Mary Magdalene: At the Cross

Part Two of my Series on Mary Magdalene. In this lesson we'll talk about Mary Magdalene at the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

After Luke 8, we don't hear much about Mary Magdalene and the other women until they appear at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. So what were they doing all this time? Since they were present at  the crucifixion it may be possible to say that they were traveling with Jesus and the twelve.

All four gospels put Mary Magdalene at the site of the crucifixion. The twelve went into hiding and Peter and John are the only disciples that are listed as being at the crucifixion. The reason is that the twelve went into hiding is that they didn't want to be arrested and treated as criminals like Christ himself was. Matthew, Mark and Luke have listed the women as watching from a distance and John puts them at the foot of the cross where Jesus can see them and speak to them as he did Peter and Mary, his mother. So why were the women there? Crucifixion was a violent death and women would have been protected from seeing such a death--much like hanging in the modern period. However, tradition has Jesus being crucified prior to the Sabbath and women would have had to be home preparing for the Sabbath.

Scripture states that Mary and the other women went to purchase spices and ointments to place on the body of Christ prior to burial.  Since crucifixion was reserved for criminals, it was rare that bodies were given over to family or others for proper burial. The reason is to continue the humiliation that went along with the punishment. The fact that Jesus' body was allowed to be taken by Joseph of Arimathea, a "Disciple of Christ, despite having to secretly believe", shows that even Pilate had respect for the Jewish Law and possibly even Jesus.

So where were all the women during this time? What was their role? The women had went to purchase ointments and spices to anoint Jesus' body. After Joseph of Arimathea had approached Pilate and was granted to bury the body, the women and Joseph under the obligation of resting on the Sabbath, only saw where Jesus' body was laid. Then they went home to prepare for the Sabbath but also the spices and perfumes they'd use to properly bury Jesus. 

Through all of this, what can we learn from Mary Magdalene at the cross? Let's look at each of the crucifixion narratives. Starting with Matthew 27:55-56 "There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee." 
As you can see from this simple verse, the women were not there to cause trouble, but rather because they had ministered Jesus through their service. Why did they minister? Because of their great love and gratefulness for whatever Jesus did in their lives. Each one had a story to tell, and each one followed Jesus and supported His ministry.

Mark 15:40-41 "There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem." In Mark we have the of Salome. But we also learn that these women took care of the needs of Jesus. Whether that was cooking or cleaning the Messiah's clothing or food; these women did it all! They even supported Him out of their private means; meaning they probably financially helped Jesus and his disciples!

Luke states "But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him stood at a distance watching things." what differs here from the other gospels is the "All those who knew Him" were present as were the women. This could mean that the disciples were present. However, during this time period, it was dangerous for family to mourn publicly the death of a man who was crucified. 

Lastly, we have John's narrative. In John 19:25-27, we find that not only is Mary the mother of Jesus, His mother's sister and Mary Magdalene were present, we find that the "beloved disciple" was present at the crucifixion. This could be further proof that the men didn't run and hide, rather they stood alongside of Christ as He faced death. 

Since these women followed Christ out of sheer love and gratefulness for all that He had done for them, we can only imagine the emotions that they were feeling. They probably felt feelings of despair, great sadness and loss. Each one experienced it on a personal level too. Each woman had experienced Jesus' love and grace and each one was losing a part of their "normal" daily lives. 

This however, is only the beginning. In the final lesson I am going to elaborate on Mary's visit to the Tomb of Christ as well as His appearance to her. In this next lesson, we may learn things that we've never considered as we read the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.