Finding the True Mary Magdalene: Sinner, Saint, or Goddess?

 

It is 10:46 pm.  “Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggers through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery. He lunges for the nearest painting he can see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame, the seventy-six-year-old man heaves the masterpiece toward himself until it tears from the wall and Saunière collapses backward in a heap beneath the canvas. “As he anticipates, a thundering iron gate falls near by, barricading the entrance to the suite. The parquet floor shakes. Far off, an alarm begins to ring. “The curator lays a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. I am still alive.”  
“Minutes later, elderly curator Jacques Saunière is dead, murdered by a massive albino monk in the Grand Gallery of one of the world’s most renowned art museums, the Louvre.”

Without giving away the plot, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown revolves around three main characters: Robert Langdon, middle-aged American professor, a Harvard expert in ancient religious symbols and their meanings. Sophie Neveu, young French codebreaker who works for the French equivalent the FBI. Langdon and Neveu are mysteriously brought together to solve the murder of the late curator. As the plot thickens, they seek the help of Sir Leigh Teabing, wealthy Royal Historian of England, who for his whole life has sought to unearth a priceless ancient relic. The murder inquiry quickly becomes a quest to expose a shocking ancient conspiracy—the greatest cover-up in human history—that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene… fathered a child… left a line of descendants still alive in Europe… and that our traditional, biblical picture of Jesus is wildly amiss from the real truth.  

Many people have found it a spellbinding novel—easy to read, hard to put down, a genuine page-turner involving deep intrigue and endless twists. It’s a skillfully-written page-turner that keeps readers glued to the very end. Some 45 million copies have already been sold. Probably more copies of the book have been sold in a single year than any work of fiction in history. Couched within an action-packed plot, Brown mixes fact and fiction in such a clever way that people don’t know where reality leaves off and fantasy begins.

The Da Vinci Code lures us into a mire of novel ideas including:


If that isn’t controversial enough, According to George Barna, over half of American readers, 53%, claim the book has been helpful in their personal growth and understanding. And one in three Canadians believe the allegations made by Dan Brown are true.
Despite all that, I am actually very excited about the launch of the film on the back of a best-seller. For one reason only. Because it will give us opportunities for serious conversations about Jesus.


In your notes I have provided some questions you can use to engage family and friends. These are taken from Lee Strobel’s DVD resource pack “Discussing the Da Vinci Code” - see www.leestrobel.com for more information. http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=p-davincigifts& 


All of these novel claims about the Christian Faith which Dan Brown weaves into the plot and subplots, and into historical and theological dialog distill down to two major issues.


1. The Bible is an unreliable source of information about Jesus.

We are going to handle this question in a couple of week’s time.

 

2. Jesus isn’t who he claimed to be, God in the flesh and the Saviour of the World. We are going to take all of June to answer that one. Tonight, however, we want to begin by exploring what the Bible has to say about the central character in Dan Brown’s reworking of the Christian Faith - Mary Magdalene.

 

The Da Vinci Code claims that Mary Magdalene was really Jesus’ wife and that the Roman Catholic Church launched a “smear campaign” against her to hide the fact that Jesus wanted the church to be led by her when he died. Now Brown bases his case on just one Gnostic account of the life of Jesus, called the Gospel of Philip, written in the 3rd Century - two hundred years or more after Jesus died. In it there is one controversial sentence which says, “And Mary the companion of […] Mary Magdalene. […loved] her more than all the disciples [and used to] kiss her on her […].”  The brackets indicate broken spots in the manuscript because of damage. Talk about a mystery to solve!

 

Three observations:

1. There is too little text to work with.

2. In biblical times it was normal to give a kiss of greeting on the cheek as it is today in Southern Europe and the Middle East.

3. The New Testament eye witness accounts contradict this, insisting that Jesus loved all his disciples, and spent most time with Peter, James and John.  Would you trust an account of a conversation written two hundred years or more after an event instead of eye-witness accounts? 

 

Now  I don’t know of a single New Testament scholar who believes that Jesus favoured Mary above the other disciples, that he wanted her to lead his Church, let alone that he married her and had children. That’s because there is no historical evidence for any of these assertions. The Da Vinci Code is, however, right on one thing - Mary Magdalene has suffered from a case of mistaken identity.


In the Middle Ages, beginning with a sermon by Pope Gregory the Great (540–604), Christians began to mistakenly associate Mary Magdalene with the anonymous sinner mentioned in Luke 7, who anointed Jesus’ feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee. It is most unlikely that the lady referred to in Luke 7 is Mary Magdalene. If it was, surely Luke would have named her rather than introduce her in chapter 8:2 as someone Jesus had delivered of demonic spirits. Rather than this being a ploy to destroy Mary’s position and reputation in the church, centuries of Christians have turned to Mary as a model of faithfulness, hope, and repentance. Important theologians like St. Augustine called her the New Eve, and the Catholic Church declared her a saint. Despite all this, the typical reader misses her importance in the gospel story. So what does the Bible tell us about Mary Magdalene? What did she really do? 

