Mary Magdalene
Apostle to the Apostles
July 22
Mary just wouldn’t give up. When the other disciples fled in fear, Mary stayed at the foot of the cross until Jesus died. She would not leave Jesus in his darkest hours. Even though sunset was coming and the Sabbath was about to begin, she accompanied Jesus’ body to the tomb. At the first light of dawn after the Sabbath, she rushed to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body because there was no time when he was buried. Although they had a hard time believing her, Mary raced to the Apostles to tell them that she had seen the Risen Christ. No obstacle was too great for her to follow the Lord she loved.
Mary lived in the town of Magdala found on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spent much of his time ministering in that area and that is where Mary first came to know Jesus. It is possible that she is the woman who entered Simon, the Pharisee’s house. She wept and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and then poured perfume on his feet. According to two of the Gospel writers (Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2) Jesus released seven demons from Mary. Scripture is not clear what the seven evils were, but over the centuries, scholars and Church Fathers have assumed a few. Great thinkers of today caution us not to make assumptions about Mary’s sinfulness.
Not only is the root of her sinfulness debated, but her very identity has caused confusion among scholars. At one time, it was thought that Mary was the woman who went into the Pharisees’ home and anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Because Jesus released the seven demons from her, there was an assumption that she was a sinful woman and a prostitute. Others said she was Martha and Lazarus’ sister, Mary, of Bethany. She is counted among the Marys who stood at the base of the cross. Modern scholarship suggests that not all of these Marys are one in the same and we should be cautious about grouping them all together in one person.
The one thing we can know for sure about Mary is that she was the first person to see the Resurrected Christ. Mary Magdalene brought hope to the disciples as she rushed to tell them that Jesus was risen. She is a symbol of hope for us as well today. When Mary first went to the tomb at daybreak after the Sabbath, she discovered that the stone had been moved away and that the tomb was empty. Her grief was enormous and she began to cry. Someone she mistook as a gardener asked her why she was crying, and she replied that her Lord had been taken away. She didn’t know where they had put him. The “gardener” called her by name, and she immediately recognized him as Jesus. She ran to the disciples and told them that she had seen the Risen Lord.
Legends from the East and West provide various accounts of what happened to Mary after Pentecost. Legends in the East say that she went with John to Ephesus while people of the West say she went to southern France where she lived as a hermitess in a cave. Mary remains a model for us today to tell others the Good News about the Risen Lord.
Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Grade 1, chapter 5
Grade 2, chapter 7
Grade 4, chapter 7
Junior High, Church History, chapter 7
Connecting to Faith First® Original Edition
Grade 2, chapter 7