SermonStudio

Good evening. Jesus of Nazareth has burst into public consciousness and excited the popular imagination in recent times. But does the common image of Jesus as a homeless, penniless, itinerant street preacher and miracle worker go far enough? Is the picture of Jesus' followers as a never-changing group of a dozen men truly accurate, or is the reality more complex? Joining us tonight is someone who challenges that image, Mary of Magdala.

Good evening, Mary.

Hi.

Thank you for taking time to be with us tonight.

No sweat.

Mary, if we could get to the point. Many people have found it surprising to learn that one of Jesus' apostles was a woman.

That surprises me, too. What are you talking about? I know the apostles pretty well, and they're all men. Beards, deep voices, won't ask for directions „ they're definitely all men.

But aren't you one of the twelve apostles?

No, I am a disciple of Jesus. I traveled with him, but I wasn't one of the ones we called "the twelve." Well, we're down to eleven now.

So traveling from town to town in the countryside there would be thirteen men and you?

First off, I'm not the token "girl." I'm not like Elaine from Seinfeld. When Jesus went around, there weren't just the twelve who went with him. A lot of his followers literally followed. There was a whole pack of us, and many were women.

Did Jesus find it awkward to have a number of women traveling in the group?

I honestly don't think he even noticed.

He didn't notice you were there?

No, of course he knew we were there. Jesus noticed everybody. It's just, well, it's almost like he didn't notice that we were women.

I'm not sure I follow.

You know how it is when you meet somebody new, or even when you just see somebody, the first thing you notice is if they are a woman or a man? It's automatic. You don't even think about it. Just "bing," it's there in your head, so when you talk to that person, you talk to them one way for a man, one way for a woman.

I suppose.

No, it doesn't make you a chauvinist or anything. It's just something we all do. Except for Jesus. It's like that "bing" never went off in his head. You weren't a woman to him, or a man, just a person. When Jesus would talk to you, he'd talk straight to your soul.

Then why aren't the women as well-known? Yours is the only name we have heard.

Not every name gets remembered, but that doesn't make those people less important. Jesus sent seventy people out in pairs to teach and spread the good news. How many of them can you name?

Uh, I'm sorry. I don't have that information in front of me.

That's right, you don't. Just like you don't have the names of the other women. There's a bunch of us: there's Susanna, and the other Mary, the one married to Clopas; a lot of Marys. Sometimes even Jesus' mother Mary, but mostly at the end, and oh, a lot of others. Joanna ...

Yes, that name I believe we have heard. She's the one who has royal connections, is she not?

Royal connections? Not hardly. Her husband Chuza works for Herod, the big sell-out, but he's the butler. He might wash the royal dishes, but that's about it.

Oh.

See, that's why you've never heard of any of the women. You heard of Joanna by mistake; someone thought she was royalty. If she hadn't been mistaken for somebody famous, you wouldn't have heard of her either. Royalty? That's rich. She's gonna love that one. Joanna, are you watching? Is that a hoot or what? The women kept a lower profile than the men. The men were out running around, telling the world about Jesus, casting out demons, doing crowd control, front line stuff that gets noticed.

And the women worked more behind the scenes then?

Yeah, that's right. But we were able to help out in a way that the men couldn't.

And what way was that?

Money.

Money? You offered financial help?

Where do you think the money came from? Even wandering around from town to town, camping outside half of the time, even that you can't do for free. Lots of times people would give us stuff, but that wasn't consistent. Some of us women have a little bit of money, and that's how we contribute to the cause, that and by sticking with Jesus no matter what.

How did you first meet Jesus?

The same way most of the other women did. Most of us are people who were sick or who had other problems. And Jesus changed our lives.

Why the name Magdalene?

Because there are so many Marys. It made it easier for us to know who Jesus was talking to if he gave us little nicknames. They call me Magdalene, because that's where I'm from, Magdala.

Where is Magdala located?

I see you don't have that information in front of you, either. Magdala is right on the Sea of Galilee, on the west side. It's a pretty big city. I'm surprised you've not heard of it. It's famous for its salt business, one of the most important ports in the whole industry.

Which accounts for your somewhat "salty" past.

That was totally uncalled for. You didn't make cracks like that to Peter, or even to Pilate.

You're right; I apologize.

