All right, let's go back to John
20. John 20 and let's read verse 1 again. The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark unto the sepulcher
and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Now it struck
me that this woman right here, Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene,
in all four accounts, God's Holy Spirit mentions her
to be the first one to come to the Lord's tomb after he arose.
in all four accounts of all the people in scripture mentioned
her. Her, it focuses in on her. Look at Matthew 28 with me. Matthew
28 verse 1 says, In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to the sepulcher. So she didn't come by herself,
but it mentions her first, Mary Magdalene. All right, now turn
with me to Mark 16. Mark 16 verse 1 says, and when
the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might
come and anoint him. Three are mentioned. Three came. All right, now turn with me to
Luke 24. Luke 24 verse 1 says, Now upon
the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came
unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared
and certain others with them. Verse 10 says it was Mary Magdalene
and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and other women that
were with them which told these things unto the apostles. I got
to thinking about this woman Mary Magdalene. God's Holy Spirit
took great note of this woman. And I thought maybe we should
do the same thing. Who is this woman? Who is this woman, Mary
Magdalene? Well, the scripture says in Luke
8 that she was a woman who the Lord cast seven devils out of. Seven devils. And that's terrible. There are
so many accounts of a man or a woman, a boy or who was possessed
with a devil. She had seven devils in her. That's who God's Holy Spirit
took notice of. A great sinner. A great sinner. That's who he always takes notice
of. Great sinners. That really is
the wonder of this message. People come in here and they
hear this message and it's so wonderful because if they come
in self-righteous, they realize, he's not talking to me. He's
not talking about me. This message is not to me. Now
I can go find you some people who you ought to be preaching
to, but you shouldn't be preaching to me. And then the sinner who
comes in here so low and down on himself, I don't even want
to walk in the front door, but I'm definitely not sitting on
any pew closer than the back pew. And I'm going to keep my
head down. He starts to realize, you're
talking about me. You're talking about me. The
wonder of this message is that Jesus Christ came into this world
to save one particular type of people. That's who he came for. One particular type of people. Sinners. He came straight to
the sinners. He bypassed all the righteous. And he went straight to the sinners.
Now let me show you the woman that God's Holy Spirit took note
of just before Mary Magdalene. She's mentioned, but let me show
you the woman just before her. Turn with me to Luke chapter
8. Luke chapter 8 verse 2 says,
A certain woman which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom was cast seven devils. So
that's where Mary Magdalene is mentioned. Now the woman just
before her in chapter 7, if you look at chapter 7 verse 36. One of the Pharisees desired
the Lord, that he would eat with him. So the Lord went into the
Pharisee's house and sat down to meet. And behold, a woman
in the city which was a sinner. When she knew that Jesus sat
at meet in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointments,
and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash
his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her
head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, He spake within
himself, he said this in his own heart and in his own mind,
he spake within himself saying, this man, if he were a prophet,
would have known who and what manner of woman this is that
toucheth him. You know the message this morning
was titled, What manner of man is this? We hear this woman right
here, it says, what manner of woman, he would have known what
manner of woman this is. That toucheth him, for she is
a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto
him, he answered his thought. He said unto him, Simon, I have
some what to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one
owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing
to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast
rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house,
thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my
feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou
gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath
not ceased to kiss my feet. my head with oil, thou didst
not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her
sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto
her, thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with
him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins
also? And he said to the woman, Thy
faith has saved thee. Go in peace. That right there is Mary Magdalene.
Now the reason I know that is because that right there is me.
And that right there is you, isn't it? We have been forgiven. much in a center who is forgiven
much will love much the evidence of salvation. The evidence of
salvation is. falling in love with the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what it is. In chapter
right here in Luke chapter 7 verse 47 when he said, Wherefore I
say unto thee her sins which are many are forgiven for she
loved much. He's not saying because she has
come in here and loved me I will forgive her. What he's saying
is her sins are forgiven for she loves me much. That's how
you know she loves me much. My evidence and my proof that
he has forgiven all of my sin is this. He has given me a heart
that loves Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. And that's Mary
Magdalene. Go with me to Matthew 27. Matthew 27 verse 55 says, and many women were there beholding
afar off which followed Jesus from Galilee ministering unto
him. They're watching him on the cross
right now. Verse 56, among which was Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Josie. and the mother
of Zebedee's children. After the Lord set this woman
free, after He came to her and He totally set her free, cast
everything out of her and set her in her right mind, set her
free, this woman followed Him. That's what it says, they followed
Jesus and they ministered unto Him. That's what she did from
there on out. She followed him and she ministered
to him everywhere he went. Him and his disciples. Lord,
what can I do? What would you have me to do?
