Jesus. : Trusting Jesus First, Only, Now, and AlwaysSample

Mary Magdalene was a devoted follower of Jesus who helped support His ministry out of her own pocket. Jesus had cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, and she was forever grateful (see Luke 8:2-3).

On the morning of Jesus’s resurrection, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb with other women to anoint Jesus’s dead body with spices out of respect for Him (see Mark 16:1). When they found the tomb empty and were told by an angel that Jesus had risen and planned to meet His disciples in Galilea, the women ran away (see Mark 16:4-8), but Mary Magdalene went to tell Peter and John what she’d seen. This took courage. In those days, the testimony of a woman wasn’t even allowed in court, but Mary Magdalene didn’t let this stop her.

Peter and John went to the tomb with Mary. When they went in, they found Jesus’s burial clothes, but no body. All three thought someone had taken Jesus’s body, and the men went back to the place where they were staying. Deeply bothered by the disappearance of Jesus’s body, Mary stayed behind to mourn Him and got the best surprise of her life. Jesus Himself appeared to Mary and told her to go tell the other disciples He was alive!

Before Mary Magdalene made it to the disciples to tell them about seeing Jesus, Jesus appeared to all the women and told them to tell the disciples He was alive and would see them in Galilea (see Matthew 28:9-10). The women did what Jesus asked, but the disciples didn’t believe them (see Mark 16:9-11; Luke 24:11).

Over the next forty days, Jesus appeared to many people who then believed. After Jesus went back to Heaven, the women were among 120 people who waited for Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to Jerusalem like He’d promised (see Acts 1:4). They were no longer the only ones who believed, but they had been the first.

The women could have made dozens of excuses to get out of going to the tomb or telling the disciples about Jesus, but their willingness to do what was right gave them the special privilege of talking to Jesus first. When we choose to obey God, we get to experience Him up close and personal.