 

Mary Magdalene appears in all four Gospel accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus and in one other short passage found in Luke 8:1–3. From these we learn that Mary Magdalene was a follower and friend of Jesus as were many other women (see Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41) and that Jesus cast seven demons out of her (Mark 16:9 & Luke 8:2).  Matthew tells us that she was present during Jesus’ trial (Matthew 27:45) and John tells us that she was there at the Crucifixion (John 19:25). Luke tells us that she watched Joseph of Arimathea bury Jesus (Luke 23:56). And after three days, she and some other women returned to Jesus’ tomb, found that the stone had been rolled away (John 20:1) and ran back to tell the disciples (John 20:2). John also tells us that she was the first person to meet the risen Jesus (John 20:15-16) and first to tell the disciples the good news (John 20:18). The first and only time we encounter Mary Magdalene, apart from in the Easter story, is in Luke 8:1-3. So lets look at it together:

 

“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. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

 

Clearly she and the other women somehow supported Jesus from their income.  These facts teach us about the value Jesus placed on women. Jesus was extraordinary for having recruited and traveled with both men and women followers. In this Jesus was radical as it was customary that women would travel only with their families. In the Easter narratives, John gives us the fullest account of Mary’s role. Let us look therefore at John 20 together. As we do, I want to make three observations about Mary: About her heart, her mind and her will.

 

1. The Devotion of Mary (John 20:1-2)

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:1-2)

 

While the disciples were sleeping, Mary went to the tomb in the dark. After the disciples had found the tomb empty and went home, Mary stayed behind. First and last. That’s devotion. She stood by Jesus through the most difficult of times and her devotion persisted beyond His death. We need to remember that when Mary went to the tomb, she did not expect to find a risen Christ. She expected to find a body that needed to be dressed. She acted out of genuine love. Sometimes we give up on God too quickly. We offer a quick prayer and expect God to be at our beck and call and do our bidding immediately. If nothing happens we wonder why God would have ignored us. Or we ask for God’s help, and then impatiently, we take matters into our own hands. Mary persisted. She was patient. She was devoted. The Devotion of Mary.

 

 2. The Emotion of Mary (John 20:10-15)
“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary 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.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “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.” (John 20:10-15)

 

Look at verse 10. You might think there is nothing remarkable in those words. But stop and think for a moment what they have just witnessed. The tomb is empty. The grave clothes which a few days before had been wrapped with spices around the body of Christ are lying exactly where they had so lovingly laid His body and we read ‘they went home.’ ‘They went home.’ Maybe they thought ‘what else can we do?’ Now look at what Mary does – John tells us (v11), she remains at the tomb weeping. Her grief and pain at the loss of her Lord is compounded now by the loss of His body. This was the last place she had seen His broken, dead body and she will not move from it. The loss of His body is the final indignity. Even her grief has been violated and she weeps. The emotional turmoil of the last days overwhelms her and she breaks down and weeps at the sight of the empty tomb. Yet in spite of her grief (v12) she plucks up the courage to look into the tomb for herself and what a sight she is met with. He had died between two thieves and now two angels sit and between them are the empty grave clothes declaring His resurrection. In verse 13 we read that they ask her a simple question: “Woman, why are you crying?”

 

From the angels perspective, tears of grief on this Easter morning were totally inappropriate but for Mary they are the only way to express her pain. In verse 13 we read her reply. Through tear stained cheeks and grief strained voice she utters her grief. “They have taken my Lord.” Whoever ‘they” were, they are her enemies now because they have taken ‘her Lord’ from her. There is a simple lesson here – anything that takes the Lord Jesus from your presence is your enemy. “I don’t know where to find Him.” How true Mary but her Lord knows exactly where to find her. John tells us that Mary Magdalene immediately becomes aware of another presence behind her and turning round perceives it to be the gardener. How ironic, the first Adam was to be a gardener (Genesis 2.15) and now the ‘second Adam’ is mistaken for a gardener.  Verse 15 Jesus now asks her the very same question as the angels “Why are you crying?” and adds a second question “Who are you looking for?” She is courteous to Him, even in the midst of her grief, and asks where they have taken His body so that she may go and bring it back. How ironic she asks the very person who is responsible for the tomb being empty but at this point she does not recognise Him. How often we find life in the midst of what we thought was death – because the Living Lord Jesus is there. How often it is that when we express our deepest pain and emotion, we truly encounter Jesus. Mary was there alone in that place of death because she chose to. She was there because her heart was broken. The devotion of Mary.  The emotion of Mary.

