Learning From Mary

BY REV GOH YONG KUANG

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb…” - John 20:1a (NLT)

The Gospel of John describes 3 post-resurrection appearances of Jesus – one of which was His appearance before Mary Magdalene. 

Who was Mary Magdalene? Much has been written about her in the New Testament. Yet, nothing is mentioned in the Scripture about her family life – no record of her parentage or family members, her marital status or her age. Some claimed that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute and an adulteress - but Bible scholars found no textual evidence to support this claim.

Luke’s Gospel identified her as one of those possessed by evil spirits – until Jesus delivered her and gave her a new lease of life and a new relationship with her God and Saviour. The Gospel account shows that Mary Magdalene was a devoted follower of Jesus.  

She was not only a believer – she was a follower. She had gone past believing to following! Many people believe in Jesus, but stopped short of following Him!  

When people look at our lives – will they see any resemblance of Jesus?
Have we been following His example of humility, gentleness, kindness, etc.?

Mary was a follower – a devoted one at that! She was among the women who followed Jesus in His public ministry. She and a few other women supported His ministry financially (Luke 8:1-3). She followed Him to Calvary and watched as He died (John 19:25). She even followed His body to the tomb and remained there, with another Mary (Matthew 27:55-61). In short, she followed Him to the very end!

How devoted are we in following Jesus? 
Are we following Him faithfully and single-mindedly? 
Are we determined to follow Him to the end?

Mary Magdalene followed the Lord and stayed by Him faithfully. Her devotion to Jesus arose from a deep sense of love & gratitude for what the Lord has done for her. All these we see in Mary Magdalene! 

In a short span of time, the COVID-19 escalated from outbreak, to epidemic, and rapidly to global pandemic. There is not a person on this earth who hasn’t been affected or impacted by the coronavirus, in one way or another. A huge part of the world today is shrouded by a prevalent sense of fear and uncertainty, which can cause people to lose their faith in the system, the government, and even in God!  But, we who follow our Lord must stand out and be seen from among the godless, the faithless and the hopeless, as a people who has a God who can be trusted and depended upon.    

In times like these, let us learn from the example of Mary Magdalene, who stood by her God and remain faithful and devoted, no matter what!