"Receive Her In The Lord:" The Story of Mary Magdalene the Preacher

The first witness to the Resurrection, the first preacher of the Easter message, and the  “apostle to the Apostles,” Mary Magdalene (or Mary of Magdala) is one of the most widely-known and yet one of the most popularly misrepresented figures in the New Testament.

Prior to the Crucifixion of Jesus, Mary appears only once– in the Gospel of Luke, in which she accompanies Jesus and the Twelve and assists them in their ministry in Galilee. 

Following the Crucifixion of Jesus (during which Mary Magdalene does not turn away or flee the scene), she is the first person to meet the resurrected Jesus. John 20:14-18 reads: 

“(S)he turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

Mary’s instant recognition of Jesus when he calls her by name points not only to her close friendship with Jesus, but her incredible and instantaneous faith in the Resurrection itself. With an acknowledgement as simple and as profoundly personal as the use of her first name, Jesus affirms Mary’s own status as a disciple, as well as his own humanity. Coupled with the instruction that follows, Mary’s name becomes a commission, a strengthening, and a call to preach the miracle which she has experienced. 

Mary accepts this invitation with courage and gratitude, proclaiming the Resurrection to the other disciples.