Have you ever considered the phrase, “Saved By Grace”? During this Lenten season I have been watching the series called The Chosen. I was motivated to join podcaster Annie F. Downs. Rather than removing something from her life this season, she planned to add something. She committed to watching one episode a day leading up to Easter. I thought this seemed like something I needed in my life right now, so I have committed to joining her.

The series is Biblically accurate, but it does take some creative liberties to add detail and conversations not necessarily documented in the Bible. One episode in particular really stuck with me, and I wanted to share.

Luke 8:2 “and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had come out;” 

Grace Is Given, Not Earned

Mary Magdalene was a woman who encountered Jesus, and she was possessed by several demons. In the series, Jesus called her by her given name, “Mary,” and the demons left her. He invited her to follow Him, and she did. In a later episode, it shows Mary struggling after witnessing another man with a demon present. It depicts her leaving the camp of Jesus and the other disciples to go back to the life she once lived. Jesus had sent Simon and Matthew to find her and bring her back. The moment that had a profound impact on me was the conversation between Mary and Jesus when she returned.

Granted, this interaction was not documented in the Bible, but it lines up with the truth of the Gospel. Mary was clearly ashamed of her behavior and felt unworthy of being part of Jesus’ mission. In this scene, he did not respond in the way that you would expect. His goal was not to condemn her or blame her. She went on to tell Jesus how she was not enough for Him. He responded by saying, “I do not expect you to be enough. My Father only wants your heart.”

Mary, still unable to accept this sort of grace, replied, “You have already redeemed me once. I can’t ask you to do that again.” The way Jesus responded at this moment hit me. He said, “If what I did for you can be undone by your actions in one day, then what I did isn’t really worth much.”

Jesus Is Enough

The gravity of that rang in my head for several days. So often I find myself in Mary’s position. I minimize what Jesus has done for me by thinking I am powerful enough to undo it or that I’m now held to some sort of standard of perfection to maintain my salvation. Seeing the kind eyes of the actor portraying Jesus and seeing Mary hang her head in shame while she cried was powerful. Jesus then says, “I forgive you. It’s behind us.” And He calls her out of His tent to join the others by the fire.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.”

There are so many takeaways in this short interaction. First, we need to stop minimizing what Jesus did for us on the cross. It was no small act, and we are not powerful enough to undo what God has done. Salvation is a gift. Jesus knew the cost and chose to surrender anyway. The only way to show love and appreciation is by accepting his gift and being grateful for it.

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Be Like Jesus

The other lesson I took from this was the way Jesus responded to her. He did not respond in the way you would expect. We are conditioned by a world full of sinners to be ashamed of ourselves. We believe we deserve to be shamed, blamed and even punished for our mistakes. Jesus met Mary at this moment with nothing but love and forgiveness. What if we treated each other this way? Or even treated ourselves with this kind of grace. This is what God wants from us and for us. He wants us to act like Jesus. If we were able to do that, oh, what a world it would be.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

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