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- 1269
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- 2026-01-26T19:09:30.218Z
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- 1237
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- 870 Who Mary Magdalene was we do not certainly know. There were several Marys who belonged to the New Testament times. There was the Mary of Bethlehem, mother of Jesus; and Mary of Bethany, whose brother Lazarus we know; and Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joses; and Mary Magdalene, whose name has gone into history and painting and poetry. And her “name is written in heaven.” We do not know whether the word “Magdalene” is from the name of the place of her birth and residence, or a title descriptive of her appearance or personal character. When I looked from a sail-boat on the Sea of Galilee to the ruined little village El-Mejdel on its western shore, it was pleasant to connect with it the name of this Mary of the Gospels, Mary of Mejdel, who loved her Lord for a good reason, and loved Him with all her heart.
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873 We usually assume that Mary Magdalene was a great sinner. She was a descendant of the woman who was turned out of the garden in the beginning. And she, the first woman, the mother of all women, was a sinner. But we do not know as to Mary Magdalene what kind of a sinner or how great a sinner she was. Probably she sinned in more than one way, and certainly she needed the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. It is by some supposed that she was the woman in Simon’s house of whom Luke tells us, and to whom the poet refers:
874
875 > “She sat and wept, and with her untressed hair
876 > Still wiped the feet she was so blessed to touch.”
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878 And whether she was this same woman or not, it is certain that Jesus had helped and comforted her, and had
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880 > “wiped off the soiling of despair
881 > From her sweet soul because she loved so much.”
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883 We learn that seven devils were cast out of her. If one devil possessed her, cer-
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886 tainly she needed the help of Heaven. If seven demons made her body and soul a place of sojourn and action, verily her case was desperate. And if her own moral weakness or base desires made her a congenial place and companion for such guests, the theory which puts her among great sinners is not out of the way. It is a bad thing to let down the bars of self-control, and to let into one’s soul the vagrant brutes—wolves and foxes and swine and other demons. But out of Mary Magdalene the Master, Son of another Mary, cast seven devils. Do you wonder at her love for Him? The poet Bryant makes the Lord say to her:
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888 “The greatest of thy follies is forgiven.”
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890 No wonder that she stood watching when He hung on the cross; now “beholding afar off;” now “by the cross.” No wonder that she followed the body to the grave, and “beheld the tomb and how He was laid.” She did not expect Him to appear again. It was the last farewell. She
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892 MARY IN THE CARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
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893 .
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