The Righteous Life

“And when Jesus had risen early the first day of the Sabbath, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” (Mark 16:9)

We get a more detailed scenario from John. Both accounts together fill in the gaps in each account. Mary is by herself at the tomb according to John. But Matthew writes that she was with the other Mary. He doesn’t write that Peter and John went to the tomb. Matthew writes that both Jesus and an angel at the tomb told the women to go tell the disciples that they would see Jesus in Galilee. And he adds that while they were going, Jesus meets the women. “But late in the week, at the dawning into the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, a great earthquake occurred! For coming down from Heaven, and coming up, an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone from the door and was sitting on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And the keepers shook for fear of him and became like dead men. And the angel answered and said to the women, Do not fear, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead. And, behold, He goes before you into Galilee. There you shall see Him. Lo, I have told you. And they quickly departed from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring His disciples word. But as they were going to report to His disciples, behold, Jesus also met them, saying, Hail! And they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go tell My brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:1-10) Matthew is writing a secondhand version and most probably got some details incorrectly. John who actually went to the tomb writes his account. “The first of the sabbaths Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, darkness still being on it, and she saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him. Therefore, Peter and that other disciple went forth and came to the tomb. So, they both ran together. And the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb. And stooping down he saw the linens lying, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. And he saw the linens lying there. And the grave-cloth that was on His head was not lying with the linens but was wrapped up in one place by itself. Therefore, then, that other disciple also went in, the one who came first to the tomb. And he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to themselves. But Mary stood outside of the tomb, weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting there, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they said to her, Woman, why do you weep? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. And when she had said this, she turned backward and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away from here, tell me where you have laid Him and I will take Him away. Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned herself and said to Him, Rabboni! (which is to say, Master!) Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and Your Father, and to My God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her.” (John 20:1-18) Mary was mourning Jesus and had remained at the tomb. The disciples, Peter and John had been to the tomb and had left mystified by the disappearance of Jesus at the time He appeared to Mary. All the apostles gathered together and as we learn except Thomas. They probably were together to console each other and discuss the disappearance of the body of Jesus. They were totally disillusioned, forgetting what Jesus had said to them. Mark writes that they didn’t believe her. “And when Jesus had risen early the first day of the Sabbath, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And those hearing that He lives, and was seen by her, they did not believe.” (Mark 6:9-11)

Some people may make a big deal about how these accounts are incompatible. But we must understand that these accounts were written 50 to 90 years after it occurred. Some details are blurred, but the things that don’t change is that Jesus rose from the dead and the Truths of His resurrection. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdelene because her love for Him was so great that she didn’t want to leave the last place she knew that He had been. It’s the reason people who mourn a loved one linger at the gravesite. It’s the last place their beloved one is. Mark ends our Scripture of study with this last phrase, “... out of whom He had cast seven demons.” This is important. Jesus said about Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who anointed His feet, “Therefore I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, he loves little.” (Luke 7:47) I imagine that Mary Magdelene who was delivered of seven demons loved Jesus greatly as did Mary, Lazarus’ sister. There may be some confusion because they both have the same name, but Mary Magdelene is not Mary, Lazarus’ sister.

From what did Jesus deliver you? Although we don’t want to linger in the past, it’s important to remember the deliverance from our sin. It fosters gratefulness, humbleness and the fear of God. Paul writes a description of what and who we were before we came to Jesus to the Ephesians. “And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also had our way of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3) He also wrote something similar to the Romans. “Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their way, and the way of peace they did not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:13-18) To know the immense gift that God gave us is to know not only His love and mercy, but His greatness. It is a miraculous change in our being that even if threatened with death, we can proclaim our love and allegiance to Him. God works miraculously in those who truly repent and surrender to Jesus. There is no other explanation for the change in our nature. Truly born again of God. “But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God.” (John 1:12-13) In his epistle, John writes, “Everyone who has been born of God does not commit sin, because His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the Devil: everyone not practicing righteousness is not of God, also he who does not love his brother.” (1John 3:9-10)

The Scripture in 1John poses many questions. His statement that everyone who is born of God doesn’t commit sin, can’t sin and reveals that they are the children of God is challenged because God’s children do fall into sin. So, what is it saying exactly. To understand this, one has to understand that when we repent and surrender to Jesus, we are born of God with His nature in the spirit man. The sinful nature died at the cross. And before continuing we need to know that in God’s realm, there is no time and the past, present and future are all known at the same time. When Jesus died on the cross, our old sinful man died. "...knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin." (Romans 6:6) The new birth and the change did not take place in the flesh. We are three-part beings, spirit, soul (mind, will, emotions) and body. The spirit is born with God’s nature, clean, pure and sinless. God does not birth anything that has sin. Our flesh and our spirit are always in a battle to win the soul, that part of us that makes decisions based on our knowledge (mind) and our feelings about things (emotions). “I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do.” (Galatians 5:16-17) We obey the one we feed. If we fill ourselves with sinful reading, sinful shows, hearing sinful words, sinful music, etc., our souls will be influenced more with those sinful things and we are more likely to sin. But if we fill ourselves with worship and Scripture, we are more likely to obey the spirit. Now to the issue of sinning Christians. When we sin, we have fallen into temptation. We don’t habitually sin. We may have a struggle with a habit or a vice, but confession and repentance (turning away from it) allows the Holy Spirit to give us the enabling to hate it and to leave it. Notice what John said in 1John 3:10, “... everyone not practicing righteousness is not of God...” It is the habitual practice of righteousness that demonstrates we are of God. And the opposite is true. The habitual practicing of sin demonstrates that a person is of the devil. Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16-20)

In summary, Mary Magdelene lingered at the tomb because she greatly loved Jesus Who had delivered her from much. Which prompts to ask us if we linger or wait on Jesus being forgiven and delivered from much. It does good to remember what we were delivered from in order to be grateful for such a miraculous gift of life. Jesus expects us to live in the spirit. He has gifted us with the Holy Spirit Who will teach us, guide us, help us and enable us to live a righteous life.

Let us pray:

Father God, I come to You with gratefulness for Your wonderful gift of life. All that it encompasses, the suffering and death of my Savior, Jesus, the forgiveness of my sins, the new nature, the Holy Spirit and the translation from the kingdom of sin and darkness to the kingdom of God is too wonderful and marvelous. It overwhelms me with gratefulness. Your long suffering with me is too great to understand. Never let me forget to come to the beginning of my new life, to the time when You Lord reached down and touched me and changed me. I thank You Lord that You don’t leave us to our own reckoning of our life with You, but You help us and lead us to live a life of righteousness through the Holy Spirit Who indwells. Help me Lord to linger, to wait, to dwell in Your presence like Mary did at the tomb. Holy Lord, I love You. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.