In yesterday’s DWOD, we saw the difficulty that Mary Magdalene had in recognizing Jesus. She could not tell it was Jesus by looking at Him, because she was not expecting Him to be alive. Neither did she recognize His voice when he said: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

That is why she mistakes Jesus for the gardener.

However, when Jesus calls her by name, there is instant recognition and response.

“Mary!”

“Rabboni!”

The first time Jesus talks to her, He uses 9 words (in English) spread over two sentences. The second time it is only one word.

She gets to hear Him for a longer spell the first time, yet she does not recognize His voice. But when He simply utters the one word: Mary, she knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is Jesus.

Why?

To answer this question, let us do some research on Mary Magdalene as she appears in the gospels.

She is mentioned by name 13 times. The very first occurrence is in Luke 8:2-3, where we read: “…certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.”

(By the way, the name Magdalene simply refers to the fact that she was from a place called Magdala, the way Jesus was referred to as the Nazarene because he was from Nazareth. Since there were other women named Mary associated with Jesus, this was a way of distinguishing her from the other Mary’s.)

She is identified as being one of the many women who, along with the twelve disciples “were with him.”

She is also tagged as being one of a number of women who had been healed of diseases and set free of evil spirits. Even more specifically, we are told that Jesus delivered her from the oppression of seven demons.

Finally, we are told that she was a woman of means who supported Jesus financially. (Now you know why they needed a treasurer–Judas!)

The inference from all this information given to us is that Mary Magdalene spent a fair bit of time with Jesus along his ministry journeys “through every city and village.” (8:1)

She is also singled out by Matthew, Mark and John as being one of the handful of women who stood at a distance and watched Jesus die on the cross. Furthermore, her name is also mentioned by both Matthew and Mark as being part of the group that was present when Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb.

What is also remarkable is that her name is mentioned first in all these lists except one. Clearly, she occupied a place of prominence among the women who followed Jesus. This would also explain why Peter and John came running to the tomb to check out the empty tomb when they heard the news from her. They trusted her, for they knew her well.

All of this evidence points to the fact that Mary Magdalene had heard Jesus call her by name many times before. There was a closeness, a level of intimacy that had developed between them simply because she chose to spend time with Jesus.

This is why she who had trouble recognizing His voice in a string of words had no trouble whatsoever when He simply said: “Mary!”

Dear DWOD friend, this is why you have heard us say over and over again that developing intimacy with the Lord, hearing His voice and learning how to distinguish His voice from that of the enemy as well as our own flesh are keys to advancing into your destiny.

For you too will run into situations similar to what Mary Magdalene experienced, where you may not be able to recognize Jesus visually or readily. However, if you have taken the time and the effort to hang around Him and know Him intimately, you too will have no trouble whatsoever knowing that it is He indeed who is calling you by name. And your response will also be as instant as Mary’s “Rabboni!”