As he hung on that cross, she was standing right there looking
to her salvation. There was Mary Magdalene standing
right there. Now look at verse 59. And when
Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth
and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the
rock. And he rolled a great stone to
the door of the sepulcher and departed. And there was Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulcher.
He has put the Lord in the tomb and rolled this stone in front
of the grave. And there she sat, there she
sat, right there, looking to her Savior. Chapter 28, verse
1 says, In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, here she comes. Came Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary to see the sepulcher. A sinner who is forgiven much
cannot stay away from Christ. That's all there is to it. That
is all there is to it. A sinner who is forgiven much
cannot stay away from Christ. They just can't. I absolutely
love this. Go to Mark 16. Mark 16 verse 1 says, And when
the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might
come and anoint him. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun, and they said among themselves, Who shall roll
us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" The whole
time they were walking to the sepulchre, here they come, it's
dark, the sun is about to come up, and here's all these women.
And the whole time they're walking to the sepulchre, they said among
themselves, they weren't coming with a man. There's all these
women, they said, how are we going to get in? Who's even going to roll the
stone away for us? I'm not able of myself to get
past that great stone. I can't even get past the stone.
With me, this is impossible. But that didn't stop them from
coming. Why didn't they turn around and
go back and get a man? The Lord drew them and didn't
stop them from coming. And I'll tell you this, if you come to
Christ, if you come to Christ, if a sinner comes to Christ,
if you come seeking Him, I mean, they were coming for one reason
only, Him, the crucified Savior. If you seek Him early while He
may be found, God will roll that stone away for you. He will. You'll come expecting to run
right into a great stone and when you get there you'll say
it's rolled away. Our Lord said in Jeremiah 29,
you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me
with all your heart. That's Mary Magdalene, all your
heart. That's exactly what she did.
Now go with me back to John 20. John 20 verse 1, the first day
of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark unto
the sepulcher and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other
disciple whom Jesus loved, which is John, the writer of this gospel,
and said unto them, they have taken away the Lord out of the
sepulcher and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore
went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulcher. So
they ran both together and the other disciple did outrun Peter
and came first to the sepulcher. You have two men coming to the
Lord Jesus Christ. One comes faster than the other
one. John outran Peter. One gets there
before the other one. It's okay. All that matters is
they're both coming. Sinners come to Christ in different
ways. They come in different ways.
My experience may not be your experience. That's okay. That's
okay as long as we come. Verse 4 says, So they ran both
together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter and came first
to the sepulcher. And he, stooping down and looking
in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in." How many
sinners have run up to the door, run
up to Christ, run up to the door, and not gone in? How many sinners
are there that have run up to that door, were going to be on
fire, and not entered in? Salvation is found in Him. In Him. Our Lord said, enter
ye in at the straight gate. Enter in with this heart. How
do I enter in? With this heart. With this heart
right here. Don't stop at the mind. Don't stop at the mind. Come
see a man and then fall in love with him. fall in love with him,
enter into a union, a communion, a true love with him. Verse 5 says, And he stooping
down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went
he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following
him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie.
and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the
linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went
in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher,
and he saw and believed." They believed what Mary was afraid
of, that somebody had taken away the Lord's body. Mary came saying
somebody stole him. And they ran in and saw it and
believed what she said. Verse 9 says, For as yet they
knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Now they should have. They should
have. They had so many Old Testament
types and Old Testament scriptures. They had the words of the Lord
himself. How many times did he plainly
say, this is what I'm going to do. This is what's going to happen.
He told them exactly what he was going to do, but their faith
was so weak and it was so small. Their understanding was so simple. They didn't get it. Now I thought
about this. I wonder how many things there
are that we ought to know about. But we don't because our faith
is so weak. You know, our Lord, one of these
days, now we see the end of the story. We see things that we're
looking back and we say, how silly, they didn't know he'd
rise from the grave. One of these days we're going
to look back and say, he told us everything from the beginning.
