Join me for my message, "He Spoke Her Name." Last week I introduced the story of Mary of Magdala, a woman, a supporter and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Her story is brief but consistent in the early accounts of Jesus' life and ministry. However, as we will discover today, she plays an inordinately large role in the story of the Resurrection. She was the very first person to whom Jesus revealed Himself on Resurrection Morning.

This is unusual for a number of reasons. Jewish women were of such low status in the First Century that their reliability as witnesses was considered so poorly that they could not give testimony in court. And yet Jesus chooses to encounter her at the open tomb and to give her the commission to "go to my brothers and tell them." Even though it would be tough for them to accept the word of a woman, Jesus commits to her the responsibility of being the first to proclaim the news, HE IS NO LONGER DEAD, THE LORD IS RISEN. HE IS RISEN INDEED."

She from whom Jesus powerfully delivered from Satan's grasp was now not only a trophy of His grace but also now the very first "evangelist." Good news! Because He lives, we shall live also.