Mary of Bethany poured out her all for Jesus when she broke open an alabaster bottle of perfume worth a year’s wages! Whether named or unnamed, each gospel account* tells of men complaining of her devotion—one said she was “the wrong kind” to be ministering to him, apparently thinking that her past life overshadowed her new one (Luke 7:39), while others thought ministering to Jesus was a waste of money! But Jesus defended her saying, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Matthew 26:10) She was, he said, doing a very special thing for him—anointing his body for burial; other things, as important as they were, could be done anytime but Mary’s was a special, one-of-a-kind task in time--so important that Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:13) So, what this woman Mary of Bethany did for Jesus was so vital that the gospel is not properly preached without telling about her. (I don’t recall this having been said of anyone else.)
*I once was rebuked for saying in a Bible Study class that the four accounts spoke of one woman—Mary of Bethany. “The scholars say!”
Matthew 26:6-13 Bethany*Simon the Leper*alabaster/perfume*“sinful woman”*anointed for burial
Mark 14:3-9 Bethany*Simon the Leper*alabaster/perfume*a woman* anointed for burial
Luke 7:36-50 Pharisee,Simon* alabaster/perfume*“sinful woman”
John 12:1-11 Bethany* perfume*Mary of Bethany*anointed for burial
While the comparisons above are strong evidence the strongest is Jesus’ statement that, “wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:13) Each gospel tells only of one woman, not two scenarios. If there were two different women then each of the gospels left out one or the other. It’s extremely unlikely that either Luke or John would have disobeyed Jesus and left out her story from the telling of the gospel (stated in Matthew & Mark). Why does it matter? Jesus did know who she was and welcomed her. Mary of Bethany often found herself at Jesus’ feet, learning from him and worshiping him because he had forgiven her for so much and on top of it all—he raised her brother from the dead!
Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross.
Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man--there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronised; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as "The women, God help us!" or "The ladies, God bless them!"; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deed of Jesus that there was anything "funny" about woman's nature.
Dorothy Sayers
Dorothy Sayers
Showing posts with label preaching the gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preaching the gospel. Show all posts
Friday, May 13, 2011
First to Proclaim the Good News!
Now Mary [Magdalene] stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she 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!” (“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. John 20:11-18
Jesus appeared first to women after he rose from the dead! Some have said that it was only because they were there doing the “women’s work” of preparing the body—if it was women’s work, then Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were doing women’s work a couple of days earlier when they put spices on his body. (John 18:38-31) No, the women were there because their love for Jesus overcame their fear. And God will always honor that.
Jesus told Mary Magdalene and the women with her to “Go and tell my brothers..” but the men didn’t believe her. (Luke 24:9-11) A girl I know made that mistake once. Her mother sent her little sister to tell her to come home when she was playing at a neighbor’s house. The girl didn’t want to stop playing—who was this little sister to tell her what to do anyway-- so she sent her away. Of course, the younger girl went back to their mother who sent her again. Then the younger sister came back to the older sister saying, "You’d better come, she’s really mad.” She went. The mother told the older girl, “When I send her, I expect you to listen; it’s just as if it was me telling you. If you ignore her—you’re ignoring me.” We dare not ignore the Word of God brought by his messenger even if we don’t like the package! But to their credit, Peter and John raced to the tomb so they must have believed something! (Luke 24:12)
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she 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!” (“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. John 20:11-18
Jesus appeared first to women after he rose from the dead! Some have said that it was only because they were there doing the “women’s work” of preparing the body—if it was women’s work, then Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were doing women’s work a couple of days earlier when they put spices on his body. (John 18:38-31) No, the women were there because their love for Jesus overcame their fear. And God will always honor that.
Jesus told Mary Magdalene and the women with her to “Go and tell my brothers..” but the men didn’t believe her. (Luke 24:9-11) A girl I know made that mistake once. Her mother sent her little sister to tell her to come home when she was playing at a neighbor’s house. The girl didn’t want to stop playing—who was this little sister to tell her what to do anyway-- so she sent her away. Of course, the younger girl went back to their mother who sent her again. Then the younger sister came back to the older sister saying, "You’d better come, she’s really mad.” She went. The mother told the older girl, “When I send her, I expect you to listen; it’s just as if it was me telling you. If you ignore her—you’re ignoring me.” We dare not ignore the Word of God brought by his messenger even if we don’t like the package! But to their credit, Peter and John raced to the tomb so they must have believed something! (Luke 24:12)
Women Disciples
When the Bible or even Jesus himself referred to “his disciples” women—many women, were included in that designation. They weren’t just part of the crowd or an afterthought. “Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.” (Matthew 12:48-50; Mark 3:34) Luke tells us by name just who these disciples were, ”After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others.” (Luke 8:1-3)
The same word is always used for disciples whether male or female. Women are not subset disciples but the first rate, real thing—if, as Jesus said, we continue in his teachings. (John 8:31, 32) Jesus’ teachings—and he continued to teach through the apostles, are the only teachings for Christians to follow—he said his sheep listen to only his voice.(John 10:3) Get to know his word the Bible—especially the New Testament, intimately so you can use it as a filter for all the things that come at you. Go beyond the English (or your language) translations and you’ll be amazed at the differences the Greek makes. It’s not hard to find Greek interlinear New Testaments and not at all hard to read them. This is a good starting point in knowing what Jesus truly said.
The same word is always used for disciples whether male or female. Women are not subset disciples but the first rate, real thing—if, as Jesus said, we continue in his teachings. (John 8:31, 32) Jesus’ teachings—and he continued to teach through the apostles, are the only teachings for Christians to follow—he said his sheep listen to only his voice.(John 10:3) Get to know his word the Bible—especially the New Testament, intimately so you can use it as a filter for all the things that come at you. Go beyond the English (or your language) translations and you’ll be amazed at the differences the Greek makes. It’s not hard to find Greek interlinear New Testaments and not at all hard to read them. This is a good starting point in knowing what Jesus truly said.
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