𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Share something that you just found out but was common knowledge for others. What was your initial reaction?

• Talk about a time someone convinced you to do something that you ended up enjoying. What changed your mind?

• Share a realization that strongly changed how you saw a person or incident. What was the turning point?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣. 𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟮𝟬:𝟭–𝟮

(Read also 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟮𝟬:𝟯–𝟭𝟴 and 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟴:𝟭–𝟯.)

Jesus had been crucified to death on the cross. His body had been wrapped in spices and linen, and laid to rest in a tomb. From the account of John, it is not clear why Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early. She may have come to complete part of the burial ritual, or to grieve. Regardless of her intention, Mary was chosen as one of the first people to see the empty tomb and then to see the resurrected Christ. Let us look at how Mary’s encounters with Christ transformed her position from oppressed to valued witness.

𝟭. 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀.

𝘚𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 . . . 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟴:𝟭–𝟮

Mary Magdalene once lived under the spiritual oppression of seven demons. Imagine the suffering and shame she must have felt while going through this. When she finally had an encounter with Jesus, she experienced the freedom and deliverance that she truly needed. She became one of Jesus’ disciples, supporting His ministry, as some other women did, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 (Luke 8:3), and followed Him even until His death. When you reflect on your own journey with Christ, what moments of freedom or transformation do you see? How did you respond to what Christ has done for you?

𝟮. 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨?” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴. . . . 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘤, “𝘙𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘪!” (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳). 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟮𝟬:𝟭𝟯–𝟭𝟰, 𝟭𝟲

Upon seeing the empty tomb, Mary alerted the disciples. She wept at the tomb, thinking that someone had taken Jesus’ body (John 20:11, 13). She did not know that the one she was talking to was Jesus Himself (John 20:15). It was only when Jesus called Mary by name and intentionally spoke to her first out of all His disciples that she recognized who He was. For everyone who follows Christ, He knows us by name and is intentional about His plans for us. How have you experienced this in your own life?

𝟯. 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, ‘𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’” 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴, “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥”—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟮𝟬:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴

In the time period and culture that Jesus lived in, women were not considered credible citizens. Their word was worth nothing, and they would likely not be counted among disciples or followers of any teacher. However, Jesus clearly turned no disciple away, whether man or woman. We can see that through Mary’s encounter with Jesus, she was transformed from being oppressed to following Jesus. She even boldly testified about the empty tomb to Simon Peter and John, and they believed her word. Share about how your own life has been transformed after encountering Christ.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• How have you encountered Christ so far? If you have not yet taken that step, would you like to allow Him to transform your life starting today?

• A relationship with Christ goes beyond miraculous encounters. How are you continuing to follow Him every day?

• Encounters with Christ begin with experience and turn into testimony. How can you share about your encounters and relationship with Christ to a family member or friend this week?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring us the good news and make a way for us to be with Him forever.

• Pray that your relationship with Christ will deepen beyond miraculous encounters with Him.

• Ask God for opportunities to share your testimony with family members and friends. Pray for them to encounter God the way Mary Magdalene did.