Let's consider how God made the first woman for the first Adam. This account will tell us something about how God will provide a bride for the last Adam, for Jesus. So how does the Father make the bride? What is the wisdom of God in creating the woman? He takes Adam, who has been made perfect and whole and brings upon him a profound, a deep sleep, a deathlike sleep. Although Adam is still innocent, he has committed no crime, he's broken no law, he is innocent, nonetheless in his innocence he is wounded by Father God. Father God pierces his side and takes from his side that substance with which He creates the bride of Adam's delight. He creates the woman in all of her loveliness and purity and perfection. Then He heals Adam of his wounding, and awakens him to behold his bride in all of her beauty and innocence and loveliness. That is the wisdom of God in creating the woman for man. And in doing that in Eden, Father God was showing His Son in glory, the Son destined to become a man how He would provide a bride for Him. And how does He do that? John tells us that Father God brought the New Adam to a cross. And this New Adam too was innocent, yet He too must be wounded. And Jesus too had to endure the sleep of death and a fearful wounding. And so He willingly surrendered Himself. He knowingly bowed His head in death, lowered His head in death, knowing that after Father God had brought upon Him the sleep of death, His side too must be opened. And out of that wounding will come the water and the blood. Father God will take the blood for the bride's purchase. The water will be for her purity. And God will fashion a community that will be the bride of Christ from the wounding of His innocent Son. And so God will put His Son into a garden again. And He will heal His Son of His wounding. And then He will raise Jesus, the New Adam, to life again in a garden. The first Adam made a garden into a grave but this Adam will make the grave into a garden. And so all of heaven is saying on resurrection morning, "Who is she that will be chosen by Father God to represent the new Eve? Who is the one who for beauty and for purity can represent Eve as a type and an anti-type? Who is it that Father God in His wisdom will select to represent Eve in all of her purity, one made suitable for the New Adam in all His glory? And when the Lord awakens from death, His side, having been healed so that his bride like Eve can recognize Him by His scar, when Jesus awakens from death and comes forth from the earth like Adam of old, the woman that He sees, the one selected to represent the bride of Christ, the new Eve, is Mary Magdalene. And Jesus calls her by that glorious name that Adam had used of Eve when he first saw her. "She shall be called woman," said Adam. And Jesus says, "Woman, why do you weep?" And Mary recognizes Jesus when He calls her by name. And she embraces him and wants to cleave unto him, but it is not yet the appointed time. Our Lord Christ will respect all of the provisions of the law. It is not His wedding day. And it is a spiritual marriage to the entire body of the elect to which He has been given. He looks ahead to that day yet future when all of us have been cleansed of our defilements and, as one great body, one glorious bride, we with Mary will be given by Father God to the hand of His beloved Son, to the nail pierced hand, of our precious Lord. That is the second portrait of Mary, according to the evangelist. Mary is a new Eve. The evangelist has already shown us how Mary is like the high priest by the way the evangelist frames his gospel. Mary is the one who is like the high priest. He likewise frames her portrait again, and she is like the new Eve, like Eve before the fall. Her virginity and her purity have been restored to her, don't you see? In the natural that would be impossible. But the God of the supernatural can accomplish the impossible. What an amazing portrait, two amazing portraits actually, of Mary Magdalene and her role in the history of redemption! But the evangelists' picture of Mary is still not yet finished. There are other frames to show you how they regarded Mary Magdalene. This morning I only have time to share one of them, one final frame. One other picture of Mary Magdalene! And what is that? God in His providence had ordained that the birth of our Lord would pre-figure His resurrection. Did you ever notice that? The nativity of our Lord is a picture of the resurrection of Christ. Everything is arranged in the providence of God. No one could have cunningly devised such a "fable." It was all in the good providence of God! What is the account of the birth of our Lord? And how does this story anticipate the resurrection of Jesus from death? The nativity of Jesus is a story about a miracle. Here is a Child who is coming forth from the womb of a virgin, a womb where "no man had lain." This Child comes forth from the womb of a virgin. What child ever came forth, could ever come forth from the womb of a virgin? It could never happen in the natural world. A womb where no man had lain! And so they took that Child, when He was born, and they wrapped Him in swaddling bands. They wrap His body up entire in swaddling clothes. And they laid him in a manger. Now to see what the manger represents you have to understand that mangers in the ancient Orient were made of hollowed out limestone block. They weren't the wooden mangers that we see in our manger scenes. They were hollowed out limestone. So Mary and Joseph took this Baby and wrapped Him up like a mummy and set Him in this hollowed out stone box. What does that look like to the eyes of faith? And consider the story. Who is it that's doing that? This is a story about a Mary and a Joseph. Mary of Galilee and Joseph of Bethlehem care for this Baby is such a manner, just before He must receive the bloody wound of circumcision. Moreover, the nativity story is the account of those who come from the East, the Magi, who bring gifts of frankincense and myrrh, the spices and oils that represent death. Why death at a time of birth and celebration? And it is a time when the angels come to earth and they celebrate God's goodness in giving this Son. They teach us to sing for joy for the news that the Son of God has been born into the world. What is God intending in this story of the nativity of Christ? At the resurrection, at our Lord's new birth, He comes forth from a tomb where "no man had lain." It is a "virgin" tomb. Jesus had been wrapped in the cloth bands of death, the linen wrappings of burial, having received the bloody wound of the cross. This time it is the women who bring Him spices. Our Lord had said to the disciples, "When you see this happening, you will lament and weep like a woman when her labor comes upon her. But then of a sudden your weeping will be turned to joy for delight that a boy is born into the world." That's how our Lord described the sorrow and joy that would attend His death and resurrection. What is the picture at the garden tomb? Consider the account of the tomb on resurrection morning. There are angels announcing good news to men. Here is Christ coming forth from the virgin tomb, laying aside His grave clothes. It is a story of Joseph of Arimathea, most particularly, and of Mary Magdalene. And Mary is bringing spices. And Mary comes in great sorrow. She comes with many tears and with anguish of soul. But then the word of the angels comes to Mary, "Mary, He has no need of spices, and you have no need of tears!" Mary's great sorrow suddenly turns to great joy when she sees her Lord, when she sees her precious Jesus given to her. What a redemption! The Magdalene is the new Mary of Nazareth! Three pictures! These are but three of the pictures drawn by our evangelists to show us various aspects of the role of Mary in the history of redemption. Mary Magdalene is given the honor of the high priest of Israel. That is her place and her privilege. All the defilements of the devil are done. She is made into the image of one who wore on his forehead not the shameless brow of the whore, who had forgotten to blush for shame, but rather "holiness to the Lord!" That is Mary Magdalene! She is given the privilege of representing the bride of Christ for the new Adam. All of this is to speak again of a great purity restored to one who had been greatly defiled. And lastly, she is given the great privilege of being the Galilean Mary who witnesses the new birth of our Lord from the tomb where no man had lain. Once again, speaking of a spiritual virginity that was like Mary before her, and that had, in God's good providence, been restored. That was but some of what Mary Magdalene witnessed on that first Easter morning. These are but three of a number of such frames the Gospel writers use to tell us her story.

So then Mary is both the fallen and redeemed church; the apple of God's eye.

Wisdom hath builded Her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars. PROV 9:1

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