Category: Digging Deeper

So, who is the ultimate changemaker in this story? Obviously, the One who initiated the change in Mary of Magdalene was Jesus.  He found Mary and made seven demons leave her in an instant. It was Jesus that took Mary out of darkness and placed her in the light. Jesus did that for Mary and she gladly submitted to the Saviors will and chose to serve who she knew was her Lord. She became devoted to an all powerful God that took her from the heights of joy and astonishment, to the depths of despair and fear; but all without wavering in her resolve to follow Him, even into a borrowed tomb. Jesus chose to appear to Mary first, and He chose Mary for a very important role as His voice to tell the disciples that He was alive and that He would meet them soon.  Yes, Mary was changed BY the changemaker, Jesus the Christ! Then Mary was all too glad to be used BY her Lord and her God for whatever He needed her to do, and He did not waste that service.   Some may say that Jesus appearing to Mary first and telling her to go and “tell the others” was not that big of a deal; and you would be wrong!  What if your boss came to you and shared their plans for a new direction that the company was going to be taking, and then told you to go and “tell the others” in the company that the new direction would be announced at a company retreat, in say…Galilee!  That would be kind of a big deal, wouldn’t it?  Mary was trusted by Jesus and that is kind of a big deal!

Jesus trusts you too! 

 He trusts us because He changed us, just like He did Mary. And now it is time for us to pass it on and introduce others to our Changemaker.  Whether it is through being transparent about our faith in the marketplace, or through joining or leading a Life Group and inviting neighbors to join, or by finally beginning to tithe consistently, or by making an uncomfortable commitment to Whatever it Takes; Jesus is calling us to be all-in for His glory. He wants us to meet Him in Galilee.

He loves you so much forever!

The second way that Jesus rewarded Mary’s devotion was by making her His voice in the most important message delivered to His disciples: “I have seen the Lord! He told me to tell you that He is going to be ascending to His Father and our Father, to His God and to our God. He is going to Galilee, and we are to meet Him there” (Mark 16:7; Matthew 28:6-10). Can you imagine the astonishment? Can you imagine the change of emotion for her then, and for the disciples when they heard? Total despair to a renewed sense of hope—all because Jesus had chosen Mary to deliver this message. How honoring is that? “Mary, go and tell the others, my brothers, that I have risen and will meet them in Galilee before I go home! Hurry, Mary! Go and tell my disciples, and Peter, that they will see me soon, just as you are seeing me now!”

Mary Magdalene was to be Jesus’ courier of a most important message.

And Jesus has given us the same job. If you are a child of the King, you too have seen the empty tomb and have been told, “Go and tell the others!” Our purpose is to SEE Jesus daily and get to know Him more intimately so that we can go and tell the others! The others are those who have not seen the empty tomb; they are the doubters, those in darkness, or those who have lost hope. Can you do that? Can we, as a church—meaning the individual parts of the body of Christ—be like Mary and live sent, carrying the light into a PERFECTLY dark world? I believe we can! I believe that when we are saved out of the darkness, we are compelled from deep within to go and tell the others: “He is alive; and He has gone to His Father and our Father, to His God and to our God! And because He lives, you too can walk in the light.”

Be God’s voice!

He loves you so much forever!

What does it mean to be devoted? The American Heritage Dictionary defines devotion this way: Ardent affection and dedication, as to a person. Religious ardor or zeal, piety. The act of devoting or the state of being devoted.

Mary Magdalene personified this definition. After being set free from PERFECT darkness, she wanted only to live in the light that Jesus produced. She followed Him everywhere and provided for His ministry. She cooked and cleaned (I assume; it is not stated) and did what women did in the first century. She was devoted almost to a fault.

How, you might ask, did she show her devotion? Here we go!

Mary Magdalene was at the cross, watching her Lord and Savior being crucified to death (John 19:25; Mark 15:40-41; Matthew 27:55-56). There was no abandoning the one who had freed her from the darkness.

Mary followed Joseph of Arimathea to the grave he had provided for Jesus so that she knew where to go when the Sabbath was completed (Luke 23:55-56; Matthew 27:61). Though Mary had to wait for up to two days and three nights, she was already planning her anointing of Jesus’ body with spices as a sign of her devotion. She would not abandon her duty to Him, even in death.

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb the day after the Sabbath to anoint Jesus for proper burial according to Jewish law (John 20:1; Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-8). Mary had been preparing for this ritual since He was laid in the tomb and was following through devotedly for her King.

