Sermon Snippets

I've taken a break from blogging but now I hope to be "back and better than ever" (s/o to Mike & Mike). I'm putting "Music Monday" on hiatus for now and going to bring back "Sermon Snippets" moving forward. 

These posts will feature tidbits and/or last minute cuts from my sermons that I find interesting. One common problem pastors face is deciding what to cut from their messages - or rather, not realizing they need to cut material out to keep their audience focused. I'm writing a commentary on 1-2 Kings currently so there should be plenty of material. But last week was Easter so I will be relaunching this bit with some stuff from my Resurrection Day message. For audio of the full sermon, you can listen here.

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Jesus' first appearances carried personal and theological significance. My sermon (link above) works through the first six times Jesus revealed himself to people. The first one is where I want to focus on today. 

Mary Magdalene is the first person to see Jesus after he rose from the grave (John 20:11-18). Was that fact merely meant to be a footnote in history? What if I argued that there was a purpose and intention behind who Jesus decided to appear to first?

As others have noted, Mary was "last at the cross and first to the tomb". While her male counterparts had almost all fled out of fear, she didn't keep a low profile. She remained faithful even in the face of unspeakable grief as her friend and Rabboni suffered a criminal's death. 

Mary Magdalene's story has gotten confused and misconstrued in a variety of ways. But taking our cues from the Gospels, we know she was delivered from demonic possession early on in Jesus' ministry and she followed Jesus, even financially supporting him and his disciples on their travels (Luke 8:1-4). 

Mary Magdalene is the picture of a disciple devoted to her Savior, even when all hope seemed lost. Her pure heart of worship is revealed by her and the other women's desire to ceremonially embalm Jesus' body to complete the burial (Mark 16:1-2)

So when Jesus honors her by appearing to her first, he's rewarding this dedicated servant. He will soon appear to Peter also, who is very much the opposite of Mary. But her story reminds us that God rewards the faithful. We can cling to our Lord even when no hope seems left - and he will come through!

What an awesome testimony of God's goodness and what an awesome encouragement to be faithful!