Scripture: Luke 1:26-38; John 20:11-18
Theme: Two Mary’s - One Savior
This is a short Easter (Resurrection Day) message that ends with the sharing of the LORD’s Supper. It focuses on two women named Mary – the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene and how both are representatives of people today.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
He has Risen! He Has Risen Indeed!
This morning, I want to talk to you about two women named Mary. While they shared the same name their stories began very differently. The first Mary we find living in the land of Nazareth as a young woman getting ready to get married while the other Mary we find confused and alone in the Garden mourning the loss of her rabbi Jesus from Nazareth.
The first Mary, whom we call the Virgin Mary, was the first person to touch Jesus in His Natural Birth. She had carried Jesus in her womb for 40 weeks. She had given everything she had to make sure that Jesus would come into the world healthy and whole.
That Mary, the Virgin Mary is amazing. She is an inspiring picture of purity, of righteousness and holiness. She is the model of what it means to be a person of virtue, honor and glory. She is the model of what it means to live a life of obedience. She is a wonderful representative of the person that the writer of Psalm 119 strived to be like:
“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths. You have charged us to keep Your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect Your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with Your commands. As I learn Your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey Your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!” (Psalm 119:1-8)
I believe those words do a pretty good job of describing the Virgin Mary. As we read her story we notice some key things about this Mary:
+She receives God’s messenger – she opens up her heart and mind to hear Gabriel’s words and she believes those words
+She receives God’s mission – the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY needs someone to bring His Son into the world and has chosen Mary to be that woman.
The Bible tells us that Mary obediently accepted God’s Assignment even though she didn’t know how all of this would take place and what it will then do to her life and her future. She would leave all those details up to the LORD. All she knew was that the LORD had asked to use her mind, her heart and her body as His vessel. All she knew was that she wanted to be the handmaiden of the LORD; obedient, ready and willing no matter the sacrifice or the cost.
Mary’s life is an exemplary life. It is one that points the way to Obedience, Worship, Consecration and Sanctification. Mary is the type of person that all of us looks up to and hopefully ascribe to be like in this life. She is the kind of person we love to have in our lives and in our churches.
The other Mary’s story is far different. At least it is at first. This Mary is the first person to see Jesus after His Resurrection. She is the first person to know what it means to touch Jesus after His Resurrection. That means that she is the first one to see and touch the Second Adam; the first fruit of what the Bible calls everlasting life.
Let those thoughts sink down in your heart and mind for a few moments.
This Mary’s back story is quite interesting. In many circles she was known as Mad Mary. She is Mary of Magdela – Mary Magdalene. The picture of her life was radically different than that of the Virgin Mary.
Mark 16:9 tells us in no uncertain terms that this Mary, this woman from the region of Magdela had been either under the power of demons or in league with demons. In fact, Mark tells us that Mary had at one time 7 different and distinct demons living inside her heart, soul and mind.
It is hard to imagine what exactly what all that means. What does it mean to have 7 demons flowing through you body? What does that do to a person? What does that person look like, speak like or act like?
Some traditions tell Mary’s story as the story of a fallen woman. Many believe that Mary had lived the life of a prostitute. This may very well have been true. Her home town region of Magdela had a very unsavory reputation. It was a hot bed of sexual immorality and perversion. It was seen as a Red Light District. But that fact in and of itself does not give us 100% proof that Mary was a fallen woman.
Other traditions want to point out that Mary was not a fallen woman at all. That instead, she was a person who was merely suffering from some form of mental illness and instability. They believe that the only thing Mary was suffering from was being mentally and/or emotionally handicapped.
This tradition states that it was more than likely she suffered from one or more of the following diseases; PTSD from a traumatic childhood encounter, epilepsy, some form of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, panic attacks, delusional episodes, hallucinations or something along those lines. This tradition wants to promote the idea that Mary really was not demonic but merely suffered from some form or forms of mental illness.
