Mary Magdalene Was In Love With Jesus (J74)

Mary Magdalene loved Jesus the man;
Her acts showed how very much she was fond;
Righteous in thought and deed, Jesus did stand;
His will forbade His flesh to respond!
That firm a will should all Christians portray,
For lust aloose destroys many a pair;
Jesus had the whole world’s sin-debt to pay—
To respond in kind would His task impair!
He loved lost men more; Mary did, too;
She knew her passion was forever vain;
Agape love* does eros love** eschew,
So her agape did reign, and eros wane!
Some women since are forced to do the same;
Eros does start, but agape must tame!

*Agape love = divine platonic love, that wishes the best for the recipient **eros love = sexual attraction that requires physical intimacy to be gratified; the world’s idea of love

Scripture Quoted: John 20:10-17 (NIV)
“Then the disciples went back to their homes [after examining the empty tomb; they had not seen the risen Jesus, or know where His body was], but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look inside the tomb, and saw two angels in white, sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ‘Woman,’ he said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to my Father.’ …” [brackets added]

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Commentary
The actions of Mary Magdalene toward Jesus indicate that she was deeply in erotic love with Him as a man, and I believe that she was. I hasten to add that I do not believe that He returned or responded to her as most any man would, although He felt the invisible attraction between them. There is enough evidence to motivate a Hollywood screen writer or fiction novelist to write a film play or novel that they had a scandalous love affair, as was done in The Da Vinci Code. The non-believing world has an insatiable appetite for entertainment media that casts doubt upon the truths of the Bible. Her passion for Him is not surprising, nor is it threatening enough to destroy His credibility as living a completely sinless life, throwing His eligibility for an atoning death for the sins of men into jeopardy.

The risen Jesus appeared Himself to her first, for she was the first griever at the tomb on Sunday morning; while it was still dark, she came alone to the tomb. Seeing it open and empty, she ran to Peter and John to tell them the tomb was empty, and ran back with them. They departed after examining the empty tomb, not knowing what had happened, but she remained at the tomb and saw two angels inside. Then He appeared and called her name tenderly. When she realized it was Jesus, and He was alive, she must have thrown herself upon Him, for He asked her to let Him go; He was in His new spiritual body. His tenderness for her was apparent, but His love was agape, divine love which the world does not understand. Modern obsession with eros love requires its consummation in physical intimacy, that is, sex. There is no physical intimacy in agape love, and no mental lust for it either. In fact, our heavenly bodies will be like those of angels, with no flesh and no sexual desire or intimacy.

There are several significant lessons to be learned from this all-too-common occurrence for believers today. We need strong will powers. Jesus had the same fleshly feelings and desires that all men have. Yet, He controlled His own flesh and the thoughts and images in His mind and did not let lust command; had He been as weak in will power as most of us, He surely would have committed sin. Another lesson for us is that learned by Mary. A woman in the throes of a massive passion for a man with whom she could never consummate her love, she wisely let the Holy Spirit guide her vain passion from eros to the more enduring, satisfying and constructive agape love for the Lord. In modern times our popular culture engulfs us daily in eros love so that many who investigate coming to Jesus Christ confuse worldly love with the love we have for our Lord and Savior. I believe the praise chorus music practiced in modern churches immerses young worshipers into a similar hypnosis as that of rock star concerts, resulting in erotic love, not for the star, but for Jesus. If, like Mary Magdalene, the new believers gain in their spiritual maturity, diverting the deadend eros love into magnificent agape love, there is no harm with beginning your Christian pilgrimage with eros love.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes upon him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him fr om the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)