As we strive to follow Jesus in our own contexts, we frequently turn to the first generation Jesus followers to teach us how it should look. One of those followers that I learn from is none other than Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was someone that unabashedly followed Jesus from the very beginning. Shortly after having seven demons cast out of her, Mary Magdalene joined Jesus’ team of people that traveled with him from town to town to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Not only did she tag along, but she, and other women, worked to provide for Jesus and the disciples joining in this journey. When Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus, it changed everything about her life.
This loyalty to Jesus and his message didn’t end there. Mary Magdalene didn’t just want to follow the exciting Jesus that performed miracles and preached about the Kingdom of God, she loved Jesus so much that she stayed right by his side even when all hope seemed lost. We see Mary Magdalene in a front row seat for the hardest day in history as Jesus was crucified. Regardless of what people said about who Jesus was, she wasn’t going to leave his side. Afterwards, we see her visiting Jesus’ tomb before everyone else is awake. Jesus was everything to her and because of that, she wasn’t going to leave.
Then it happened. After the disciples left the tomb in a trance of lost hope, the risen Jesus revealed himself to this loyal follower. The one whose desperation for him dictated everything she did. With a simple, “Mary” spoken by Jesus, all of the hope that Jesus spoke of was realized. Mary Magdalene's immediate response was to run back to notify the disciples of everything she’d seen. This follower of Jesus, in a society that did not respect the voice of a woman, was the one chosen to announce that the Lord had risen. She didn’t let the potential of people not believing her because of who she was stop her from sharing the truth of what Jesus had done.
Mary Magdalene is a follower of Jesus that we all can learn from. She’s the type of follower that’s willing to risk everything for the sake of following Jesus, she is willing to ride out the storms because of the hope of what is to come, and she doesn’t let others tell her what she can or cannot share about the truth of Jesus.
Leah Stewart is the Director of College & Young Adults at Arcade Church. Follow @arcadecollege on Instagram for more information and events.
