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30 THE RESURRECTED JESUS APPEARS TO MARY OF MAGDALA-Mary Magdalene was there when The
Lord Jesus first appeared after He was resurrected from the dead. Just as she
was the last to witness the previous events in Jesus’ death and burial, she
was the first to witness the most important occurrence in all history, The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ, The Son of The Living God.
When the
disciples left the tomb, Mary Magdalene stood outside the empty grave crying.
As she wept she bent over the entrance of the tomb and saw two angels in
dazzling white brilliance. One was seated where Jesus' head had been and the
other where His feet had been. (a very strong symbol of Christ, being the
mercy seat from the ark of the Covenant with Moses and the people of Israel
1500 years prior).
The angels
spoke to her asking why she was crying and she turned around and saw Jesus
there. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to her in His Resurrected Body after
being raised from the dead by The Power of The Holy Spirit of God. She
was the first person to whom He showed Himself.
He called
her by name and He too asked her why she was crying and recognizing Jesus in
the Garden, Mary called to Him. Mary tried to cling to Jesus, but He told her
she must let Him go as He had not yet returned to the Father with His human
life still bearing the scars inflicted upon His body.
Jesus told
her not to be afraid and to tell the other disciples of His Resurrection from
the dead and that she had seen Him. Mary responded with joy and obedience.
Jesus had entrusted her first with the message of the Gospel and to go and
tell the other disciples.
She ran to
the disciples Simon Peter and John and told them that the tomb where they
laid Jesus was empty and that He had risen from the dead. She became The
Apostle to the apostles. The disciples did not believe Mary's report of The
Resurrected Lord and later that night when Jesus did appear to them, He
rebuked them for their stubbornness in not believing her.
Mary Magdalene
saw all that Jesus went through, watching from a distance. Although Jesus'
intimate friends deserted Him, she who had faithfully ministered to Him did
not leave Him. She wept as Jesus was led to Calvary to be nailed to a tree.
She was there when He was declared physically dead. She remained sitting and
watching as they took Jesus' body to the grave. She had stayed and sat
opposite the tomb watching Joseph and Nicodemus, as they buried His body.
Mary
Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus’, He was Her teacher and she called Him as
such. She was a woman who had travelled with Jesus and had supported his
ministry and group financially, for she was very thankful to Jesus, as
previously He had cast out seven demons from her, releasing her from a very
distressing life.
She was not
a prostitute, nor the woman who anointed Jesus' feet, but was a wealthy woman
from Magdala. A teacher of God's Word
is forbidden to live off the earnings of a prostitute, which supports the
truth of her living a morally sound life.
She was also one of the few faithful disciples who did not abandon
Jesus at the cross, she had watched Him die, and had been one of the women
who discovered the empty tomb.
She was the
first eyewitness to Jesus’ Resurrection and after seeing Her Risen Lord, she
continued to obey Him and immediately did as He had said. She was the first
person to proclaim The Good News.
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