Douglas Jacoby Podcast

CLEAN – podcast 13, Mary Magdalene

Douglas continues his series called CLEAN, today looking at Mary Magdalene.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Demons are never explicitly identified in the OT. In the NT, possession appears only in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (The word "demon" is used in John, but only by the opponents of Christ, who call him a demon.)
For greater depth, visit Thoughts on Demon Possession & Exorcism (requires login).
For constructive thoughts about escaping addictive behaviors, see IPI's 4-lesson audio CD, ESCAPE (by Steve Brand and Douglas Jacoby).
Until today, Mary Magdalene was not a NT character podcast, since there isn't a whole lot to work with! It really comes down to a single verse in Luke.
(She is also mentioned in Mark 16:9, a verse in the longer ending Mark's gospel, probably dating to the 2nd century, and merely repeating what Luke said about her.)
However, she is frequently mentioned in the pretend-gospels of the Gnostics and others (in the centuries after the NT was written).

Scriptural study: Luke 8:1-3

There are many Marys in the NT, but only one Magdalene.
It seems there are far more questions than answers.
- Literally 7 (number of perfection)—or perfectly diabolical?
- How were they exorcized? Through the ministry of Christ? The Jews (see Acts 19; Luke 9)? Or did they leave of their own volition (“gone out”)? But “healed of evil spirits…” (v.2) implies exorcism.
- How did the demons get into her in the first place? Lack of explanation as to causality of possession in NT, while OT doesn’t even record any possessions, let alone attempt to explain the demonic world.
But we can at least rule out some possibilities:
- Not Jesus’ wife
- No indication that demons correspond to sins (as in 7 different sins).
- Probably not the sinful woman of Luke 7 – seems odd if true that this woman wasn’t named.
Probably:
- Unmarried or a widow
- Important personage in the early church. ( || Simon/Simeon, Alexander, and Rufus. Note: in the podcast I mentioned only Rufus, but Simon had two Christian sons.)
For sure:
- From or had relatives in Magdala. At her synagogue a few weeks ago
- Witness to the empty tomb and the risen Christ
- Undergone a radical transition to freedom from the demonic.

Conclusions

No matter how messed up your life is, God can make something beautiful out of it. And no matter how long we may have been stagnating spiritually, the Lord can wipe the slate clean. And once we've been made clean, we're on the path of holiness and mission.
If you're a woman, take heart that in Christ there is no male or female. No discrimination!
God values women. Eyewitness testimony to the resurrection – not so in Judaism or Islam.
No problem is too big for God to handle. Even if you feel last year is best forgotten, God specializes in fresh starts – in new beginnings.