Day 10 of 12
Mary Magdalene: First Witness to Resurrection
The Woman Who Saw Him First
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read John 20:11-18: "Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."' Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord.'"
Then read Luke 8:1-3: "Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out."
Reflection
Popular culture has distorted Mary Magdalene almost beyond recognition. The Gospels tell us nothing about her being a prostitute — that is a later invention. What they do tell us is this: she was a woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2), she became one of His most devoted followers, she helped fund His ministry, she stood at the cross when most of the male disciples had fled, and she was the first person to see the risen Christ.
That last fact is, as N.T. Wright has argued, one of the strongest historical arguments for the truth of the resurrection. In the first-century Mediterranean world, women's testimony was not admissible in court. It was considered unreliable. If the early Christians had invented the resurrection story, they would never have made a woman the first witness. It would have been Peter, or James, or John. The only reason to make Mary Magdalene the first witness is that she was.
John's account of the encounter is extraordinarily intimate. Mary stands weeping outside the empty tomb. She sees someone she assumes is the gardener. And then one word changes everything: "Mary." He speaks her name. She recognizes His voice. "Rabboni!" — Teacher.
This is the moment when the new creation begins. And it begins with a personal encounter — the risen Lord calling a grieving woman by name. Wright observes that Mary goes to the tomb because she loved Jesus, and love is often the thing that takes people to the place where new life begins.
Jesus then gives Mary a commission: "Go to my brothers and say to them..." She becomes the first evangelist — the apostle to the apostles. The most important announcement in human history — "I have seen the Lord" — was first entrusted to a woman.
Going Deeper
Mary Magdalene's story brings together two themes that run throughout this entire plan. First, God entrusts His most important work to people the world considers unreliable or unimportant. Second, the risen Christ makes Himself known personally — not through institutional channels or power structures, but by speaking a name in a garden, recalling the first garden where everything went wrong and beginning to make it right.
Key Quotes
“The fact that the first witness to the resurrection was a woman is, historically, the best proof that the story was not made up. In the ancient world, women's testimony was not admissible in court. No one inventing a resurrection story would have placed a woman as the first witness — unless that is what actually happened.”
“Mary goes to the tomb because she loved Jesus, and love is often the thing that takes people to the place where new life begins.”
Prayer Focus
Asking the risen Christ to speak your name — as He spoke Mary's — and to open your eyes to see Him present in your grief, your confusion, and your searching
Meditation
Mary did not recognize Jesus until He called her by name. Have there been times when Jesus was present in your life but you did not recognize Him until He made Himself known?
Question for Discussion
In a culture where women's testimony was legally worthless, Jesus chose a woman as the first witness to the most important event in history. What does this choice tell us about the values of God's kingdom versus the values of human culture? How should it shape the church today?