Personally, I am amazed at Mary’s devotion to Jesus. After all, her propitiation was dead and buried… or so she thought.

But God… is a rewarder of the devoted and of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

So, how did Jesus reward His devoted servant, Mary Magdalene? He rewarded Mary by allowing her to be the first one to see Him in His resurrected state! Mary Magdalene, former demon-possessed woman and probably a prostitute—the darkest of the dark when it came to hope and prospects—was the one whom Jesus shined His light upon. She was on stage for the most magnificent event in all of human history. Jesus gave Mary the greatest honor since the creator of her mother, Eve. That is what I call a reward. Jesus APPEARED to Mary first. Not to Peter. Not to John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (according to John!); not to James or to any of the other disciples. Jesus appeared to Mary and gave her an important task, a purpose: “GO AND TELL THE OTHERS…”

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will look at this additional blessing bestowed upon His devoted servant.

He loves you so much forever!

When we are first introduced to Mary Magdalene, she is serving Jesus’ ministry in total freedom. She and the other women—no one knows the exact number—are working and sharing what they earn with Jesus and the disciples to fund His ministry. Mary Magdalene (MM) is walking in the light, serving Jesus, with no thought of the PERFECT darkness that she had been freed from, because “when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36). We are not told how Jesus did it. If we believe the scriptures in relation to the freeing of the disciples from their darkness, or the freeing of the demon-possessed epileptic, or the demoniac, or the blind man, or the deaf man, or the dead girl, or the bleeding woman, or the Roman soldier’s servant, we see that Jesus simply spoke to the seven demons and they left her. As we discovered yesterday, darkness only ceases to exist when it is replaced with light. PERFECT LIGHT casts out the darkness so that there is not even a hint of shadow that remains. That is Jesus! Let’s take a look at James 1:17: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

If you find yourself in darkness, or even a shifting shadow, and Jesus is your Savior, then lift up your eyes to the Father of Lights, where there is no darkness, no shadow, no doubt, or fear—there is only the peace that comes from being in the presence of PERFECT illumination. Focus on His Light, and the darkness cannot remain in your life. This was me for about four years of my Christian life, as I watched my late wife slowly die after 20 years of illness. I was in darkness because I refused to lift my eyes to look at Jesus, the Light of the World. Why? Because I was mad at Him for not healing her. (I wanted to say “pissed at Him,” but thought it inappropriate.) But God, in His gentle mercy, reached out to me and filled me with hope, contentment, and—light. He welcomed His prodigal son home, and He will do the same for you, regardless of the circumstance that separated you from Him in the first place.

If Jesus is not yet your Savior, but you feel the Holy Spirit drawing you to Him (you know what it feels like :), then submit your darkened will to His enlightened plan for you (Ephesians 2:10): “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Join with Mary Magdalene in her joyful walk of service, ministering on behalf of Jesus to a lost world stumbling through the darkness.

I promise you, your life is about to change in unimaginable and glorious ways. Walking in the light is so much better than walking in darkness. I know! I’ve done both!

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will look at the devotion of an enlightened servant!

He loves you so much forever!

Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had healed from the possession of seven demons, was in PERFECT darkness. So, what is the difference between darkness and PERFECT darkness? And why is it important? Well, because seven is considered the perfect number in scripture. God created the heavens and the earth in six days. It took Him six days to create everything we can experience with our senses, and on the seventh day, God rested. Seven days in total, and it was PERFECT.

I believe that Mary found herself in seven levels of torment, seven levels of despair, and seven levels of hopelessness. Where Mary Magdalene was, there was no light at all. She was in PERFECT darkness, and it was seven levels deep.

Another lifetime ago, when I was in college, I spent a summer as a Soda Ash miner in Lyman, WY, as a Jack-Leg Operator on a mining crew. We were 1,500 feet underground for 10 hours straight, drilling holes for dynamite to make tunnels in the Soda Ash layers of rock. Hey, it paid a LOT better than working at the hometown pool, and I needed the money. We had lights strung up to help us, as well as a battery-powered lamp on our helmets… just in case. One day, “just in case” happened, and the lights/power went out. All we had were our helmet lamps for light. This was fine until the batteries that powered those lamps started to go out, one by one. When the last headlamp went out, we were in PERFECT darkness. There was no inkling of light anywhere. Our eyes never adjusted because there was nothing for them to adjust to. We were in an “absence of light” environment, and we were scared (at least I was). Darkness this complete can only be described, by me at least, as foreboding and evil, in a sense. I knew my Savior was there with me, but I could not see Him in His creation (see Romans 1), so I could not see HIM. All I could do was listen.