I know there are a lot of rumors out there about me „ about how I got my money, a lot of questions about my morals „ but they're just rumors. There's no proof. Go and look through your whole Bible, cover to cover, and you won't find anything about my past that's "salty." I'm going on Oprah tomorrow; you can bet she won't bring that up.

Yes, Ms. Magdalene, we certainly don't want to be involved in spreading rumors.

Not that my past was perfect. It's just that it really doesn't matter anymore. Jesus changed my life.

You said before that a lot of the women who followed Jesus had been healed by him.

Everybody who follows Jesus does it because he changed their lives. In my case, well, it may not make much sense to your audience.

Please do go on. What happened in your case?

Those of you in the West don't think in these terms, so this will probably sound weird to you, but Jesus changed my life by casting demons out of me.

Demons?

See, I told you; it's not how you Westerners are used to thinking. But, yes, demons. Seven of them.

What were these demons?

Well, it's not that easy. Let's just say that the things that used to haunt me don't anymore. The things in my life that used to hold me back, that kept me from being all that I am supposed to be „ those things are gone. Jesus changed my life.

I understand that you were with Jesus during his crucifixion.

I couldn't leave him. Most everyone did, all the guys except John. He stayed, and some of us women stayed „ most of them "Marys" again. Jesus'aown mother was there. We were standing right under the cross at first, but after a little while, the soldiers made us back up: said we were causing a scene. They're killing people on phone poles, and we're the ones causing the scene! I couldn't leave. I wished I was up there on that cross with him. I died that day. I kept breathing, but I died.

What happened after the crucifixion?

I stayed. He screamed; I cried. He stopped moving; I froze. They speared him in the side, and my heart bled. Finally they took him down. Some guy, Joseph of somewhere, said that he was a follower of Jesus, too, though I'd never seen him before in my life. He volunteered the use of his family vault to bury Jesus in. I followed along and watched that, too. After that it's kind of a blur 'til the next day. I remember having to be dragged away from the tomb, but I don't really remember going home.

What happened the next day?

Nothing. The next day was the Sabbath, so that's what you have to do „ nothing. So we just paced, planning what we would do the next day, soon as it was daylight. Actually, we weren't even supposed to be pacing. You know, on the Sabbath you're supposed to count your steps.

What were you planning to do?

Why, finish the burial, of course. All they had time to do on Friday was wrap Jesus in a sheet. That's not good enough. So we had all this stuff lined up „ potpourri, kinda. About 100 pounds of it. A ton. We were going to give him a nice burial, like he deserved.

And then the next morning you finished the funeral.

(Slowly smiling) No.

No?

No. We didn't have to. The grave was empty.

We have heard that some are saying that Jesus rose from the dead.

Yeah, I'm saying he rose from the dead. It's true, I saw him. And don't give me any of this "hysterical woman" stuff or I'll deck you.

I wouldn't think of it. Where did you see him?

In the garden. Right outside of the vault. When we got close, we saw that the tomb was open. There had been this huge rock in front of it.

So what did you do?

I went and told the twelve. Well, eleven. And Peter and John ran straight for the tomb.

But you said that you saw Jesus personally.

I went back to the tomb. And when I got there, Peter and John had already been there and gone, but there were these two guys in white suits. They're sitting in the tomb, where the body is supposed to be. They said something about looking in the wrong place. And I panicked, of course, and I turned around, and shot out of the tomb, and there's this guy there. Like right there. And he's tall, and I'm looking down and wiping my eyes, and I didn't know who he was. I thought he was one of those guys that does the lawn. And I said, "If you moved him, tell me where you put him, 'cause we brought all the stuff to finish the burial," and then he speaks. He says, "Mary." And I look up, and it's Jesus.

So what are you planning to do now?

Same thing I'm doing right this minute. Telling people about Jesus. About how he can change your life. About how he rose from the dead. First I told the twelve (eleven). And now I'm telling you. Jesus sees you for who you are. He talks right to your soul. And he's alive!

Thank you for joining us, and thank you for telling your story.

You're welcome. That's what I do now. That's what I'll always do. Tell that story.

Good night.

Peace.

The story of Jesus of Nazareth continues to grow, becoming more amazing by the hour. Join us next time as we interview John, the youngest member of the group Jesus called "the twelve."