1 Minute Daily Devotions
April 11, 2008
Mary Magdalene
"Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene..." - Mark 16:9
The best seller, The DaVinci Code, has made Mary Magdalene a hot topic of discussion. Who was she? Was she Jesus' wife and the mother of His child as the book claims? Or was she simply a dedicated follower of Jesus?
She is an important person in the story of Jesus because she was one of the women who went to anoint the body of Jesus after His death. That was the custom in those days. But the tomb was empty. And while Mary was bewildered at this, Jesus appeared to her alive. His first appearance after His resurrection was to a woman.
Jesus took women seriously in that patriarchal first-century world. He did more to raise the status of women than anyone who has ever lived. But there is no historical evidence or documentation that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife. That is pure fantasy. She is simply a good example of what it means to be a devoted follower of Jesus.
Comments on this Devotion
From tk on Apr 11th:
was she not the same Mary He had freed from the terrorizing grip of seven demons? He had to know she had an intense fear of their returning. I don't doubt she was one of His most devoted followers. The concept of being a slave to pure evil again would be devestating.
From Sandi Whitten on Apr 11th:
I really get tired of people that buy into The DaVinci Code. It is my hope that people will understand that the book was fiction.
Sandi
From Jim on Apr 11th:
If you study Jewish traditions of the time, you will know that it was expected of Jesus to marry. Marriage itself is not sin. The pleasures of the flesh are.
From Carole on Apr 11th:
Yes, God speaks to women. He can even speak to Oprah and then maybe she will change her views and spread the word of Jesus Christ around the world instead of her new age stuff. The video that is circulating around is very disturbing. I hope that Bryant will address it to his congregation.
From Rick Y on Apr 11th:
Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) and others get the Mary Magdalene/Jesus marriage thing from a few vague references in apocryphal gospels like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip, which were written in the late second century at the earliest, as opposed to the earlier, canonical Gospels written thirty to forty years after Jesus death. Even those apocryphal gospels do not say they were married, which one would think would be an important detail to include if that were the case.
The appearance of Jesus to women first, is one of the reasons that new testament scholars of all stripes trust the account of the empty tomb as an historical event. In that culture it would be an embarrassing detail, and would actually take away from the credibility of the story. If the gospels were made up, or if the writers played loose with the facts, they would have had one or more of the men boldly go to the tomb first, rather than hiding away in fear after the crucifixion.
Jim, I think when you say "pleasures of the flesh", you mean sex outside marriage. There is nothing to suggest in the Bible that God has anything against that kind of pleasure in the context of marriage.
From Austin on Apr 11th:
What better way to discredit the divinity of Jesus than to attack the story of his purity. And people believe that garbage!
From Rick Y on Apr 11th:
More importantly is discrediting his resurrection, Austin. Even if they found some incontrovertible evidence that Jesus was married and had kids, it wouldn't really matter to me. After all, he was also a man, and marriage is ordained by God. But, the next step for those that want to discredit Jesus is to try to make a case that he and his supposed family lived a normal life somewhere, and that he was never crucified. That attacks at the very heart of Christianity -- the death, burial and resurrection accounts in the Bible. The idea that we was not crucified is ridiculous. Even liberal scholars and secular historians believe that is the case.
From Jerry on Apr 11th:
Rick, It is people just like you that will refute those stories and just think one day you will be told "Well done my good and faithful servant". My Brother that is when it will be worth all you will go thru in your life for Christ. I want to say I have been blessed by reading your comments on this site. God Bless
From Rick Y on Apr 11th:
Thanks, Jerry. I have also appreciated your comments, your strong faith, and your service to the Lord. I'm sure you will hear the same one day. God Bless you, as well.
From Jerry on Apr 11th:
There are many ways that the Bible is underfire now. I just this week received an email about a church being sued because it wouldn't let a lesibian couple use it's pavillion to exchange vows to each other, also a mother was told she couldn't read bible verses to a kindergarten class but was told she could read a story about a witch to them. I still say christians need to stand up and tell the world we are tired of being told we cant worship God. The unbelievers say they are persecuted because they don't want to hear about Jesus, well we are persecuted because we can't express our faith. I may very well one day be locked up for preaching the gospel in public, that will be okay Paul, Peter, James and Silias was and I am no better than they were. Tell the world the truth and keep faith in the Lord, he will see us thru any trial we may have.
From Janice on Apr 11th:
Jerry, You are right about all the situations that are coming up against Biblical values in our country. Two more incidents that have saddened me are that a husband and wife who work as photographers refused to take on a job of photographing the "marriage" ceremony of two lesbians and now they are being sued. Also a Catholic adoption agency in Boston that had been placing babies in homes for 100 years has shut down rather than place the babies with same sex couples. Christians seem to be asked constantly to put aside their values and go with the flow of other peoples values. I think I feel righteous anger about such situations. I am thankful there are pastors such as yourself who will preach the full truth in Scripture. I am praying for a revival in our country. It seems like for so long things have just been getting worse and worse. But there are still the faithful and always will be. God bless you and God bless RFTH and all the believers who read these comments.
From julie on Apr 12th:
Thanks to everyone who cares about others salvation and the truth of God's word. I didn't hear about what janice said, about the photographers and the adoption agency. The Lord will bring a blessing to those people....Praise the Lord!