Following the fourth Wiseman- Seeing the tree for the first time

April 2, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

The day is hot. So hot that our traveler has to seek shade. He finds an olive tree and goes to sit under it. Another man is there, staring at the branches. As our traveler sat near him he noticed that the man stared with such wonder that he was like a child seeing something for the first time.

“May I ask, why are you staring at the tree?” Our traveler inquires.

“Sir. It is the first time I have ever seen such a tree.”

“An olive tree? But they grow many places and in great numbers around this area.”

“Yes. But you see, I have been blind. May I tell you part of my tale?”

“I would love to hear what you have to say.”

John 9:1, 6-7, 32-41 ESV
[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
[6] Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud [7] and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Our traveler felt tears warm his eyes.

“That’s not all!” The man stated. “Some people brought me to the Pharisees to speak with them, but they refused to accept my testimony.”

[32] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [34] They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

The man smiled even brighter. “I was very upset about this at the time. How could they react in such a way? But then I had a blessing come from my trial, Jesus came to me when He heard I had been cast out!”

[35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” [36] He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” [37] Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” [38] He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. [39] Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” [40] Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” [41] Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

The man slapped his knee. “So you see, I am experiencing this tree for the first time, and it’s so beautiful!”

Our traveler looks at the tree and touches it’s bark, “I never noticed before. But yes, it is beautiful.”

Jesus heard that the blind man had been cast out of the assembly where the pharisees were, and He came to him.
So many want to complain that the church was unkind to them. And that because of this, I don’t want anything to do with the church or with Jesus or with Christians. Let’s start with saying that. Not all churches are like that, and even in a church that is like that. Not all of the members will be like that, so don’t throw the church away because of a bad experience. You may find a church that accepts and loves you. And helps you to grow and to become closer to Christ. You just have to not give up. The second thing I want to say on this is that when the man was cast out of the church, cast out by the pharisees, Jesus came to him. Jesus did not look at this man and except that he was thrown away. He looked at him as someone He cherished and when he was cast out by the religious leaders, Jesus went and found him. We may be cast out of a lot of places due to our love of Jesus and our belief in him. We may even be cast out of our church because we refuse to deny the truth of the Bible, the whole Bible. However, we are never cast out from Jesus. There will come a day when those who are not Christians or those who are false Christians are removed, from those who are true Christians, as odd as that sometimes sounds. But we who are members of the body of Christ. We who love Jesus. We who are part of Him. Will never be cast out. We will always have a place where we belong and that place is with the Savior.

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · True Joy

Following the fourth Wiseman- A speck in the crowd

March 29, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

The word had hit the streets two days before. The man called Jesus was teaching on the hillside. Our traveler had been jostled and bumped through the crowds for hours. He was no longer the only one seeking the Messiah and it was almost a fight to even reach His destination.
Exhausted, dirty, and bruised our traveler finally reaches the hill where Jesus was speaking. He was joyful and discouraged to see that there were so many people he could not even count them all. There was no way he would reach the Messiah at this point. He was a speck in the crowd. Our traveler decided to sit down with the others and listen to what his King was saying. As time went on he began to feel hungry. He looked around and realized that he was not the only one. Then there was a shifting in the crowd, the deciples of Jesus were walking through, speaking to people. Next he saw a small boy stand and walk with the deciples toward Jesus. Later he learned what had happened.

John 6:1-13 ESV
[1] After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. [2] And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. [3] Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. [4] Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. [5] Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” [6] He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. [7] Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” [8] One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, [9] “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” [10] Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. [12] And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” [13] So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

Our traveler sat with food in his hands that could only have been a gift from God. He wondered at it. He wondered at how he had been so blessed as to see these things and to hear the words of his King. The others had seen the child, the other Wisemen had given their gifts and had blessed Him and been blessed by His presence. Yet he, the one whom he had thought had missed out, was now seeing the miracles of the man who was God.

