Do you feel like you are in spiritual bondage? Have you been relating to God through performing religious works or good deeds, with the accompanying feelings of obligation, guilt, and fear of punishment for not doing it right or not doing enough? The great news is that you have been set free from that by God’s grace through your faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus satisfies your heart with freedom from spiritual bondage. In this post, we will see how Jesus satisfied Mary Magdalene’s heart with freedom. This is post #9 in our New Testament Women series.
Listen to this post as a similar podcast from our two Bible Studies of New Testament women: Live Out His Love and the shorter version Satisfied by His Love:
In the story The Count of Monte Cristo, a man named Dantes escapes from a cruel captivity and lands on a beach occupied by smugglers. The smuggler captain forces Dantes to fight a man named Jacabo to the death. When Dantes has the chance to kill his opponent, he spares his life and plants the knife into the sandy beach instead. Jacabo’s immediate response is, “I am your man forever”—implying today, tomorrow and the next day—not knowing what would be ahead for him. He was grateful for his freedom.
Considering what Dantes did for Jacabo, Jesus did that and more for us. He set us free! And out of gratitude, each of us should choose to serve the very One who did it. Not knowing everything ahead of us, we can declare, “Lord Jesus, I am YOUR woman”—today, tomorrow, and the next day. But what would that look like? We can see an example in the life of Mary Magdalene.
Getting to know Mary Magdalene
We first meet Mary Magdalene in Luke 8.
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. (Luke 8:1-3)
We’ve already seen in the life of the Samaritan woman how Jesus frees you from bondage to lies by giving you truth in Himself and in God’s Word. We saw in the life of the immoral woman of Luke 7 that Jesus frees you from sinfulness by giving you complete forgiveness and a restored relationship with God. Jesus frees you from bondage to chronic illness by offering you hope that He is going to get you through it, right by your side.
Mary came from Magdala, a small village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, southwest of Capernaum. The village was famous for its fine woolens and dyed products. Two gospel writers record Jesus going there (Matthew 15:39-16:4; Mark 8:10-12). Perhaps that is when He met the woman we now know as Mary Magdalene.
Response to being set free from bondage
Mary Magdalene gratefully served Jesus.
Jesus freed Mary Magdalene from a spiritual bondage to demons (also called evil or unclean spirits) controlling her life. Demon possession was exhibited in a variety of ways—blindness, deafness, muteness, seizures, irrational behavior, crippling of body, cutting oneself, and/or violent behavior. Anyone who was in such spiritual bondage lived a miserable existence. There is no scriptural evidence that Mary had been immoral. A church leader around 500 AD associated Mary with the immoral woman in the previous passage (Luke 7:36-50), but there is nothing in the biblical text to support that.
Mary, like the other women who also were healed from various diseases, traveled with Jesus and helped to support the whole group out of their own means. Jewish women could have their own money through inheritance, a dowry (gift from parents upon marriage), or making and selling garments (Proverbs 31:24). These women probably gathered and prepared food, washed clothes, filled water jars, repaired clothing and sandals, baked bread, and perhaps paid for shelter at an inn.
Jesus accepted their money and their service as an act of worship, love and gratitude. Other rabbis might have taken the money in an offering but never accepted their close presence. These women were blessed by just being with Him and hearing His teaching over and over again. They saw every miracle. They watched Him interact with people alongside the twelve disciples. They were unofficial disciples who became a part of the early church.
Mary Magdalene faithfully followed Jesus.
Mary Magdalene continued to support Jesus and minister to Him through His crucifixion, death and resurrection.
