During the crucifixion of Christ even though Mary Magdalene was with a number of other women watching what was taking place from a distance, at some point she was compelled to come and stand at the foot of the Cross along with the mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Clopas and John the beloved who was also standing nearby. This is recorded for us in John’s Gospel, but we have no record of this in any of the other three Gospels. We have been focusing on the fact that Mary Magdalene was the first person Jesus revealed himself to after his resurrection and we have been looking to discover what were those things that characterized Mary Magdalene’s relationship with Christ that would cause him to honor her in such a way with that incredible encounter in the garden on that first Easter morning.
What motivated John to include this story about Mary of Bethany (another title for Mary Magdalene) in his gospel when none of the other three writers felt compelled to add this vital part of the story to what they wrote? It is obvious that everyone knew the fact that Mary Magdalene had made her way to the foot of the Cross, and yet only John writes about it. Her presence at the Cross is spoken of in John 19:25, but I want you to notice something about verse 26 that I think gives us some insight as to why only John was allowed the honor of sharing this detail about Mary of Bethany. “When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby…” (John 19:26).
The grammar of that verse should be written this way, “… And the disciple whom He was always loving…” If you remember, when John laid his head on the breast of Jesus in John 13 the night before his crucifixion at the inaugural Eucharistic event, John refers to himself for the first time as the “disciple whom Jesus was always loving.” Every other time in the gospel of John, when John refers to himself, he refers to himself in the same way. This truth had become a fundamental part of his identity, and because of that night, when he heard the heartbeat of Jesus for him and the whole world, he became an extravagant lover of Christ; thus, history tells us that John’s title became “John the Beloved.” Nobody wrote more about the love of God that the apostle John, and I believe he had a special affinity for Mary Magdalene, for he knew how Jesus had wrecked her heart and how she too had become an extravagant lover of Christ. Mary Magdalene was the first person that Jesus revealed himself to in the resurrection, but John was the first person who believed, and he believed before he ever saw the resurrected Christ (John 20:8). John and Mary of Bethany carried a common heart, and I believe that is why the Holy Spirit gave only John permission to write about the fact that she could not stay away from the Cross, where the love of Jesus was so poured out. She had to be there in His presence, under that fountain. There she was again, at the feet of Jesus. It was lovesick madness that drove her there, and that is why John added this story to his account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was merely a matter of one lovesick worshiper honoring another one.