I always enjoy Liz Curtis Higgs. She is both humorous and a great Bible teacher. I previously read her book The Women of Christmas, and
this book follows the same format. Liz takes an in depth look at the
women in the Biblical narrative of Easter, Jesus' path to Calvary, his
death by crucifixion and his resurrection three days later. The three
women we study in the story are the Marys: Mary of Bethany, Mary of
Nazareth and Mary Magdalene.
The first Mary Jesus interacts with
is Mary of Bethany, the sister who sat at Jesus' feet in the story of
Mary and Martha. Liz talks about that story, as well as the death of
their brother Lazaraus, whom Jesus raised from the dead after four
days. Finally we see Mary anointing Jesus' feet with perfume in a
public act of adoration.
Next we learn of Mary of Nazareth,
Jesus' mother. We read how Mary was a witness to her son's crucifixion,
an agony I can't even begin to imagine as a mother. Standing with her
beneath the cross was our third Mary, Mary of Magdalene.
Mary
Magdalene was a walking miracle and a testament to Jesus' healing
power. Jesus had cast seven demons from her and she became one of his
most loyal followers. Mary was also one of the women who went to the
tomb where Jesus body had been placed, intending to prepare it for
burial. And then, on the third day, Mary is among the group of women who
are the first to discover the joy of Easter, that Jesus is alive! A
little while later, she is first again as she encounters the resurrected Christ in the garden.
Liz does a wonderful job of digging into these women's personalities and helping the reader feel what they must have felt and see what they saw. If you'd like to dig further into the Easter story and see it in a new light, this is the perfect book for you.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