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. … Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. (Matthew 27:55-56, 61)
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. (Luke 23:55-24:1)
When most of Jesus’ disciples deserted Him (except for John), the women stayed close to Him during His crucifixion. They followed Joseph to the tomb. They knew exactly where Jesus’ body had been laid. Being “lowly women” (in their culture) was an advantage because they weren’t seen as a threat. They were the first to see the empty tomb on the third day. They saw the angels and heard the declarations. And they saw Jesus.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:1-2)
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, … 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. He asked her, “Woman, 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 ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:11-8)
From Luke 24:6-8, we learn that the women had been told by Jesus what would happen to Him in Jerusalem just as the twelve disciples had been warned by Him. Obviously, the women were just as guilty for not expecting the resurrection as the men were. So they carried out their plans to care for His body.
Faithful Mary went to the tomb, ready to prepare Jesus’ body properly, probably thinking this was her last opportunity to serve Him. When she saw the empty tomb, she felt helpless to find Him and to care for His body. Three times she wants to know where He has “been put.” She wants to find Him and declares, “I will get Him.” How could she do that? This is such a bold statement from one spunky woman!
Then, Jesus called her by name, and she recognized Him. Mary may have embraced Jesus physically (as did the women in Matthew 28:9-10) for the Lord responded, “Do not hold onto Me, for I have not yet returned to my Father.” She obeyed Jesus and told the news to the disciples.
Mary Magdalene was once held in spiritual bondage. Then, Jesus came into her life and set her free from that bondage. Jesus does the same for you today.
Jesus satisfies your heart with freedom from spiritual bondage.
When you put your faith in Jesus, you are set free from spiritual bondage because a greater power moves into your soul—the Holy Spirit Himself. He sets you free from the power of sin and Satan to become what God intended you to be. You are set free to serve Him wholeheartedly with the rest of your life. That’s what Jacabo did in the The Count of Monte Cristo. That’s what Mary Magdalene did in the gospels.
But there is another kind of spiritual bondage—that of expectations based on outward performance. Maybe you started out accepting the gift of salvation by faith in Jesus as a free gift. Then you have been thrown into a performance-based way of living this Christian life in order to maintain your acceptance before God or even to keep your salvation. The Bible calls this “living by law.” Living by law is bondage.
Living by works is bondage.
Living by law can be any human-driven system of works by which people attempt to approach God on their own merits or performance. I’m not talking about what is clearly taught in the New Testament about living a life that pleases God. Sin is still “sin.” I am talking about those extra rules that some person or organization devised for you to follow to be a “good Christian” and for God to love you. Such extra rules could include: how often you must go to church, which church you must attend, what kind of clothing you must wear, and things you must do or say every day to stay in God’s good favor.
The result is that you stray from enjoying a love-based relationship with Jesus to practicing a works-based religion. When you are living this way, your spiritual life is in bondage to feelings of obligation, guilt, and fear of punishment for not doing it right. Jesus died to set you free from that. He wants you to live by grace.
Living by grace is freedom.
The Bible declares this in Ephesians chapter 2,
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Here’s the key truth that will set you free from any bondage to religious performance: by grace are you saved. Grace means “undeserved favor.” It’s a gift neither you nor anyone else deserves. God gives His favor to someone not because they are good enough to deserve it but because His love chooses to do so. We all receive this grace when we trust in Jesus. That’s the gospel message.
God wants you to relate to Him now on the basis of His grace. Jesus paid the complete price for you to be set free from your sinful past. You can do nothing more to make yourself acceptable to God.
Paul understood those who had been relating to God through outward performance. For years, he had been there! He wrote how God’s abundant grace changed his life.
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:13-14)
Out of God’s mercy comes His grace to you. God’s grace is so abundant it’s like a cup overflowing. Think of a never-ending waterfall, and you are standing under it being continually refreshed. Isn’t that a beautiful word picture? Grace abundantly poured over you. This overflowing grace sets you free from whatever has you in bondage—sin, guilt, religious expectations, whatever. Paul was describing himself, but doesn’t it also describe Mary Magdalene? It also describes you.
God’s grace is His undeserved favor abundantly poured out on those who desperately need Him.
