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40 There were also
women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered
to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him
to Jerusalem.
When Jesus was on the
cross, Mark mentions that there were women looking on. These
women didn’t just see Jesus for the first time from a distance
while he was crucified. Mark says that they were with Jesus
back in Galilee during his ministry. They followed him and
ministered to him.
They followed Jesus.
Wherever Jesus went, they went. This was demonstrated
in the passage. Jesus was on the cross, they followed even
then. They probably understood more than the apostles of what
it meant to follow Jesus at that time.
They also ministered
to Jesus. This is a different use of the word we’re not used
to seeing. We usually ask God to minister to us, or for a
church to minister to us. But to minister to Jesus?
The word that is
translated “minister” is the Greek verb diaconeo. The root of
that word is where we get the Greek noun diaconos, which is where
we derive the English word “deacon”.
These women were
deacons to Jesus? In a way, yes. When you look to what
the original ordained deacons did, they served and cared for the
believers. They ministered to the believers. That is
what these women did for Jesus. Luke 8:3 mentions women who
ministered to Jesus out of their means. In other words, if
they had anything that belonged to them that Jesus needed, they
would give it to Jesus to care for him.
Following Jesus is
tough. But to be his minister? That’s even tougher.
It involves giving of yourself for Jesus. Most importantly,
it involves love.
Jesus says he did not
come to be served, but to serve. He’s using the same word,
diaconeo. Jesus is King. He is Lord. But yet he
says he came to serve, not to be served. These women were
served by Jesus. They were cared for. They were healed.
They were saved. Whether they were a prostitute, a
leper, or demon possessed, they were ministered to by Jesus by
being healed and forgiven. They experienced love. Their
natural response was to love back. They followed Jesus
because they loved him. They ministered to Jesus because they
loved him.
How do we minister to Christ? We
must first ask ourselves, do we love Jesus? Have we been
saved from our own brokenness in sin by the blood of Christ?
Have you experienced his love? If so, is your
response to love him back? If not, maybe you don’t quite
understand how much you need him. If you do love
him back, then follow him. Go where he has called you to go –
to go and preach the Gospel to the nations. Minister to him
wherever you are. The Church is the body of Christ.
When you minister to believers, you minister to Jesus.
When you provide food, a place to stay, a ride to Church,
visit in times of need for a fellow believer, you minister to
Jesus. Even when you give your offerings to your church so
they can pay their bills and mortgage, you are ministering to
Jesus. And while you’re doing this, you do it because you
love Jesus. Not because you want glory, attention or fame.
You simply want to follow and minister to the one who saved
you.
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