So often we feel we have missed our chance. Imagine always being so close to your desire and never reaching it? We leave our traveler in a crowd where he would be like a where’s Waldo picture, such a small part of something so big. Yet, even when we feel like we are just a spring inside the massive clock of life, Jesus still sees us. He still offers us His love. We can feel like we have missed our moment. Like God could not use us because we have fallen too far behind. But He has a purpose. We are never too far gone. He is always with us and someday we will see His reason.

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting

Following the fourth Wiseman- those who believe are truly free

March 27, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Our traveler is amazed as he ponders all the things the priests complained about the Messiah saying.

John 5:19-21, 24 ESV
[19] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. [20] For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. [21] For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
[24] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
He had never heard such words before. Now we who believe have passed from death to life. It is so simple. All the sacrifices at the temple, vanished with the words the King spoke. He would free them from judgment by His own power. Our traveler stopped for a moment.

“But how? What sacrifice will take the place of all of these?”

We know that Jesus is God. Yet there were many back in Jesus’s time and there are still many now who want to claim otherwise. They say He was just a nice man, a prophet, a magician, a rebel, an outlaw. People are afraid of Jesus. His purity and complete love and forgiveness is so different from what this broken world shows and teaches that people don’t want to touch it. It scares them. Yet despite that Jesus keeps reaching out. Like a person reaching toward a dog that does not understand good intentions, Jesus relentlessly stretches towards us. Just like that dog we bite at His hand and run away. But because He loves us He chases after us. Paitent and determined. He is always reaching out, all you have to do is reach back.

Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting

Following the fourth Wiseman- Are you still at the pool?

March 25, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

We rejoin our traveler as he walks the darkened cobbled path that he had been directed to by a merchant in the market. The groans of the ill and the smell of the street makes his stomach turn.

“I believe He can do it again!” Says a man laying on the stones, his legs bandaged.

“It was a fluke. Some strange medicine from another land.” Replies another.

“Medicine that could make a man you and I have seen to be crippled for all the years we have been here, get up and walk?”

“You think too much.”

“I have hope. If He healed one He may return to heal more.”

Our traveler walks over to the two men who are speaking and asks them of what they speak?

“None of your business.” The one replies, but the other, smiles.

John 5:2-3, 5-9 ESV
[2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. [3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
[5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” [9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

“Can you believe it?” The man asks excitedly.

Our traveler nods his head, “Yes. I certainly can.”

Our traveler goes back to the market and buys bread and fruit and returns to the alley where he dispenses the food between the people there.

I have always had trouble with the pool of Bethesda. Not the mystery of it, there could have been something God was doing there, or ot could have been a mineral pool. We do know there were stories of people who went in and came out healed. What bothers me is the healed man. There were most likely many people there. Near that exact spot. All of them. Every. Single. One. Needed healing. Yet, Jesus chose to heal only one. I don’t understand that. I never will. Sometimes we see someone receive something that we deserved. We were just as good, we worked just as hard. Yet we walk away with nothing. Why? We cannot always understand God’s will. There are times when it confounds us to the place of doubt. Yet He is still good. Remember what the three Hebrew boys said in Daniel? “And if not He is still good.” To have that faith. To watch the Messiah heal one man and walk away when there were many others there who needed Him just confuses me to no end. But He had a reason. We still don’t know what that reason was. Was it the man’s faith? Jeuss does not say so. Was it because he was Jewish? There were probably other Jewish people there. Was it simply because he had been there the longest? Perhaps he had prayed and Jesus had come in answer to that prayer? We won’t know the answer until we see Jesus ourselves and ask Him. Even if you are the man in the alley, still crippled; or the woman on the stairs, still blind. Jesus has not overlooked you. He sees you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life just as you are now. Would a miracle be great? Of course. But sometimes He only heals one, yet He still has a path for the others. Don’t lose hope because you are still sitting by the well. He sees you, He knows you, He understands you, and He has not forgotten you.

Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting

Following the fourth Wiseman- Even from a distance He is close to us

March 23, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

A young child bumps into our traveler on the street. He looks up, his eyes all lit with the joy of play and apologizes before running off. Our traveler smiles and begins to carry on his way when he hears two women speaking.