 

3. The Submission of Mary (John 20:16-18)

“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 returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning 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 20:16-18)

 

Jesus utters just one word ‘Mary’ and instantly, her eyes are opened to who it is that stands before her now. The good Shepherd calls “his own sheep by name and leads them out… His sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4) – just as Jesus promised in John 10. Jesus simply calls her by name ‘Mary’ and her shattered soul is transformed and her broken world remade. It was her own name spoken by Jesus which opened her eyes to the truth of the resurrection. When Jesus calls His sheep He always calls them by name. It is always personal with Christ. Mary’s response is to fall at His feet. Then comes the gentlest of rebukes from Christ. He tells her not to cling on to Him because He has not yet ascended to the Father. He wants to teach her and the other disciples that He will no longer be known by sight or touch but by faith. His ascension will be dramatic so as to leave them in no doubt that He has ascended and that there will be no more earthly appearances until He comes again. Mary is to go and tell the disciples what she has seen and heard from her Lord Jesus.

 

She goes immediately to tell them. The devotion of Mary. The emotion of Mary. The submission of Mary. So what lessons can you and I learn from Mary Magdalene?

Forget Dan Brown’s wild speculations. From the eye-witnesses,


1. We can learn from her devotion to Christ. She knew the reality of life under the powers of darkness and the glorious deliverance found in Christ alone. As a consequence, she gave freely of her time and liberally of her money to serve Christ. They are always in proportion. The greater the realization of sin, the greater the sense of gratitude.  She appreciated her freedom because she knew what bondage to demons was like. As Jesus said in Luke 7, “He who has been forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:43). Maybe the one lesson we need to learn from Mary is to be more grateful to Jesus for releasing us from sin and death. The devotion of Mary.


2. When grief and pain in the Christian life comes, as it will, lets be more honest and open about it. Mary Magdalene cried at the tomb – she was overwhelmed by the thought that His body had been stolen. Standing outside the empty tomb, with arms full of spices and a broken heart, she utters the truest words in the midst of tears ‘we don’t know where they have taken Him.’ She didn’t know where He was but He knew exactly where she was. She had come to the last place she had left Him – the tomb. She returned to the last place she was with him. She remained there, even when everyone else left. And Jesus rewarded her. He calls her by name – “Mary.” Perhaps you can relate to Mary Magdalene – your heart is breaking and you can identify with those words ‘we don’t know where He is.” Then express it. Don’t hide or suppress it. Maybe this evening you really don’t know where Jesus is. This evening you have come here to Christ Church and you are not even sure why you are here – but you know you had to come because something in your heart and soul said this is where you will meet with Him. This evening I want to assure you from God’s Word – He is here and He is calling your name. How will you know He is calling your name? – because in your heart there will be a restlessness. In your heart and in your head there will be a battle going on – a battle for you soul and for your eternal destiny. Your heart is restless because you know everything you have heard today, or on previous Sundays applies to you – it is like there is no one else in this church but you and Jesus.  He is calling you by name. Mary fell at His feet in humble adoration – and you too must do the same. The devotion of Mary. The emotion of Mary.


3. There is a challenge to us all in her submission. Jesus commanded Mary Magdalene to go and tell the disciples that He had risen from the dead and in joyful submission – she went and told others she has met the risen Lord. She submitted. I think there is the profound lesson here for us. We say we have met with the risen Christ. We say He has freed us from sin and death – well who would know? Who have we told? Perhaps it is time to submit our wills to the risen Lord afresh and do His will? And make Him known? And tell what He has done for us? That is the intention of the annual membership covenant. Three important lessons we can learn from Mary Magdalene. Her devotion. Her emotion. Her submission. Mary loved the Lord our God with all her heart, with all her mind and with all her strength. The Scriptures may not tell us much about Mary. But from these few verses we see she was a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. How about you? Lets pray.

 

With grateful thanks to Alan McCann, Nicky Gumbel, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Paul Maier, Dave Kinney, Tim Zukas and Ken Baugh for material used in this sermon. See: www.sermoncentral.com

 

 

 

Engaging with the Da Vinci Code

Lee Strobel says, “These are good diagnostic questions, because they can help you zero in on where confusion might exist. Don’t assume that just because someone has seen and even applauds the movie that they’ve bought into its phony history; they may realize it’s all bunk. This way, you can focus on where problems exist.”

Recommended Resources

:       ChristianBibleStudies.com
-Engaging The Da Vinci Code
-The Da Vinci Code and Other heresies
-Debunking The Da Vinci Code

:       Sermon Central  resources http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=p-davincitools&

:       Outreach Tools
http://www.outreach.com/print/default.asp

:       Josh MacDowell Ministries
http://www.josh.org

&      The Da Vinci Hoax: The Truth About Jesus, Christianity, Mary Magdalene, and The Da Vinci Code, Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel (Ignatius Press, 2004; ISBN: 1586170341)

&      Discussing the Da Vinci Code, Lee Strobel and Garry Poole (Zondervan, 2006; ISBN: 0310272653)  www.leestrobel.com

&      The Gospel Code: Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci, Ben Witherington III (InterVarsity Press, 2004; ISBN: 083083267X)

:       Christianity Today Movies at http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/special/davincicode.html