Mary Magdalene, however, is the subject of our meditations, and we thus pass by, on this occasion, the exquisite grace of the dying Saviour in commending Mary, His mother, to the care of the beloved disciple, and the less reluctantly in that it has been noticed in its place. Now it is with the Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons, that we are concerned. And what we desire to ascertain is the moral import of her taking up this position by the cross. It has already been said, and this will be understood by the youngest believer, that she was led there by her love to her Lord. It was consequently the expression of her entire devotedness. She might have indeed truly used the language of Ittai, “As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.” This was really the language of Mary’s heart, as she watched by her Lord on the cross. If, however, we would seek the meaning in its application to ourselves, there is an additional thing. The death of Christ has two aspects. In His death He glorified God in all that He is, and this constituted the atonement, the righteous foundation on which He saves His redeemed. That death may, on the other hand, be considered in its relation to us in this world. The Apostle Paul speaks of this when He says, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized unto His death?” and he shows us that he had himself entered into the truth of this when he writes—“I am crucified with Christ.” In like manner Mary Magdalene (and those with her) had, in taking up her stand by the cross, identified herself with the death of Christ. She knew nothing of this, the full meaning of her act, and yet it was so; for she was dead to all the world, and the world was dead to her, while He who hung upon the cross before her eyes was all her life. It was really the Christian’s normal state exemplified, and we may well challenge ourselves as to how far we answer to it.