“It’s so wonderful to see him running like that again.” Says one woman.

“Yes. He’s such a nice boy. Polite and thoughtful. If he had not made it it would have crushed his family.” Replies the other.

“But how he lived is the amazing part. I heard that he was blessed by that man who is traveling and healing people.”

“Yes. And He did not even come to the house.”

Our traveler walks over to the two women and asks them if they would be willing to tell him what they had heard?

John 4:46-53 ESV
[46] So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. [47] When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. [48] So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” [49] The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” [50] Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. [51] As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. [52] So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” [53] The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

Our traveler smiles, thanks the women and walks away. He has healed someone. He was not even close by and He healed this child. Our traveler shakes his head, he is always so close and yet still he can’t seem to catch up to the Messiah.

We think that Jesus has to be physically present to preform miracles. We feel at times that if we do not feel Him close by He is not there to help us. But that is never true. Jesus is as close as the mention of His name. We do not have to lay hands on a person for our prayers to make a difference, because Jesus is with all of us, always. Jesus loves us. He can heal and save even if we are not near the person we are praying for, and even if we do not feel His presence, He is always right here! What a savior He is.

Christianity · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Following the fourth Wiseman- the well

March 22, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Our traveler sits on the edge of a well, wiping cool water across his face. He drinks from the well and then gives water to his camel who drinks deeply from the water satchel that the man holds. Suddenly a woman comes up to him and shakes his arm. In horror he almost drops the satchel. People in these parts were dangerous to his people, even the women could be a threat.

“W-what is it you want?” Our traveler stutters.

The woman, her face filled with a glow states excitedly. “Have you yet heard of the man? He told me everything I ever did!”

Intrigued and with a suspicion of who the man might be, our traveler asks her to tell her story.

John 4:7, 9-10, 14, 32, 34-35 ESV
[7] A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
[9] The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) [10] Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
[14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

She shuddered with excitement and continued, saying, “so I ran to the village and told all the people.”

John 4:29 ESV
[29] “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

“Can you believe that!?!”

Our traveler smiles, “oh yes. I can believe it. Which way did He go?”

The woman points and our traveler takes his camel’s halter and leads him once again in the footsteps of the Messiah.

Can you imagine? It’s a typical day. You go to draw water like every day. There’s a man there, but that’s not strange. Suddenly He speaks to you. A person of low social standing and of a part of the country that is hostile with His part of the country. Not only does He speak, but He speaks in riddles. You’re confused, possibly irritable and then you look into His eyes as He says John 4:26 ESV
[26] Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
You can see from the light and kindness in His eyes that He is not crazy or cruel and teasing. He’s telling you the truth. He is the one you have waited for. More than that. He has come to speak to you. A lowly and sinful woman from a people who have been told they are less, unwanted, unloved even by the master. (Not completely Unjustly, the Samaritans had been known to attack Jews when they came to their cities.) Now you stand face to face with the God you had been told would not love you. What does He say? I will give you living water. I am the Messiah you have waited for. He tells you that you are welcome to come and be part of His Kingdom. There we see Jesus. Reaching out to those who hated Him and were hated by others. There we see the haters and the hated change and be renewed as people who seek and love God. Drink of the living water and never thirst again.

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting

Following the fourth Wiseman-Nicodemus

March 20, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

As our traveler makes his way through the city he is stopped suddenly by one of the Pharisees. Our traveler is concerned, he knows his beloved Messiah is not someone the Pharisees approve of. Perhaps he is about to be accosted because he has been seen as one of His followers?
“I hear you have been wandering around and asking questions about the man from Nazareth?” The Pharisee inquires.

Our traveler nods his head.

“Why?” The Pharisee presses.

“Because I believe He is someone I… no…we, have searched for for a long time.”

“You must keep such thoughts to yourself. You would not be safe saying them to anyone else.” Our Pharisee smiles. “That being said. Would you like to hear of my own meeting with Him?”

Our traveler smiles back, “let’s go someplace quieter.”

