A Woman Who Cared - Luke 8:1-3

Title: A Woman Who Cared
Date: January 28, 2007
Text: Luke 8:1-3, Mark 15:40, 47, John 20:1, 18

Introduction

- Mary was from the town of Magdala (meaning "tower"), about 3 miles from Tiberias on the west side of the Sea of Galilee - the town had a location called the "tower of dyers" where cloth was dyed, using the indigo plant
- Mary was a woman of substance, who helped to finance Jesus' ministry
- she was probably self-employed
- she travelled with other women who had received healing from Jesus, as a part of his ministry
- she had good connections and one of her friends was Joanna, the wife of King Herod's steward

1. Mary needed Jesus - Luke 8:1-3

- before God intervened in her life, Mary had had a problem
- there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute
- what the Bible does say is that seven demons had come out of her as a result of Jesus' ministry
- we are not told what the specifics of her problem were, but only that she had been set free
- Mary had a need that could not be met by doctors or other professionals
- Mary's problem was huge to her, it was affecting her life in a big way
- her need was deeper than anything she could meet in the physical realm, this was a spiritual issue
- Mary needed Jesus to bring healing to this spiritual problem
- Jesus came through for Mary, she was set free
- we are not told the dramatic details, just that the demons had left her
- the same Greek word sozo is used for healing as is used for salvation
- Mary needed Jesus to bring healing to her whole person, not just to some physical condition

- just like Mary, we all need Jesus
- we have all been in bondage to evil, slaves to sin
- Jeremiah says: "the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it" - Jer 17:9
- Isaiah tells us: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" - Isaiah 53:6
- we are all in bondage to sin and we are powerless to rid ourselves of this oppression
- it is only through Jesus entering our life that we can be freed from that bondage
- Jesus came with the power to save, and the power to heal
- Jesus is entirely adequate to the task of cleaning up our life, he has the power

2. Mary was devoted to Jesus - Mark 15:40, 47

- as a result of the healing she had received, Mary could now live in freedom
- while her life before had been like living in an emotional or mental cloud, now the sun had broken through for her
- Mary was totally grateful to Jesus for what he had done
- her life had been turned right side up as a result of the freedom he had given her
- so Mary had devoted her life to serving Jesus
- it was her love and gratitude toward Jesus that moved her to follow him in his travels
- this was not in some sexual relationship like is told in the movie called "the Da Vinci Code"
- our dirty minds may want us to debase an act of pure love and gratitude into something sordid
- no, her service to the Master was in the sense of using her financial resources to support Christ's ministry
- and it was not just Mary - as we read, there were other women who had joined Christ's ministry as well, with the same motivation
- Mary recognized that she was not the only one who needed Jesus
- she wanted to help make it possible for others to receive the same freedom she had been given
- and so that is why Mary and other women who had been set free and healed, joined Jesus' ministry
- they were devoted followers, and they stuck with him to the end
- Mark 15:40, 47 ". . . women looking on from afar . . . many other women . . . Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of Joses observed where he was laid"
- they stayed with Jesus to the end, they were there when he breathed his last breath, and they stayed with him till the tomb was sealed

- are we as devoted to the cause of the kingdom, as Mary was?
- we each have a role to play in what Jesus is doing on this earth, today
- Jesus offers us a part in the ministry he is doing
- are we ready to foresake all and follow him, just as Mary did?
- so that others may be saved and healed, just as we were?

3. Mary was the first to tell of Jesus' resurrection - John 20:1, 18

- Mary was the first person to come to the tomb that Sunday morning
- to her horror, she saw that the huge boulder that sealed the tomb had been rolled away
- she raced back to the disciples and told them what she had seen
- then Mary went back and lingered at the tomb, crying
- in just 72 hours, the One she had been devoted to, had been taken away, and now even his body had gone!
- Mary was grieving her loss
- while she is in the midst of her tears, Jesus calls her by name: "Mary"
- she recognizes Jesus and he then sends her to the disciples to tell that he is not dead, but is alive, and going to His Father and their Father, his God and their God!
- Mary goes back to the disciples and tells them what Jesus had sent her to say
- Mary was the first person to tell that Jesus was not dead, but alive
- those words have resounded down through the centuries that Jesus is not dead, but alive!
- we have a Savior who is not lying in a tomb, but is alive and well, glorified, with the power to save and to heal today, just as he did 2000 years ago
- Hebrews tells us: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" - Hebrews 13:8

Conclusion

- the Jesus who released Mary Magdalen from seven demons can also release you from the bondage that enslaves you
- the Jesus who welcomed a grateful and devoted Mary Magdalene into the company of the disciples also welcomes you into the body of believers
- the Jesus who sent Mary with a message to the disciples, sends us with a message to all the nations
- Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"
- Mary stayed with Jesus to the end, but Jesus says he will never leave us or forsake us
- He is alive and well, and just as ready to provide healing for us today as he was for Mary Magdalene, a woman who needed help, who expressed her gratitude, and who was obedient to her calling