Seekers and Friends · Week 3 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Mary Magdalene
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
What the sources say
Nearly everything reliable about Mary Magdalene comes from the four Gospels. Her name points to blank 1, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Luke 8:1–3 says seven demons had gone out of her. It lists her first among the women who accompanied Jesus and the Twelve and provided for them out of their resources. She was a blank 2 and a benefactor of the mission.
All four Gospels then place her at the blank 3 moments: near the cross, at the burial and at the empty tomb. Whenever the Gospels list the women at these events, her name is there, and it usually comes first.
A witness and her reputation
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| c. 28–30 | Write your answer |
| c. 30–33 | Write your answer |
| c. 591 | Write your answer |
| Middle Ages | Write your answer |
| 1969 | Write your answer |
| 2016 | Write your answer |
“I have seen the Lord”
John 20 tells the encounter in detail. Mary comes to the tomb while it is still dark, finds the stone removed and runs to blank 4 and the beloved disciple. They look and go home. She stays, weeping.
She turns and sees Jesus but takes him for the gardener. He says, “Mary!” She answers, “Rabbouni,” blank 5. Recognition comes through being called by name.
Jesus tells her not to hold on to him and sends her to his brothers. She announces, “I have seen the Lord.” blank 6 and Luke record that the women’s report was not believed at first.
The Gospels were written in a world that gave women’s testimony little public weight. They name her as first blank 7 anyway.
Apply it
A classmate says, “The Bible calls Mary Magdalene a prostitute.” Which reply is most accurate? Circle one.
- A True: Luke 7 names her as the sinful woman
- B True: John 8 names her as the accused woman
- C False: the Gospels never mention her life before Easter
- D False: no Gospel says it; the idea comes from a later merging
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
Peter and the beloved disciple saw the empty tomb and went home. Mary stayed. What does the account most suggest about witness? Circle one.
- A Seeing evidence quickly is enough to make a witness
- B Faithful presence came before the encounter and the mission
- C Witness belongs only to those who hold an office
- D Grief makes a person’s testimony less reliable
Why is that the right answer?
Take a side
Mary Magdalene’s witness began with staying physically present at the cross and the tomb. Resolved: Support given through a screen can be as real as showing up in person.
My side: ☐ Agree ☐ Disagree
- What did Mary’s presence at the cross accomplish, if anything, and for whom?
- When distance, illness or cost make showing up impossible, is a call or message second best or simply different?
- Does a reaction, a repost or a comment cost the sender anything? Does cost matter?
- Christian faith centers on God becoming flesh and on a bodily Resurrection. What does that imply about presence?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
“I have seen the Lord.”
John 20:18
Risen Lord, you called Mary by name and sent her out.
Keep us faithful when presence costs us something.
Make our words true, wherever we speak them.
St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
The Church celebrates St. Mary Magdalene on July 22 as the first witness of the Resurrection and Apostle of the Apostles.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Mary Magdalene shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: This week, replace one message you would have sent with showing up in person. And if you hear a label put on someone, check it against the facts before you repeat it.