I believe that Mary was in PERFECT darkness spiritually. There was NO light in her existence because she was literally dead in her sin, and the seven demons were there to remind her of her decaying soul. She did not yet know Jesus, so there was no hope to listen for. Sound familiar?

I have been there, in the darkness, where all I can hear is the sound of demons tormenting me about my sin. Have you? Are you there now? Do you feel hopeless in such a way that makes you believe the light will never shine again in your life?

If that is where you find yourself, I have GREAT news for you! God will not waste the pit you are experiencing. The light came and will shine on you just like He did with Mary. Perfect darkness will be replaced with PERFECTION, which is light indescribable, even the Light of the World.

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will talk about just how and why the light will shine.

He loves you so much forever!

This week, we’ve been taking a closer look at the story of the woman condemned to death, but another similar exchange happened between Jesus and the Pharisees. Like the story in John 8, this account also involved a woman whose reputation preceded her.

In both stories, the Pharisees are mired in their self-righteousness. They have a penchant for identifying the sins of others but are oblivious to their own need for a Savior. However, the immoral woman anointing Jesus’ feet has found new life in her Savior. In fact, Jesus comments that she loves much because she has been forgiven much.

In yesterday’s devotional, I shared that we don’t truly know what became of the woman caught in adultery. However, we can be certain that her encounter with Jesus left her a changed woman. Jesus’ grace quite literally gave her “new life,” as she had been condemned to death by the Pharisees.

If you have been on the receiving end of mercy and grace, you know how it tends to heighten your compassion and love for others. When you’ve experienced brokenness and walked through the painful restoration process, your vision for others becomes clearer.

Conversely, if you have been forgiven little—or if you’ve fooled yourself into thinking you’re perfect—you extend that same measure of love and compassion to others.

Sandwiched between the two excerpts from Luke 7 above is an exchange between Jesus and the man who invited Him to his home:

41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said.

Forgiveness opens the door to living with open hands and an open heart. The best news is that Jesus has already forgiven you. When you recognize that you owe a debt you could never repay and accept His gift of new life, your story is given a new chapter—and an eternally joyful ending.

Jesus has saved the woman—quite literally. In an attempt to trap Him, these men brought the woman and likely hurled her at Jesus’ feet, throwing the Law in His and the woman’s face. They were daring Jesus to step in and speak blasphemy. But Jesus was light-years ahead of them. He flipped the script and sent them on their way.

Now, it’s just the woman and Jesus. She is humiliated—alive, yes, but ashamed.

He reminds her that no one has condemned her. She has escaped the throes of death. But Jesus doesn’t leave it there. He presses in. I imagine He looks her in the eyes and, with compassion in His voice, plainly tells her, “Go and sin no more.”

Jesus doesn’t pardon the sin or make light of it. He knows her heart was hardened before she was caught, but now it has softened because of the mercy and grace He has shown. This is not just a teaching moment—it’s a life-altering moment.

We don’t know what became of the woman. We aren’t sure if she heeded Jesus’ words or became one of His followers. But at this point in the story, we must insert ourselves. We all have the opportunity to experience new life through the redemptive power of Christ’s love.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

The power of sin is diminished when we abide in our “newness” in Christ.

Paul implored the Christians in Ephesus to remember why they originally turned their lives over to Jesus:

“But that is not how you came to know Christ, assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” —Ephesians 4:20-24 (CSB)

How about you? Are you still trying to put on the “old self” and live apart from your Savior? If you’re one of His children, be reminded that the old version of you no longer exists! Embrace your new life in Christ and the freedom He bought for you on the cross!

In my formative years, I loved watching professional wrestling on TBS. I remember Gordon Solie and, later, Tony Schiavone on the mic each week as the best wrestlers paraded out and got the crowd riled up. There were “good guys”—known as “babyfaces”—and “bad guys”—known as “heels.” Of course, I always rooted for the good guys. I was particularly enamored with wrestlers like Tommy “Wildfire” Rich, Mr. Wrestling No. 1 and 2, and The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.

There were some memorable bad guys as well—The Iron Sheik, Super Destroyer, Roddy Piper, and Abdullah the Butcher. But one bad guy took the cake: The Nature Boy, Ric Flair. I mean, I despised him—flaunting his long golden locks and strutting around in his flashy, full-length robes. Flair was known for his devastating finishing move, the Figure Four. If he locked his opponent in that hold, it was over.

