Early on the first day of the week, after he had risen, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons” (Mark 16:9).
After her earth-shattering meeting with Jesus, Mary Magdalene told his friends he was alive! Even though they didn’t believe her at first, delivering that message must have felt like a true privilege for a woman who had seen and known Jesus’ power, and was often in the background of Gospel accounts of his ministry.
There she is, following him as he ministered from one village to the next (Luke 8:1-2). Then, we see her right before Jesus’ death, watching from a distance with some of the other women who follow him (Matthew 27:55-56). And again, she’s at the tomb the morning of his resurrection, waiting and attending and abiding, even when she believed Jesus was gone.
He had driven out seven demons. Afterward, the hallmark of Mary’s discipleship was devotion. Scripture doesn’t record many of her words, but we do know she was present for both everyday ministry and monumental events.
If we look around our own churches, we’re likely to notice people who follow her example. They are longtime, long-suffering followers of Jesus. They are woven into the tapestry, the background, of God’s work in their communities. They have been active participants in some seasons and background players in others. But they’re always there, devoted to his work, his purposes, his power to transform lives—including their own.
Mary Magdalene’s example of nearness to Jesus ought to draw our own hearts closer to him—certainly this month, but not only at Easter. Where can we move nearer to him and his work?
Does it mean instituting a new spiritual discipline? Is it spending more time in prayer? Is there an avenue of service you’ve felt drawn toward for a while? In what area does our discipleship invite deeper, stronger, more faithful devotion to Jesus? This month and every month, where are the places in which we can follow Mary’s example, and the words of a familiar hymn:
Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain;
Free to all a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
–Meredith Day Flynn is a wife and mother of two living in Springfield.