The two strangers find a safe side road and begin their conversation.

John 3:1-5 ESV
[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2] This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” [3] Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [4] Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” [5] Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Our traveler is anxious little confused and very excited. “He said these things?”

“Yes, and more. I feel… like I am new after speaking with Him.”

“Which direction did He go when He left?”

“I’m not sure. I was in such awe I did not watch Him leave. If I learn more of Him I will seek for you and let you know.”

Our traveler thanks the Pharisee and leaves.

Jesus often spoke in riddles so that you could not understand without the teaching of the Holy Spirit. He did this as part of the narrow road. That may not make sense to all, but we must we recall the verse where He says this. It was also a custom of the time to speak in parables. The reason Nicodemus was confused was not because he was unskilled or uneducated, he was a priest and very knowledgeable. Yet Jesus’s words confounded him. Why? Because Jesus was speaking of a kingdom that the Pharisees and other leaders had not even thought of. A kingdom where all who come to the narrow gate may enter Heaven if they are washed by the blood of the Lamb. The gate is still open and still confounds some, but others find it and understand. Don’t ignore the open gate. There will come a time when it closes. Walk through it, and be with Jesus.
Fourth Sunday:

Christianity · Devotional · guidance · Jesus · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting

Following the fourth Wiseman- the cleansing of the temple

March 19, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Our traveler has come to a place where he feels nothing about his Messiah will surprise him anymore. Little does he know that the upcoming passover would be one for the record books.

A flood of doves stand lazily on the roof tops of the buildings and stalls. Sheep ran through the streets. Our traveler barley manages to avoid having his knees knocked out from under him by an oncoming oxen. He looks around and sees utter chaos. He was on his way to the temple. Just because he was in search of the Messiah did not mean he was going to forsake his duties as godly man. As he began climbing the steps he could hear people inside complaining. He lowered his head respectfully and inquired of those inside, asking them what had happened? Was it an earthquake? Perhaps a Roman raid?

The men snorted. “A raid? Don’t be ridiculous. We still have our heads do we not? No, this was one man. Some sort of… zealot or something. You won’t believe what He did.”

John 2:13-17 ESV
[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. [15] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” [17] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Our traveler held back a grin and nodded his head. “That must have been very shocking for you.”

“Outrageous is the word!”

Our traveler left the temple and the two men. As he made his way down the steps he shook his head gently.

“My Lord, what are doing?” He whispered, “you are making powerful enemies.”

We love to remember Jesus throwing the tables and chasing the hapless tradesman with his homemade whip. But we must recall why He did it. These people had defiled the Father’s house. They had dishonored God. So Jesus who was pure and righteous cast them out of the temple. There are still people today who want to defile the temple. They blasphemy from the alter, they hang sinful flags, we have a church nearby that permits sacrilegious rituals inside their church, why? For money. See, the money changers never really left the temple. There are still places where their evil hand still holds. If Jesus came into the modern church I wonder how many tables He would flip? This act of Jesus brought about enemies. Enemies that now had a claim to present. He caused carnage within the temple. But these people should have seen that it was they who had defiled God’s holy place, it was Jesus who cleansed it. Our hearts are also temples to the Lord. Have we permitted things to set up booth within our souls that does not belong? When Jesus comes to clean our temple out, will we let Him?

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Following the fourth Wiseman- the wedding

March 18, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

We find Our traveler sitting down at a small outdoor food stall. He sips his water and tears at his bread, but his ears are alert! Something has been on the air. A buzz of some sort of gossip. He has heard small bits and peices but has yet to hear the whole tale. Yet, he knows in his bones that the word that is being spread is about his Messiah. A small boy stumbles past and our traveler reaches out to catch his arm.

“Whose house do you serve in child?” Our Traveler asks.

The boy looks carefully at the stranger and sees he has gentle eyes. “I serve the bread maker sir.”

Our traveler smiles, “is there any chance you were at the wedding that happened recently?”

The boy pulls away, “my master forbids me to speak of it.”