All bad guys like Ric Flair were merciless in the ring. Worse, they would cheat when the referee wasn’t looking—choking a guy on the ropes or sneaking in an extra stomp to his forehead. But on those rare occasions when Flair’s opponent had the upper hand, he would beg for mercy. He would crouch low, hands spread wide, head shaking from side to side, pleading to be spared. Often, the good guy would relent—because, well, he was a good guy. And that would lead to his downfall, as Flair would seize the moment and make him pay. But there were also those times when the good guy—urged on by the roaring crowd—didn’t fall for it and instead delivered an elbow between the eyes. And the crowd went wild.

We’re often the same way. We want to see “the bad guy” get what’s coming to him. In this story, the “bad guy” is the woman caught in adultery. The mob gathers to see her punished—to see justice served. Jesus gives the Pharisees an answer to their challenge:

“OK. Go ahead. But the first stone must be thrown by the man who has no sin.”

But after Jesus stuns her accusers, they skedaddle, leaving only the two of them.

The man without sin—the only one who can condemn this woman—chooses instead to offer grace. Jesus becomes the rescuer in the bleakest moment of her life.

Are you eager to see others “get theirs,” or are you on the lookout for opportunities to show grace to hurting souls? You just might be the rescuer someone needs at the bottom of their pit.

It seems that society has always had an insatiable appetite for gossip, celebrity headlines, scandals, and sensationalized news stories. We’ve had The National Enquirer, The Jerry Springer Show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians (and every other reality show with Housewives in the title), and, more recently, TMZ. Shows and publications like these survive because of our consumption—plain and simple.

But long before tabloids and sleazy TV, humans still found ways to elevate themselves and degrade others without the benefit of media. In this case, it was spearheaded by those regarded as the Jewish spiritual leaders of the day—the Pharisees. These proud men were blind to their own misgivings and got a perverse thrill out of watching others suffer in shame, sometimes even to the point of death. Or maybe both.

In His omniscience, Jesus saw through the façade. He knew their true intentions, and He knew the perfect weapon to send them running back home: a mirror.

Have you ever found yourself taking satisfaction in someone else’s name being dragged through the mud? If so, I encourage you to pull out the same mirror Jesus used to show the Pharisees how they had come up short. We can become so caught up in artificially elevating ourselves and inflating our pride that our hearts grow calloused—just like those of the men condemning the woman caught in adultery.

Many theologians believe that when Jesus was writing in the dust, He was revealing deeply personal, incriminating details about each of these men—details only He would know. And before long, the woman and Jesus were the only ones left.

As you begin or continue your day, ask the Lord for a soft, compassionate heart. And pray that you can drop your rocks before someone ever has to point out where you’ve missed the mark.

As I read stories like this one, I wonder what role I might have played if I were in the narrative. Would I be the “sinner” (defendant), or would I be the “jury”? Or would I play the part of the judge?

If I am honest, I’ve been in all three seats at one time or another in my own story—none of them enviable roles. At times, I have been the offender. Other times, I’ve pleaded for “justice” or “punishment” for someone who sinned against me or a loved one. And, on rare occasions, I’ve sat in the Chief Justice seat with my kids, delivering judgment on offenses both big and small.

But as I close my eyes and try to visualize how this series of events transpired, I can only wonder what this woman was feeling as she faced certain death. Nowhere in this scene do we hear her speak up to defend herself. After all, she was literally caught in the act of adultery. She had no defense to offer. However, she had a Defender—a Savior—who cared for her more deeply than even her sins could take her.

What’s even more striking to me is the callousness of this woman’s accusers. Not only did they take her from the scene of her sin (they were likely staking out the place, knowing she would be there), but their true motives were revealed when they arrived at the temple. Their real goal was to trap Jesus.

“What could he possibly say or do to save this woman from death? If he speaks against the Law, we’ve got him!”

The problem from the outset with these men was that they had blinders on their own hearts. And at times, so do we. We can become so focused on the wrongs others are committing that we fail to see the chinks in our own armor.

Where are you in this story? You may not have committed adultery, and you likely haven’t dragged someone to their imminent death. But you and I can find ourselves in both capacities—offender and condemner. And it’s not until the eyes of our hearts are opened that we see our brokenness and find a Savior who loves us enough to step into the story and give us a new life.