|
Bible People - Mary Magdalene |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Extra Websites Crucifixion:
archaeological evidence of the terrible death of Jesus Mary
at the tomb of Jesus: setting the scene The
way artists liked to see it Caring
for the body of a dead person: Mary's task after the death of Jesus Sinner
or saint? Famous paintings of Mary Magdalene Mary
Magdalene in modern films Was
Mary Magdalene married to Jesus, or his lover? Mary
Magdalene's story in detail
|
Mary Magdalene He's Alive!
Mary Magdalene - cured by
Jesus of an unknown, severe illness; becomes the leader of a group
of women disciples who follow Jesus, provide for him financially, and
listen first-hand to Jesus' teachings; first witness of the Resurrection;
first evangelist, since she is told by Jesus to 'tell the others'; she
brings the news of the Resurrection to the other disciples, including
Peter and John See the story below |
|||||||||
|
Who Was Mary Magdalene? Mary Magdalene was not the wife or lover of Jesus, but after his mother she was probably the main woman in his life. She was certainly his financial backer and leader of the women who followed Jesus as disciples. She was with him during that fateful Passover week in Jerusalem, and stood by him during the blasphemy of the crucifixion. She was the first witness of the Resurrection, and first Apostle to spread news of that event.
Mary's Illness But she did have a serious illness, though just what it was we do not know. At the time, people believed that some illnesses like schizophrenia or epilepsy were caused by evil spirits, which entered the body and controlled it.
Mary is described in the gospels as having seven
of these demons living inside her body, the number seven being an
indication of the severity of her illness - she
was very ill indeed. Mary Meets Jesus At some point in her life Mary met an itinerant miracle worker called Jesus, and the power of his personality and teachings bowled her over. He cured her of her illness, and she became a whole-hearted supporter of this man and his mission. Leader of the Women Who Followed Jesus You have to imagine what Jesus' life was
during the three years of his wandering mission throughout Galilee and
Judea. He moved around the villages and towns with two separate groups of
men and women - they had to be separate and respectable, to maintain his
credibility as a religious teacher. Mary seems to have been in charge of
the group of women who
traveled with Jesus and supported him financially. As far as it is
possible to tell, Mary led the
women’s group, Peter led the men’s. The Horror of the Crucifixion
When things went badly wrong at that fateful Passover in Jerusalem, Mary stood resolutely by Jesus. None of them knew what would happen, not even Jesus - Jesus' humanity is often ignored. People assume that because he was divine he knew every detail of what would happen. But he was also human like us, not knowing exactly what was coming, having bad things happen and having to respond to them the best he could - just as we do. When the worst that could happen did happen, Mary was there. She had been close to him during his life, and she would be close to him when he faced death. The men disciples fled – there was every possibility they might be the next victims of the Roman authorities. But Mary stood as near to the cross as she could, watching every dreadful action, hearing every scream. No one can imagine what it was like for her, or for the other women standing there. When Jesus was finally dead, silent at last, they took him down from the cross. Then Mary faced the task that every Jewish woman had to do sooner or later – preparing the body of someone she loved for burial . This entailed washing the body - in Jesus' case the pitifully torn and mangled body, gently wiping it with a mixture of spices and then wrapping it in linen strips. While this was happening, prayers from the Scriptures were softly chanted. Preparing Jesus' Body for Burial
The women's work had to be done quickly – the Sabbath
was about to begin. But there had not been time to buy the ointments and spices,
so they knew they have to come back after the Sabbath to complete the
task. At the earliest opportunity, they returned to
the tomb where his body had been placed - but there was no one there. The
soldiers were nowhere in sight, and the place seemed deserted. Jesus’
body was gone. Where was it? A young man at the tomb said that Jesus was
gone – but gone where? 'Mary'. She Recognised the Voice
Mary collapsed on the ground. Everything was wrong. His body should have been there. Then someone spoke to Mary, said her name, and she recognized the voice. It was Jesus. She was mute with shock. She made as if to grab hold
of him, but he pulled back. Don’t hold on to me, he said. Just tell the
others. She ran back to the house where the men were hidden. He’s alive, she said. He’s alive.
AND A GOOD FRIDAY WAS HAD BY ALL Bruce Dawe You men
there, keep those women back well this
Nazarene Silenus held the spikes steady
and I let fly Orders is
orders, I said after it was over then we
hauled on the ropes
Bible Text for the story of Mary Magdalene
Was Mary Magdalene married to Jesus, or his lover? The Da Vinci Code |
||||||||||
|
Bible Stories: People of
the New Testament - Bible Study Resource |
||||||||||
There is nothing romantic or even sexy
about Mary’s story. Her hometown Magdala was a thriving center of the
fishing industry, producing smoked fish in large quantities, for sale to
the surrounding countries. Dried fish - that’s
where Mary probably made her money, not in prostitution as the legends
would have us believe - Mary the astute businesswoman is not nearly as
fascinating as Mary the repentant prostitute.