Still other traditions point out that most likely since Mark is clear about her having seven demons it means that she was completely under the influence and power of some fallen angels (demonic beings). That being said it would mean that Mary would have at times exhibit all kinds of strange behaviors:
+She might at times have fallen into a trance like state
+At times she might voice statements filled with venom and hatred towards God and a life of holiness
+She might on different occasions been able to speak in a foreign language that previously she had never spoken
+She might have displayed enormous strength and either destroyed parts of her house or other people’s houses or hurled herself at other people causing them great harm
+She might have been able to demonstrate some type of “hidden knowledge” about how someone’s love one that had died
+She might have been able to reveal some knowledge about a person’s secret sin or a part of their secret life
+She might have heard voices telling her to do all kinds of things that would bring harm to her and perhaps to others
+She might have been excessively addicted to alcohol or to any number of ancient drugs at the time
+She might have suffered from repeated episodes where suddenly she would go and commit all types of immoral, violent and/or vile behavior.
We just don’t know for sure all that this Mary had to endure. We don’t know the extent of her condition but we do know that it was more than mere mental illness. There was no medicine nor was there any cognitive behavior therapy/therapies that would have brought her healing and wholeness. She was beyond human help.
We do know Mary was not free. Her mind was not free. Her heart was not free. Her soul was not free. What had Mary in its grips was more than human. It was supernatural. It was evil and it was a great deal of evil.
However, we also know that when this Mary met Jesus her life was radically transformed. In a matter of seconds she went from being Mad Mary to being a faithful disciple of Jesus living out a life of holiness to the glory and honor of God. Jesus had done what no doctor or anyone else had done. Jesus had transformed her heart, her mind and her soul.
In 1 John 3:8 we read these words:
“… but the Son of Man came to destroy the works of the devil.”
Aside from the men that Jesus healed in the area of the Gadarenes no one else was more troubled in heart, mind and soul than Mary Magdalene. No one else had been so imprisoned by evil and its effects. No one else had needed Jesus to destroy the works that the Devil and his demons were doing in their life.
Mary was the perfect example of why Jesus came to our earth. She had been tormented, assaulted and imprisoned by demons. Her life had become a living hell on earth. Her life and reputation had been destroyed by evil. For years she had lived in bondage to all types of trials, struggles, addictions and problems.
But here in John chapter 20 we find her walking around in the Garden. Her heart is broken, but she is Free. She is Well. She is Whole. She is Sane. She is living like Jesus had taught her and the other disciples how to live.
And it is to this Mary, this Mary of Magdalene that John shares with us that Jesus paused on His way to heaven for a side track meeting. Jesus was on his way ascending to the Father, but stops to spend some time with Mary.
After all, she is the perfect picture of why He had come to earth and had given His life on the cross. Mary is a part of the perfect picture of what it meant for Jesus to take away the keys of Hell, death and the grave from Satan. Mary is the perfect picture of what Grace could look like in a person’s life. Mary is a perfect picture of what Jesus can do in a person’s life.
This morning, our modern world looks more like the second Mary than it does the first Mary. And while the Church loves to have its pews full of people like the Virgin Mary the reality is even those Mary’s are in desperate need of grace, mercy and salvation.
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; that includes both Mary’s this morning.
The power of today, the truth of today, Resurrection Day is that both Marys are overwhelmingly welcomed in Jesus’ name. The people like the young Mary we find in Luke chapter one and the people that are like the Mary we find in Mark 16. The ones that have for the most part of their lives done everything they could to be obedient and those who have had their lives turned upside down by the Devil, evil and even demons.
Both women had discovered the most important thing in life – the Presence of God. Both women allowed that Presence to enter into their lives and to transform their lives forever.
The first Mary obediently became the vessel who brought Jesus into the world as a new born human baby.
The second Mary saw what it really meant to be born from the dead. She experienced the presence of the Resurrected Jesus. Jesus was the first person to be raised from the dead to die no more. The Apostle Paul writes it this way:
“… Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So, you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of this harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.” – 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
This morning as we close we are all invited to the Table of the LORD. It is a table of grace. It is a table of healing. It is a table of salvation. It is a table of communion. It is a table of invitation. It is a table that is available for both Mary’s – the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. It is a table for all of us. It is a table for any who wish to call upon Jesus to be their Savior and it’s a table for all those who have already called Jesus to be their Savior.
We are all in need of God’s Grace. Today, this day – this Day that celebrates the Resurrection is a Day in which anyone can ask Christ into their hearts and lives. Anyone can call upon the name of Jesus to forgive them of their sins and be their Lord and Savior right now.
Closing with An Invitation to the Lord’s Supper
Invitation to Prayer/Lord’s Supper/Blessing
