‘Mary’

Jeremiah 26, 35, 36; John 20

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary’. She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’…”

John 20:16-18

John recounted how he was the first to witness the empty tomb of Jesus. However, it was Mary Magdalene who was the first to see the resurrected Christ, to hear him, and to receive the command to ‘Go’.

Why did Jesus choose to give Mary this honor, and not John or Peter?

Why did Paul, overlook this important fact when he listed those who saw Jesus in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)?

Paul claimed it was Cephas who first saw Jesus; however, Paul wasn’t present during those first hours and days following the resurrection.

Could it be that Mary’s status as a woman and someone whom Jesus freed from seven demons made her ‘invisible’ to the church leaders?

God is not a respecter of persons. There are many ‘Marys’ in the Church today who are testifying they have seen the Lord and live on mission. 

“Lord Jesus, show me how to honor the ones you honor, and listen, for your glory.”