Notes of Faith July 13, 2024

Look-Alikes: The Obedience of Mary Magdalene

“Go to My brethren” .... Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the [resurrected] Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

John 20:17-18

When a parent tells a child, “Go to the pantry and choose a chocolate treat for yourself,” how much of a test of obedience is involved? Very little, as the assigned task is one the child would delight in. There is no danger or sacrifice involved, no weighing of priorities or inconvenience—all factors which challenge the notion of obedience.

Jesus’ entire earthly life was lived in obedience to God, often (and ultimately) at great cost. He said, “The Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.... Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak” (John 12:49-50). As a disciple of Jesus, Mary Magdalene did the same thing in obeying Jesus. When she encountered the resurrected Jesus, He told her to take a message to the other disciples—and she obeyed instantly. In the midst of questions and confusion, she obeyed her Lord.

Delayed obedience is disobedience. Consider today how you might faithfully obey God regardless of the cost.

Beware of reasoning about God’s Word—obey it.

Oswald Chambers

John 12:49-50

49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

Jesus is God the Son. He was sent from God the Father to earth to speak truth from God. Jesus and the Father are One. When we understand the truth of God and the truth of the Scriptures, His Word, we know that God is One, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us daily draw close to the Father, through the grace provided us through believing in Jesus Christ, and the power living within the believer, the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale