've taken away my master. They've taken away my Lord. And then she says this. And I do not know where they have laid him. So she assumes he's still dead. Not that he's been raised from the dead. When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know it was Jesus. How did she not know it was Jesus?

Because he was in his glorified body. The last time she had seen him, what? He was marred beyond human recognition. Isaiah 52, verse number 14. He was marred more than any man. In other words, you could not understand that this man even looked like a man because he was so beaten as he hung on the cross. And so there he was, that's the last she saw of him, mangled and beaten and whipped and spit upon with a spear stuck in his side, nail scars in his hands. Last time she saw him. So she wasn't expecting to see a resurrected Lord because she thinks he's someplace other than where he is.

And someone laid him someplace else. So Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. She was so devoted to him. She came because she was going to anoint the body with more oils because they didn't have time to do it on a Friday because it was close to the end. And into the Sabbath, they had to be buried on Friday, on the Sabbath before the sun went down.

So it could be three days and three nights in, as Joel was three days and three nights in Billyfish, so a single man would be three days and three nights in the grave. And so they had to put him in the tomb. So she came back to finish anointing the body with the perfumes. Jews did not embalm, okay? They anointed, they wrapped the body, they wrapped the arms separately, they wrapped the torso separately, they wrapped the legs separately, they wrapped the body up and put perfumes, oils around all of that to keep the body from smelling as bad as it probably would.

And then it says this, and Jesus said to her, Miriam. And as soon as he said that, she knew it was him. How did she know? Because he used her family name. The name her friends called her, Miriam. And she turns and she says to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. She knew, why? John 10, my sheep hear my voice and they know me and follow me. They know my voice. She knew the voice of her shepherd. Now remember, like the two men on the road to Emmaus, they didn't know that Jesus was with them either, right?

He was resurrected. He came up to them and says, what are you guys talking about? And they're wondering, where have you been over the last couple of days? Don't you know about Jesus, the Messiah who was crucified? And they began talking to him as if he's a stranger, but he's the Messiah. They didn't know either because their eyes had not been illuminated to the truth. Mary needed to be illuminated and the Lord did that. And Jesus said to her, stop clinging to me for I've not yet ascended to the father.

Wow. She grabbed ahold of him. She clung to him, why? Because she didn't want him out of her presence. She loved him so much, she could not let go. And Christ said, you gotta stop clinging to me because I haven't ascended to my father yet. And in John 13 and John 14 and John 17, he promised there'd be an ascension. He promised he was going to go away and come back again. So he'd already promised the ascension. He had yet to ascend to his father who was in glory. He wanted her to understand that, listen, as the Old Testament promised Emmanuel, God with us, that was the Old Testament promise and the Messiah was with them.

But now he wants to be in them, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Unless I ascend to my father, I cannot send to you the spirit. And therefore, I can't be in you. Therefore, stop clinging to me. I must ascend to my father. And you move from her passion to her commission. And the Lord says, but go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my father and your father and my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

The first to see the Lord was the first to speak about the Lord's resurrection. Mary of Magdala, why did he choose her? Why not Peter, the leader of the 12? Why not John, the disciple whom Jesus loved? Why Mary of Magdala? Because she becomes the quintessential picture of supreme devotion, affection and passion for her Messiah, unparalleled by anyone else in the New Testament. That's why she stayed. And Christ came to her. He could have followed Peter or been at home with Peter and John, no. It was Mary of Magdala.

A person whose soul had been liberated from the bondage of Satan, set free to serve only your God. And she did faithfully. She served him day in and day out. She served him. And she stood at the foot of the cross and watched. And she walked along the Via Dolorosa and watched. And she might've sat back and watched all the other trials take place. She was well acquainted with all that was taking place. And she was so committed to her Lord. When all the other men left, Mary of Magdala stayed. She was the last to leave the crucifixion.

And she was the first to be at the resurrection. Simply because she was completely devoted to her God. How about you? Are you devoted to the Lord? Have you been truly liberated from your captivity with Satan that you're set free to serve Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? This is the climax in redemptive history. Everything comes full circle on Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. Because I live, Christ says, you too will live.

Do you have that ironclad assurance of eternal life? Do you have the ironclad assurance that Christ lives in you? That Christ who is the hope of glory resides within you? That you might live a transformed, liberated, resurrected life, buried with him in the likeness of his death and raised with him in the likeness of his resurrection, Paul says in Romans six. That's life. That's living. Mary lived life to its fullest. How about you? Do you? Do you? You can if you give your life to Christ today. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for the opportunity you give us to spend in your word. As true and as rich and as rewarding as it is, we are a blessed people. Our prayer, Father, is that we would understand what you did in Mary's life, understand her devotion, her passion, her adoration and affection for the Lord of the universe, unparalleled in scripture. She was so committed to you. On this Resurrection Sunday, Lord, may we be reminded that we've been set free and that because we've been set free, we've been set free to serve the true and living God.

And may we do so faithfully until you come again as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.