The Da Vinci Code Pt 4

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is at the very heart of The Da Vinci Code.  The book claims that she was intentionally denigrated and maligned by the early church and virtually cut out of the Scriptures, as they exist today.  Since we’ve pretty much already taken most of the surprises out the novel, I don’t feel too badly revealing that Dan Brown would have us believe that Mary Magdalene was in fact, married to Jesus and the mother of His child.  Who was Mary Magdalene and what do we really know about her?  Let’s look at how she is actually portrayed in the Gospels.

First of all, though she is often described as a prostitute, there is no scriptural basis for that at all.  The Gospels of Matthew and Mark tell us that Mary Magdalene was one of the women who followed Jesus, and helped to support His ministry with her money and probably her labor, to care for His needs.

Mary devotes her life to Jesus.  Why?  Well, when Jesus called his Disciples, they all had their human faults and shortcomings, but none of them are described as having any real “issues”.  However, both Mark and Luke report that Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene.  It’s one thing to watch and even perform miracles, it’s quite another to experience one and have your life transformed like Mary did.  It’s hard from a modern, scientific standpoint, to figure out what those demons were to the First Century Jews.  But regardless, seven demons is a lot for one woman – just ask my husband!

Mary Magdalene embraced forgiveness with passion and with courage.  She simply relished her salvation and she appreciated Jesus in the here and now.  Like the male Disciples, she dropped everything and followed Him. 

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus had both male and female followers; there are many examples of Jesus interacting with women throughout the Gospels and he shows little concern for protocol or barriers; he doesn’t think much about it, he just does it.  In fact, he delivers some of his simplest and most beautiful assurances to women!  In chapter 5 of Mark a woman with a bleeding disorder secretly touches his garment, by law she was unclean and by touching him she would make him unclean as well.  Even though he undoubtedly already knows, Jesus stops and demands to know who touched him, the woman steps forward, falls at his feet trembling with fear, and confesses, which now makes it public knowledge that he has been touched by someone who is unclean.  Not only is Jesus unfazed, he treats her with kindness and mercy saying, “Daughter your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

In chapter 4 of John, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well and piques her interest by telling her that He can give her living water.  When she tells him she knows the Messiah is coming, he responds by simply and plainly saying “I who speak to you am he.”  Meanwhile, his tradition bound male Disciples are shocked and surprised to find Him talking to a woman, no less a Samaritan woman.  John goes on to say “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony.”  In this case, Jesus actually sends forth a woman as His witness!

Another good example is the relationship Jesus shared with Martha and Mary of Bethany; it is obviously a very close relationship.  They are comfortable enough with Jesus to plead, complain, serve him, and sit at his feet without reservation.  Jesus chides Martha when she fails to get the point of His message, just like he does His male Disciples.  Before he raises Lazarus from the dead, it is to Martha that Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  Jesus also cautions His followers not to treat women lightly.

Did Jesus treat his male and female followers equitably?  Probably, I think it simply didn’t matter to him; Jesus, like His Heavenly Father, is much more concerned with your soul than with your gender.   Man or woman, free or slave – those are earthly constraints.  And the earthly reality is that women have rarely held the balance of power; patriarchal societies have been the rule, not the exception.  Women simply did not have the credibility or the status to bring the Good News to the whole world.

Christianity grew out of Jewish tradition, Orthodox Jews still don’t allow women to be Rabbis, and women cannot be Islamic clerics or Catholic Priests.  In fact, this year, we are only celebrating the 50^th anniversary of full equality for female clergy in this denomination.  In the United States , women have only been able to vote since 1920 – not even 100 years!  And so it was the men who blazed the trail and established the church, but the women who passed the faith from generation to generation.  We’ve always been there, playing a vital role, just mostly behind the scenes.  That’s just the way it was, you can’t rewrite history because it’s not politically correct now.

As we return to Mary Magdalene, our scriptural reading this morning came from the Gospel of John, he, in addition to Matthew and Mark, report that Mary was present for the trial, suffering, and death of Jesus.  Based on their accounts, she was much braver than the men.  Mary was there steadily with Jesus until the end, while most of them abandoned Him and hid.  After the crucifixion, she went to His tomb to provide one last service, even though the evidence seemed to indicate that it was all over.  While the male Disciples were still cowering, her faith, courage, and service were rewarded first through reassurance from an angel and then by the Risen Lord, himself.  So great was her devotion to our Lord that she was willing to risk everything.  She is truly an awesome role model for all Christians!

In short, the Gospels don’t tell us a lot about Mary personally, but what they do tell us speaks volumes.  Rather than being erased from the Gospels, or marginalized, as Dan Brown would have us believe, it is a testament to her unfailing faith and influence that she is mentioned at all.  Can you just picture the Disciples and the early Christians, who expected Christ’s return at any day, conspiring out of personal jealousy to eradicate someone beloved by our Lord?  It’s just absurd.  In all four Gospels, it is Mary Magdalene who is accorded the great honor of being the first to see and to speak to our Risen Lord – how can you underestimate the importance of that?

Through her endless devotion, Mary models discipleship for us all in a quiet and very practical way.  You don’t have to wield the power, found churches, or convert thousands and thousands of unbelievers to have an earth shaking impact.  By just being there for Christ as we go about our day-to-day lives we too can have that quiet but unmistakable power.

Blessed Father in Heaven, we know you don’t care if we are men or women, adults or children, mighty or meek, powerful or inconsequential, you want our all.  Help us to dedicate our lives to following our Savior, Jesus Christ, steadily and faithfully and make us willing to risk everything for Him today, tomorrow, and every day of our lives.  In His precious name we pray.  Amen