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She
Clung To The Lord
When Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Mark
16:9). In her grief, she did not initially identify Him, but supposed
Him to be the gardener. But when the risen Jesus called her by name -- “Mary!”
-- she immediately recognized the Lord. Jesus said to her, “Do not
cling to Me, for I have not ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren
and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My
God and your God’” (John 20:11-17).
“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said -- i.e. “Stop clinging to
Me” (and so the NASB translates it). Delighted at seeing Jesus alive and
perhaps fearful that He would disappear from her sight, Mary physically
clung to the Lord. But she needed to stop, for Jesus would not ascend
for yet another forty days, and He had further work for her to do.
Consider, however, that what Mary Magdalene did at this scene was
merely illustrative of all her dealings with Jesus since she had come to
know Him. Her spiritual activity is worthy of imitation.
She clung to Jesus in His ministry
We are first introduced to Mary in the eighth chapter of Luke. She was
one of several women “who had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities.” As Jesus and His apostles went through several
Galilean cities, Mary and her fellow-women went with them and helped by
providing “for Him from their substance” (Luke 8:1-3). Evidently
they continued to do this for quite some time (Matthew 27:55-56).
I must pause here to say an encouraging word specifically to my
sisters in Christ, that there is much that you can do in the Lord’s
service, “providing for Him” -- and examples such as Mary
Magdalene illustrate this very point (cf. Matthew 25:37-40; 1 Timothy
5:10). Read the 16th chapter of Romans sometime and see all the good to
be done by the ‘fairer sex.’ Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa,
and Persis were all “laborers in the Lord“ (vss. 1-6, 12). Too
much thought is given by too many women today about “what God won’t let
me do.” That’s an important matter, but just as important is what you
can and could and should do in the kingdom of the Lord.
She clung to Jesus at His death
After traveling with the disciples through Galilee, Mary came to
Jerusalem with them (Mark 15:40ff). Later, when Jesus was
delivered to soldiers to be crucified, she was there. “Now there
stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, Mary the wife of Clopas, and
Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25). Even when Jesus died, she didn’t want
to let Him out of her sight. As the Lord’s body was laid to rest and a
stone was rolled against the door, she and “the other Mary” were
“sitting opposite the tomb” (Matthew 27:61). Later she went home,
her and the other women, and “prepared spices and fragrant oils. And
they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke
23:56). But then back again to the tomb she came early on the next day,
and then (to her surprise) she was rewarded with seeing the risen
Savior.
Mary clung to Jesus in life and in death, in times of certainty
and uncertainty. We need to do the same, beloved, to hold fast to Him
with all our might... To follow Him wherever He goes... To do for His
cause what we can with what resources we have -- to be faithful. May we
learn from the faith and activity of this godly woman, that we “with
purpose of heart“ might ourselves “cleave unto the Lord”
(Acts 11:23, ASV).
--Mike Noble
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