Scripture: John 20:17-18 – “Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’
It happened again on TikTok.
We posted a clip from one of the messages on grief.
I got a notification that I had “a comment.” Confession, I got excited because there isn’t a ton of engagement on these videos, so I happily clicked to see what it said.
“Here we go again,” were my thoughts as I noticed all the comment said was “2 Timothy 2:12”
I’ve been around long enough to know that verse by heart.
“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”
As if that one verse undoes the entire Gospel.
Confession . . . it was late. I was REALLY tired after several days of non-stop work and trying to squeeze in a little life. So, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I googled, “What are some bizarre verses of scripture in the New Testament.”
VOILA! THE PERFECT VERSE!
Galatians 5:12. “I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!”
Yep, I replied to someone with a suggestion of castration. Odd, right?
So is saying a woman should keep quiet in the year 2025.
It’s as if Mary Magdalene didn’t stand in the garden as the first preacher of the resurrection.
As if Jesus Himself didn’t entrust the greatest news in human history to a woman.
God is not bound by human systems. And God does not wait for permission to choose God’s messengers.
In a world where women’s testimony wasn’t even legally valid, God chose Mary to proclaim the defining truth of Christianity.
Not Peter. Nor John. Nor any of the men who had fled in fear.
Jesus bypassed the system—because the Kingdom of God isn’t built on human hierarchies, but on divine calling.
Historians talk about the criterion of embarrassment—early Christians wouldn’t have made this up because it was too radical, too countercultural for a patriarchal world. If they were trying to build credibility, they wouldn’t have chosen a woman—especially one with a complicated past.
It’s always important to remember God delights in flipping the script.
The last become first.
The weak overpower the strong.
The dismissed become the messengers.
How often do we miss what God is doing because we’re looking for it to come through expected channels? The disciples almost missed the resurrection announcement because it came through Mary—someone they weren’t culturally conditioned to hear.
Jesus didn’t ask the disciples if they were okay with Mary’s role. He didn’t gather a committee.
He just sent her. And she went.
Because when Jesus calls your name and gives you a message, you don’t need approval from anyone else.
Reflection
Where have you allowed human systems to define who God can use?
Have you dismissed someone’s spiritual insight because of who they are?
If the first preacher of the resurrection was someone society deemed unqualified, then perhaps we should be slower to determine who God can use.
So when God speaks, listen—regardless of the messenger.
And never apologize for being chosen.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea