Women of the Word: Mary Magdalene #8

 Hi Sisters, I hope you are having a blessed day so far.  

Our journey with Mary Magdalene is almost over.  She is at the foot of the cross with Jesus' mother, aunt, and Mary of Clopus.  However, I have decided to extend Mary's story an extra week, as the timing with Easter is much too compelling to deny! 

So for today ..... 

Imagine being there next to Mary.  Sand under your feet that are clad in sandals. The wind blowing through the tunics that you are wearing, probably made of linen. It's crowded and noisy. Some people are openly weeping, and others are shouting and chanting in anger. Darkness falls from noon until three during Jesus' death. There is no eclipse in the sky, the darkness being a reflection of God's sadness. You hear Jesus tell his mother that his disciple John is now her son, and to John that she is his mother. You are in awe that Jesus is still thinking of others while he is suffering in unbearable pain. You feel anguish in your heart, knowing that they are crucifying the Messiah. 

This all happened on the day before a special Sabbath, so it was a Preparation day. Pilate did not want men hanging on crosses during this special day, so he told his men to break their legs. Jesus was spared this last atrocity, as he had already passed. 

The next passage is one that I think is important to verse map - or at the very least reflect on.  It is about Jesus, not Mary M - but you can be confident that she was there.  She and his mother, holding each other up in their overwhelming sorrow. 

 "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[c] 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The verse mapping guide is below.  I urge you to look up the original scripture that was fulfilled in Christ's death and study who said it and why.  Read the scripture in different editions and see if they use different words for: pierced, spear, and testimony. 

I'll share my verse map here on the blog.  We will discuss Jesus's burial preparation next.

May God bless you sisters!