THE WOMEN OF HOLY WEEK

MANY WOMEN

Most of us would be surprised at the number of women followers that Jesus had acquired.  For instance:

Mark 15:40-41 [All quotes are from the NCV, unless otherwise noted]

Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching; among them were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.)  These women had followed Jesus in Galilee and helped him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

John 19:25

Standing near his cross were Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.   

Matthew 27:55-56

Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to help him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.

Obviously, Mary was a common name in Jesus’ day!

•  Mary, Jesus’ mother
•  Mary Magdalene
•  Mary, the sister of Lazarus
•  Mary, the mother of James and Joseph
•  Mary, the mother of James and John
•  Mary, the wife of Clopas, Cleophas  Alphaeus (different forms of one name).

Apparently, some very influential – and perhaps wealthy – women began to follow Jesus!

Luke 8:1-3

After this, while Jesus was traveling through some cities and small towns, he preached and told the Good News about God’s kingdom. The twelve apostles were with him, and also some women who had been healed of sicknesses and evil spirits: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, the wife of Cuza (the manager of Herod’s house); Susanna; and many others. These women used their own money to help Jesus and his apostles.

 PILOT’S WIFE

 Matthew 27:15-20, 24-26

Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose. At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas, who was known to be very bad. When the people gathered at Pilate’s house, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.

 While Pilate was sitting there on the judge’s seat, his wife sent this message to him: “Don’t do anything to that man, because he is innocent. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”

 But the leading priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.

 Pilate genuinely tried to negotiate the release of Jesus…

 At least some of his perseverance was surely based on the urgent message he had received from his wife!

...but the Pharisees had control of the crowd and continued to call for Jesus to be crucified.

When Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”

Again, it is possible that this action was intended to show his wife that he had done everything possible to secure the release of Jesus!

All the people answered, “We and our children will be responsible for his death.”

Then he set Barabbas free. But Jesus was beaten with whips and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.

This role that Pilate’s wife played raises our curiosity and questions:

   §  Had she – in some way – been impacted by the ministry and teaching of Jesus?

   §  Had she become a follower of Jesus?

   §  Was she being influenced by someone - perhaps Joanna, the wife of Cuza (the manager of Herod’s house [mentioned in Luke 8:1-3 – quoted above]?

   §  Was her ‘troubling dream’ caused by God?  If so, what might have been God’s purpose?  Perhaps it was part of God’s plan to influence Pilate?

Mary Magdalene

There are several things that we know for certain about Mary Magdalene:

• She was from a village on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee about 16 miles from Nazareth – where Jesus was raised.
• She had an encounter with Jesus in which He cast seven demons out of her (Mark 16:9)!
• She was a follower of Jesus and cared for His needs (Mark 15:40-41).
• She was present when Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:40).
• She witnessed Joseph of Arimathea placing Jesus in the tomb (Mark 15:47).
• She brought spices on the morning after the Sabbath to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1).
• On that Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and at least one other woman, saw and spoke with the resurrected Jesus (Matthew 28:1,8-10)!
• She loved Jesus deeply (John 20:17).

John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. When she saw that the large stone had been moved away from the tomb, she ran to Simon Peter and the follower whom Jesus loved. Mary said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.”

So Peter and the other follower started for the tomb. They were both running, but the other follower ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked in and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. Then following him, Simon Peter arrived and went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head, which was folded up and laid in a different place from the strips of linen. Then the other follower, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. He saw and believed. (They did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead.) 

Then the followers went back home. But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she bent down and looked inside the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and one at the feet.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

She answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.” When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Did you take him away, sir? Tell me where you put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Mary turned toward Jesus and said in the Hebrew language, “Rabboni.” (This means “Teacher.”)

Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, because I have not yet gone up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going back to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went and said to the followers, “I saw the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.

It’s so interesting to me that Jesus seems to have deliberately chosen to appear to a woman first!  If He had shown Himself just a little earlier, then Peter and John would have still been there.  But He didn’t!  It’s as though His timing was precise to intersect with Mary Magdalene - from whom seven demons had gone out.

This takes my mind back to Genesis 1:27-28.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This is called Co-regency.  The responsibility for the rulership of the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth was clearly assigned to both the man and the woman!  God’s original creation was a composite of maleness and femaleness and they were challenged to co-rule.

Many fail to recognize and appreciate the role of women in Jesus’ life and ministry!  His post-resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene screams a message to all of us!