He told us the end from the beginning. He told us all. But our faith
is just so weak, it's so small. Here's the key though, even though
they did not know this fact right then and there, they knew him. They knew him, that's all that
matters. They knew him. Verse 10 says, then the disciples
went away again unto their own home. Now, watch the blessing
that these two men miss out on by going home. All right, watch
the blessing that these two men completely miss out on just by
going on. Verse 10 says, then the disciples
went away again unto their own home, but Mary stood without
at the sepulcher weeping. Once again, there she is. She's standing right there. She
stayed right there. We just sang the song, stayed
upon Jehovah. Hearts are fully blessed. She
just stayed right there. Verse 11, Mary stood without
at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down
and looked into the sepulcher. She's standing there weeping,
looking into this grave, trying to find her Lord. Paul said,
if Christ be not risen, we are of all men most miserable. But Christ is risen. He is risen. Verse 11, Mary stood without
at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down
and looked into the sepulcher and seeth two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where
the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, And I know not where they have
laid him. Now the four gospels. All go together. I had something
I was going to tell you, but I decided against it because
it was so complicated. It's just too complicated, but
it's wonderful. I'll tell you sometime all four
of these gospels. it together to tell the story
of what happened. They do not contradict each other.
They're all true. This one says Mary ran back and
told the disciples that somebody stole the Lord. When we read
on down in Matthew, the angel immediately told her, he is risen.
He's not here. As he said, come see the place
where the Lord lay. You run and tell your brethren he's risen.
And she went out with great joy. They ran with great joy. Luke's
account says, the angel told her to go and she was so afraid
she said nothing to any man. So it seems like that they contradict
each other, but here's what's going on. If this is what happened,
Matthew tells us this, this, this, and this. Luke tells us
this, this, this, and this. Mark and John, they all go together. Right here, Mary said, look at
verse 13. They say unto her, woman, why
weepest thou? She sayeth unto them, because
they've taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid
him. This is where in Matthew 28, you just listen to this.
In Matthew 28, the angel said, fear not ye, for I know that
you seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here for he is risen. As he said, come see the place
where the Lord lay. and go quickly and tell his disciples
that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee. There shall you see him, lo,
I have told you." Verse 14. He is risen. Verse 14. When she
had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and
knew not that it was Jesus. Now they had all these, they
were all there at the sepulcher. They had all those types, they
had all those scriptures, they had the Lord's word. The angel
tells them, you go back. She starts heading back. She
sees the Lord, has no idea that's who it is. Our Lord's hand is
in every circumstance of ours, every single one. But how often
do we have no idea that it's Him? We have no idea that it's
Him. Here she's run up on the Lord
Himself. She has no idea that it's Him. Verse 14, When she
had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing,
and knew not that it was Jesus, Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, said unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne
him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. That right there
is where in Matthew 28 it says that Mary and the other Mary,
they held him by the feet and worshipped him. He said all hail. You know how he said all hail?
He said, Mary. She dropped down and held him
by the feet and worshipped him. How many times have you thought
he was clean gone? You know that scripture? How many times have you thought
His mercy was clean gone? And then He comes to us again
and He says, Here I am. Oh, man. Master. Rabboni. Would you mind if I
latch on to your feet and never let go? Would that be okay? If
I just latch on to your feet and never let go? Verse 17, Jesus
saith unto her, Touch me not. There will be plenty of time
for you to hold on to me. For I am not yet ascended to
my father. I'll be here 40 more days. I
haven't left yet. You'll see me again. He said,
but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father
and your father and to my God and your God. That's one of my
favorite verses. That's one of my favorite verses.
We've looked at it before. Now, that song says, "'Tis done,
the great transaction's done." It's all done. My Father and
your Father. You're welcome now to go straight
to the throne with boldness. My God and your God. Verse 18, end of verse 17, he
said, I send unto my father and your father, to my God and your
God, Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had
seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her.
He spoke these things to her. He spoke them to her. I love
what Mark 16 says. Go with me to Mark 16. Mark 16 verse 9 says, Now when
Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.
He came to her first. She came to Him first. He went
to her. She needed Him much. Much. She waited for Him and
looked for Him much. She camped by that tomb. She camped by that cross. Over in Acts we see she was camped
with His people. She needed Him. She loved Him
much. So she got exactly what her heart
desired. Wherever your heart is, that's where your treasure
is going to be. And she got what her heart desired. She got him.
She heard his voice. She felt his touch. She got him. And then she ran and told everybody
the gospel. She ran and told everybody she
could. He is risen. He is risen. I know the feeling.
I know her joy. I really do. That's all I want
to tell everybody. He is risen. I just want to run
and tell everybody he's risen. He is risen. This woman loved
much and she was loved much. And that's what I want all of
us to be, don't we? All right, let's stand together.