Standing there at the cross Mary saw the price being paid. When Jesus delivered Mary Magdalene it cost Him something. He redeemed her and bought her out of her miserable condition.īut, redemption is a costly thing. This is what Jesus did for Mary Magdalene. They go from being spiritually impoverished to becoming spiritually wealthy (becoming heirs of the Kingdom). They go from being guilt to experiencing forgiveness. They go from the power of Satan to the power of God (God begins to take control). They go from darkness to light (mental, moral, spiritual). When a person trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for deliverance from the bondage of sin, these same marvelous changes take place in their life. “To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to the power of God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins…” When we talk about the deliverance that Jesus can provided for Mary Magdalene I often think of a verse in Acts 26:18, which reads, She was ultimately delivered through a miraculous encounter with Jesus. Mary Magdalene was redeemed and bought back from the bondage she was in. Mary Magdalene was miraculously saved from her dilemma. Jesus delivered Mary from her bondage and set her free. Then Jesus came along and cast out these seven demons. Mary was in a hopeless and helpless situation. Satan was at work in her life to destroy, cause havoc, wreck her physically, emotionally and spiritually. These seven demons made her do terrible things. She had been in bondage to Satan for a long time. Luke 8:2 tells us that Mary Magdalene was a woman whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. This morning we are going to consider these four people who stood near the cross, when Jesus was crucified, and try to understand what it meant to them to be near the cross. I am talking about a special relationship to Jesus Christ. We pray and sing “Keep me near the cross”, but what does it really mean to be near the cross when Jesus was crucified? I am not talking about a literal physical presence, but I am referring to a spiritual position. I like the possibility of her being identified with Mary the mother of James the less and Jose ( Mark 15:40) but again there is no proof.) For this reason I have left her out of my sermon outline. Any attempt to identify her with any exactitude is mere conjecture. (NB: Most commentators are divided as to the identity of Mary, the wife of Cleopas. In today’s reading there were some people who stood near the cross.ġ) Four Roman soldiers – they were there out of duty.Ģ) Four women and the apostle John – they were there because they loved Jesus:
Learn about six of the major cultural currents tugging at all of us, including how to spot them, and how Christianity offers a more satisfying way of thinking and living. I’d be interested to hear which requirements Carlos and others would list in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For example, must you be correct on every account? Are there certain doctrines that act as a minimum threshold before God will perform miracles through you (and if so, where do you draw the line)? Will God perform greater miracles the “more correct you are?” I may be wrong, but this scriptural correctness as a metric to determine the miracle’s authenticity seems to lie at the heart of his “test the spirits” position. While I respect Carlos and the evidentialist position he outlined, I would really like to hear more discourse about which doctrinal camps you must fall into in order to have God work miraculously in your life. He made comments that led me to believe he would dismiss alleged miracles performed by any Calvinist and any Trinitarian. Without putting words in Carlos’ mouth, I got the sense that he would dismiss miraculous events based off the doctrinal positions the people in question may hold. In light of Carlos’ interview, I would really like to hear more dialogue on a certain point.
I’ve been following this series closely and have really enjoyed hearing the variety of positions that come along with this subject.