Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-08-04

dcrStood ana maIlgned than Mary
Magdalene. There is not the slightest
/ foundation in the Scriptures for the
view that she was a woman Of i'm
| moral character Unfortunately. for
centuries tradition has identified her
with the repentant sinner who wet
! the feet Of Jesus with her tears and
wiped them with hairs of her head
! and kissed his feet, and anointed
| them with ointment" Literature and
art have accepted this Identification.
| which perhaps accounts for the fact
| that Mary Magdalene is considered
by some to be the most interesting
woman Of the Bible. The fact that in
Luke's narrative of the Masters life
the first reference we have to Mary
Magdalene follows so closely after
the amounting of the Lord by the
! other woman, who was a sinner. Is
the foundation for the widely &C
| cepted Identification.
! She derives her name from being
| was located about midway between
Tiberias and Capernaum, about three
miles from each city. Its modern
| name is ElMejdel. which preserves
1t contains only a few huts, but
nearby are ruins which appear to be
! those of an old watch tower The
| name. Magdalene. that has since been
applied to feminine depravity. was
given to her to distinguish her from
among the Masters followers. We
| may judge that she came from a home
Of ample means. because we read
that she ministered unto the Lord
of her substance"
The Possessed Woman.
We find Mary among the band of
pious women. who followed the Gus
| tom of devout Jewish women to ac-
company the rabbi under whose
teaching they had been blessed, and
to minister to his wants" Nothing
| is known of the two other women
men toned by Luke members of
| that first ladies' aid society. whose
generous contributions helped sus-
tain the Master and the apostles
upon their missionary tours among
the cities and hamlets. of Galilee-
Ger in Herod's army, which would
indicate that the gospel of Jesus had
( been accepted by some members of
the army and the social leaders of
the day.
Mary Magdalene was prompted by
the gratitude to Christ for healing
her. Possibly it was during the Mas
ter's second missionary journey that
I he met her in the streets of Magdala.
He found her obsessed by mental de-
rangement, intense depression and
| morbid melancholy. Added to this
there may have been a demon of i'll
! temper and a persistent nervousness
that made her life a burden to her.
as one has suggested. that she was
quite frees from the disease in her
early days and that 1t was not until
later years that she became pos
sessed with seven demons. The fact
that there were seven demons" i'm
plies a possession of peculiar ma
lignancy," that for the time had
gained complete mastery over her.
No wonder that she loved the Lord.
whose commands cast out the demons.
She knew what she owed to the
| Master who had transformed her
"wretchedness of despair. the divided
consciousness. the long continued
fits of silence" into contented, con-
gratitude found expression in serving
Jesus. She followed Him in His
journeys about Galilee and minis
tered unto Him. in an effort to repay
in part her debt to Him for salvation
from her sins and healing of her
infirmities. If there had been any
basis for the view that classed her
with the women who were sinners
and whom He saved. then il is doubt
full IL He would have permitted her
y
which He did, for the Lord would
not want her to be exposed to the
SCOTS of His enemies. who would
have kept bringing up her past to
her. The greatest obstruction that
the woman who has fallen faces today
in her struggle to live a better life
comes from the modern Pharisees and
Sadducess. whose reminders of her
past infamy hinder her upward climb
TO Il better life.
The Loyal Witness.
The loyal follower of the Saviour,
who had generously co-operated with
her substance and services In helping
the promotion of His kingdom. was
found among the fearful group of
women who followed Jesus to the
cross. She watched them take His
body from the cross and place 1t in
the new-made tomb. Early on Easter
morning. before 1t was daybreak. she
started for that sacred place that she
might prepare His body properly for
burial. Is II had not been properly
embalmed. She may have been hys-
terical when under the influence of
demons, but she was very calm that
first day morning. as she stood at
the open tomb. Her first thought
was, Where have they laid Him?
She FASTENED to call Peter and John
She returned with them and
watched their investigation. When
they left. she tarrfed. She could not
tear herself away from the empty
tomb. The bereaved and broken
hearted one stood there. and. looking
in, saw 1.-The two angels in white sit
ting. one at the head and one at the
feet. where the body of Jesus had
lain. There is no evidence of fear
as she answers their inquiry as to
her tears. She probably appreciated
their sympathy. but she craved and
longed to see Jesus face to face. Pos
sibly she was attracted by the move
ments of her Lord. who was standing
not recognize Him through her tears
Her deep sorrow and bereavement
may have hindered her powers of OBJ
servation. More likely. it was due to
the change in Christ's personal ap-
pearance. When stripped of His
clothing and placed upon the cross.
all that was left on His body by the
Roman soldiers was a '1oin- cloth
the subligaculum. But this was all
that the laborers wore at their work
Mary probably would have though of
Jesus as He usually appeared, wear
ing the tunic and cloak that the SOL
dierS had cast lots for and deprived
Him of, so it was quite natural under
the circumstances for her to take the
Lord to be the gardener, as she had
no thought of His resurrection.
While there was a marked change
In His appearance, yet the soul of
the. Master was unaltered: When He
called her, Mary, she Immediately
recognized His voice. In an instant.
in the presence OF Jesus. her eyes
were opened. Her grief and tears
disappeared. In her intense joy over
the presence Of the Master, she
throws herself at His feet. The ar
dor of her love compels her to seek
some proof that it was really Him.
He held her back so that her faith
would not rest upon any nhYSical