Our traveler is confused, “but why? I heard something wonderful happened.”

The boy grins, “wonderful and mysterious.” He looks around, “there…was a miracle.”

Our traveler leans closer to the child and drops his voice, “really?”

“Yes. Not just any miracle, but one like stories from the days of our ancestors. Let me tell you what I heard and saw.”

John 2:7-11 ESV
[7] Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. [8] And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. [9] When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom [10] and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” [11] This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
Our traveler smiles, “do you know who the man was?”

The boy shakes his head, “One of the guests I suppose.”

Our traveler thanks the boy for his tale and gives him some money. As the child leaves our traveler whispers to him, “imagine, if that guest were someone great. Perhaps even, the Messiah.”

The boy looks at our traveler with a show of shock and then a smile creeps over his face, “yes. Imagine of he were.”

The feast at Cana was not really supposed to be the first sign. Jesus Himself says so. If you asked me I would say that the first sign was the fish overflowing the nets. However, the water turned to wine is considered the first sign. Jesus’s time was not yet, however His mother insisted He help when the risk of public ridicule loomed by the wine running out early. Jesus was pure, meaning He obeyed His human mother and showed His first public miracle. Many have tried to show how He might have done this. Many have found suggestions. Yet the truth is He turned water into wine by His authority over the earth. A true miracle. For those who want to claim it ws a trick, it would be nice if someone reminded them that no one expected the wine to run out and that Jesus would have to change the water. Even the greatest magician needs time and planning. This could not have been set up. Also, there were witnesses. Up close where they could see all that was happening, not in a crowded room from down in the bleachers wher you cant really see what is being done. There was no chance for slight of hand. This was a miracle. No matter what people say. Jesus began His signs and wonders with this insignificant problem. Which reminds us of how loved we are. Even when we run out of drink at a wedding Jesus cares enough to provide.

Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · True Joy

Following the fourth Wiseman- the abandoned, forgotten, broken and in need

March 16, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Luke 8:1-3 ESV

[1] Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, [2] and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, [3] and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
We don’t really talk about the women who followed Jesus, and when we do people get hung up on what they had been before following Jesus more than who they were after they had met Him. There were actually several women who followed Jesus, but people like to focus on Mary. Why? Because they like to use Mary to make Jesus seem like He was less holy than the True God He is. Mary had been a woman of ill repute. She had been someone that one who was Holy should not have spent time with, but that’s not the person she remained. People act as if the Mary who followed Jesus was the same Mary who was known for her lifestyle. But this was a different Mary. Just like Joanna was a different Joanna, and Susanna was a different Susanna and the ladies whose names are not listed here but some who are listed elsewhere, are not the same women they had been before they met Jesus. The men who followed Jesus had changed after meeting Him and so had the women. Jesus cast the demons out of these women, He had not let them stay in and just let them follow Him the way they were. The gospels are books of transformation. Not books of stagnancy.
When exploring abandoned buildings, what is the most dangerous thing you will find? Standing water. Why? Because it has sat there, unmoving, rotting under the surface and breeding disease and parasites that become poison and toxins. People are like that. If they stay in their sin and brokenness long enough, separated from the stirring and renewing love of God, they become defiled, their souls rot and they become toxic. But Jesus is like a pound of pure chlorine to such souls. If these people let Him into their lives, He will cleanse them and save them until they are clean springs of fresh water again. That is what He did for the women who followed Him.
Jesus reached out the women who no one else would love. Not in some radical defiance of God’s law, but in fulfillment of God’s law. He loved the widow and the orphan and was the husband to the husbandless and He cast the demons out of those who were trapped by them. These women then changed and became followers of Jesus. They should not be remembered for what they were when they were lost in their sin, they should be remembered for how Jesus changed them.
This then ends our calling of the disciples. There were many who chose to follow Jesus, but here we cover those who were His first and most devoted followers.
As we close this section we see our Traveler again, walking along the shore, still searching for his Messiah. Only now he knows His name, and the names of some of His people. Now he is more excited than ever to walk in the footsteps that his King has left behind.