Was Mary the Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18).
Who was Mary Magdalene? Was she devil possessed? Was she a harlot? Was she the woman who wept over Jesus’ feet? History is not a settled account; it is forever shifting with the winds of discovery. Popular stereotypes of women in antiquity portray them as nagging and unintelligent. It’s not surprising most literature of the time gives women minor roles and flat characterization, and sometimes leaves women out all together. Perhaps this is because much of recorded history is a story told by men, about men, for men. So when a woman is mentioned numerous times, as is Mary Magdalene, she’s probably significant and deserves further consideration.
Context: What did the original audience know and understand?
All four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) note Mary Magdalene’s presence at Jesus’s Crucifixion, but only the Gospel of Luke discusses her role in Jesus’s life and ministry, listing her among “some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities” (Luke 8:1–3). Mary Magdalene is specifically named as the one from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. Demonic possession within the context of the gospels is commonly mentioned alongside physical and mental illnesses, never as a suggestion that someone has lived a sinful life. The number seven is significant because it symbolizes completeness in Jewish tradition, suggesting that Mary was entirely overwhelmed by her condition before being healed. With a grateful heart she becomes a disciple of Jesus who not only follows him but funds his ministry out of her personal means.
Mary Magdalene is linked with Easter Sunday and the resurrection because of her unique encounter with the risen Lord. Other gospels include other women, but John’s gospel (John 20:11–17) presents an intimate narrative centered on one woman, Mary. She watched the excruciating death and hurried burial of Jesus, only to discover his body is not in the grave. At the entrance of his tomb, weeping, consumed by grief, a sympathetic voice intrudes, “Woman,” he says, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Believing him to be the gardener, she responds, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” The man responds with just one word, “Mary.” Her name, so familiar, now filled with hope, she cries out, “Rabboni!” She rushes to embrace the one who loves her more than life itself. He’s alive! Her Lord is alive! (Matthew 20:28) She clings to him and will not let him go (here). In response, he gives her the greatest commission ever given, Go and tell my brothers. Because of your faith, your story will be told wherever the Gospel is preached. In a world where women were second-class citizens, Mary is Jesus choice to carry the good news of his resurrection. Like a silver clasp linking triumph to tragedy, she victoriously declares to the disciples hiding in the shadow of the crucifixion, “I have seen the Lord!” Because of her pivotal witness, Eastern Christianity hails Mary Magdalene as isapostolos, the apostle to the apostles. Tradition claims she may be the unnamed woman who anoints the feet of Christ with perfume, further bolstering her witness. In addition, she is said to be the unnamed woman present at Pentecost, and the Mary of Romans 16:6, which places her among those ministering in Rome. Sainte-Baume, in the south of France, is purported to be her final resting place.
Historical and Theological Progression: No original manuscripts exist of the Bible. The texts that have survived are copies separated from the originals by hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of years. Numerous variants are found in the fragments associated with Mary Magdalene. Before we can begin to interpret these works, we must first of all determine what they originally said. The science of attempting to reconstruct the text of documents is known as “textual criticism,” a technique that began in Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. In the past few decades this technique has been applied to the manuscript evidence of John 11-12. The figure of Martha of Bethany shows significant instability in the Greek and Latin translations (here). She is not consistently included in the text. This is only significant because it may have been Mary, not Martha, who made the stunning declaration, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:27). In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene is the first witness of the resurrected Jesus. If she was also the one, instead of Martha, who made the Christological confession, this would present her in an even stronger light, further bolstering the name “Magdalene.” To date, this view is a hypothesis awaiting further discoveries.
In the original Greek New Testament, Mary is never actually called Mary Magdalene. Instead, she is called “Mary the Magdalene” (here). Scholars believe it may well be an honorific from the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for “tower” or “magnified.” Mary Magdalene was a tower in the Church in the same way Peter is often understood to be the rock (Matthew 16:18). Although there have been various ways of understanding her name, no author prior to the sixth century identifies her as coming from a place beside the Sea of Galilee. Several ancient authors actually understood Mary’s nickname to be rooted in her character rather than her provenance. Historically the Church understands her name to mean “tower of faith.”
In the sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great presented a view of Mary not the way she was but as the church wanted her to be (here). With breathtaking oversimplification, Gregory conflated Mary Magdalene of the seven demons with the unnamed, alleged "sinner" who washed Jesus's feet with her hair, and with Mary of Bethany who anoints Jesus with perfume. Gregory reasoned that if a woman like Mary, who had fallen so low, could be forgiven through faith and the church, her carnality transformed into spirituality, the worst sinners could hope for salvation. In effect, Mary Magdalene wiped away Eve's original sin. "In paradise, a woman was the cause of death for a man; coming from the sepulcher, a woman proclaimed life to men," Gregory declared in his famous sermon in 591. The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, never accepted Gregory's meddling with the text by melding the three women together.
Many have tried to tell the story of Mary Magdalene, but how do you describe an unparalleled event you’ve never witnessed? It’s a bit like trying to imagine a color you’ve never seen. Most interpretations fail to grasp the depth of her encounter with Christ, sometimes relying on Gnostic Gospels that paint a caricature that resolves into a romantic cliché (here). Mary is not ordinary; her encounter with the risen Lord is extraordinary. She stands alone, in the gray dawn of a graveyard, reaching for a man she watched die, now alive, in his resurrection splendor. She is the first person to embrace eternity himself. No wonder she clings to him and will not let him go! Perhaps we cannot clearly see her because she beheld a glory we’ve never seen.
Conclusion: The first word spoken by the risen Lord is “woman,” a word filled with the memory of the Garden of Eden (here). Adam and Eve failed in the garden of Eden when they shared in Satan’s enslaving message, bringing death to all creation. But Eve’s daughter, Mary Magdalene, in the garden of Gethsemane, is the one who shares the second Adam’s (Jesus) emancipating message of resurrection, bringing life to all creation (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). Mary is the apostle to the apostles; that is her legacy. In the Book of Psalm there is a prophetic declaration that states: “The Lord announced the word; a great company of women proclaimed the good news” (Psalm 68:11). The Gospels do, in fact, name several women who went to the tomb and then declared the good news of Jesus’ (The Word, Logos) resurrection to the disciples. They include: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They prefigure all women who are to be celebrated as heralds, bringing life to whomever, they declare that Jesus is alive.
Sources:https://margmowczko.com/mary-magdalene-ascension-cling/; How God Sees Women, Terran Williams; https://religionnews.com/2022/01/07/was-mary-magdalene-really-from-magdala-two-scholars-reassess-the-evidence/;Tell Her Story, Nijay K Gupta; https://broadview.org/mary-magdalene-easter-story/ ; https://theanalogpastor.com/tear-bottles-in-the-bible-and-today/ ; The Mary We Forgot, Jennifer Powell McNutt; https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/mistaking-mary-magdalene