First Person to see The Risen Christ

Mary Magdalene: The First Person to See the Risen Christ 

TEXT: Mark 16:1-9

On this Resurrection Sunday, we come to the final person in our Unsung Heroes of Easter series — Mary Magdalene, the first person to see Jesus Christ after he rose from the dead. She is one of the more popular figures in the Gospel narratives and is mentioned in all four Gospels. She is the woman out of whom Christ cast seven devils. Some have identified Mary Magdalene as the prostitute or “sinful woman” who washed Jesus’ feet. However, the Bible does not explicitly state that. We do know that Mary Magdalene was a woman of some means because the Bible says that she attended to Christ and helped provide for the needs of his ministry. Luke 8:2-3 states, “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, ministered unto him of their substance.”

To many scholars and theologians down through the years, it has been significant that Jesus Christ chose to appear to a woman, and especially to Mary Magdalene, after his resurrection. Let’s look at some possible reasons why.

1. The first reason why Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene before anyone else could be because Mary Magdalene represented a direct triumph over the devil and his plan. Mark 16:9 states, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene…” Of course, we can be content to know that Christ simply appeared to Mary Magdalene first because he chose to do so. But I believe it is safe for us to say that Christ appeared to a woman first as a symbolic expression that the curse of sin that had been brought on humanity by the actions of a woman had been completely removed.

2. The second reason why Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first could be because Jesus wanted to show that he died and rose from the dead FOR SINNERS. Verse 9 of our passage notes that Mary Magdalene is the one “out of whom Christ had cast seven devils.” Most of the passages which refer to Mary Magdalene never leave out this detail. And, I believe this detail gives us another reason why Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first after his resurrection — Jesus wanted to make it clear that he came to rescue SINNERS.

3. The third reason why Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first could be because Jesus always comes to those who are searching for him. John 20, verse 1 says, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark…” Remember that Joseph and Nicodemus had to bury Jesus hastily on Friday evening because the Sabbath was about to begin. Even though they wrapped Jesus’ body in linen and embalmed it with expensive spices, Mary and Mary Magdalene still wanted to anoint the body themselves. In their minds, it was probably the least they could do for the Saviour who had done so much for them

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