That’s what happens when you trust in Christ for your salvation. His grace overflows to you every single day. You are completely forgiven and covered in God’s grace—His gift to you of love and acceptance in His eyes. Who would say “no” to that?
Paul writes in Romans chapter 6 that we have died with Christ and are raised with Him to a new life. This new life has a new identity—you are in Christ, a child of God, totally forgiven, accepted and loved by God. That’s who you are. And, that’s been true of you since the moment you placed your faith in Jesus Christ. It is how God sees you!
This new identity sets you free to live a radically different life. You are dead to the old “you” and alive to the new “you” in Jesus.
So how do you respond to God’s grace that has freed you from spiritual bondage and gives you a chance to live a new life? You respond with love and gratitude for what Christ has done. You respond to God’s grace by saying,
I love you, Lord. I thank you, Lord. I want to approach life your way rather than my own way. I am YOUR woman, Lord, ready to serve you.
That’s what Mary Magdalene did. She responded to His grace out of love and gratitude, not out of obligation.
Grace motivates you to serve Jesus out of love and gratitude for what He has done for you.
You want to live the kind of life that pleases God because you love Him and are thankful for what He has done for you. You can freely accept Jesus’ complete payment on the cross for your every sin (past, present and future). You can freely accept that you are in Christ, a child of God, one of His saints, totally forgiven, accepted and loved by God. You can freely say, “Lord Jesus, I am YOUR woman”—today, tomorrow, and the next day. You can freely make that choice to serve Him wholeheartedly, without obligation or fear.
Mary Magdalene was once held in miserable bondage. Then, Jesus came into her life, satisfied her immediate need for freedom from bondage and gave her abundant life. Out of love and gratitude for His grace, she freely chose to travel with Him and care for His needs with money, effort and time. Mary followed Jesus to Jerusalem and was present at the cross. Responding to His grace out of love and gratitude, she was willing to love Him, obey Him, and serve Him with her life.
Have you been relating to God through outward performance, such as religious works or good deeds, with the accompanying feelings of obligation, guilt, and fear of punishment for not doing it right or not doing enough? It’s okay to be an ordinary woman who is totally committed to following Jesus and giving her life to Him. God wants you to relate to Him on the basis of His grace so that your obedience is based on His love for you, your love for Him, and gratitude for what Christ has done for you. Relax! You have been set free from whatever spiritual bondage you have experienced. Thank Him for this wonderful freedom!
Jesus satisfies your heart with freedom from spiritual bondage. As the Bible promises,
He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
Let His grace to you motivate you from this day forward to love Him, obey Him, and declare, “Lord Jesus, I am Your woman—today, tomorrow, and forever.” That’s what a satisfied heart does.
You can learn about how Jesus satisfies your heart through our two studies of New Testament women: Live Out His Love (11 lessons) and the shorter version Satisfied by His Love (6 lessons).
Related Resources:
- Live Out His Love Bible Study on Amazon
- Satisfied by His Love Bible Study on Amazon
- New Testament Women: Trust Jesus to satisfy your heart needs
- John 4: Samaritan Woman-Jesus satisfies your heart with TRUTH
- Luke 7: Immoral Woman-Jesus satisfies your heart with FORGIVENESS
- John 8: Adulterous Woman-Jesus satisfies your heart with VICTORY
- Mark 5: Desperate Woman-Jesus satisfies your heart with HOPE
- Mark 7, Luke 13.Shunned Women-Jesus satisfies your heart with KINDNESS
- Luke 7: Grieving Woman-Jesus satisfies your heart with COMPASSION
- John 11-12: Mary and Martha-Jesus satisfies your heart with LOVE
- Luke 1-2: Mary-Jesus satisfies your heart with GRACE
- Acts 9 & 16: Tabitha and Lydia-Jesus satisfies your heart with COMMUNITY
- Acts 18: Priscilla-Jesus satisfies your heart with PURPOSE
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John 11-12: Mary and Martha-Jesus satisfies your heart with LOVE