ince the Gospels do not
leave these women anonymous but identify them by name, it is obvious
that they must have played an important role in the Christian movement
in Palestine. Their leader appears to have been Mary of Magdala. All
four Gospels transmit her name, whereas the names of the other women
vary. She has, moreover, a position equaling that of Peter in the
apocryphal gospel literature. Thus, according to the Gospel traditions,
women were the primary apostolic witnesses for the fundamental events of
the early Christian preaching: they were witnesses of Jesus' ministry,
his suffering and death, his burial and his resurrection. They were
moreover, sent to proclaim the message of the resurrection. Not only
does Paul repeatedly mention the prophets directly after the apostles
but he even values the gift of prophecy higher than that of speaking in
tongues. Luke asserts that the Spirit of prophecy is given to women as
well as to men (Acts 2:17). He specifically mentions the four daughters
of Philip as renowned Christian prophets (Acts 21:9). Paul takes it for
granted that women prophesy and have liturgical functions:
Chief among these is Mary Magdalene, a woman infamous in Western
Christianity as an adulteress and repentant whore. Discoveries of new
texts from the dry sands of Egypt, along with sharpened critical
insight, have now proven that this portrait of Mary is entirely
inaccurate. She was indeed an influential figure, but as a prominent
disciple and leader of one wing of the early Christian movement that
promoted women's leadership.
The non-biblical image of Magdalene as a repentant prostitute is an
image that had been officially sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church
in the sixth century. And it's that image that has been perpetuated by
dozens of Christian paintings and movies ever since. The misreading of
Mary Magdalene, is almost as ancient as the Gospels of the New Testament
themselves, if only because there are up to five Marys in the Gospels
and seven in the New Testament as a whole. Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary of
Magdala Mary, mother of James and Joses Mary, wife of Clopas Mary of
Bethany Mary, mother of John Mark Mary, of church at Rome. 1 Six Marys 1
Six Marys are to be distinguished in the N.T.: (1) the mother of Jesus;
always clearly identified by the context. (2) Mary Magdalene, a woman of
Magdala, " out of whom went seven demons" Luke 8:2 She is never
mentioned apart from the identifying word "Magdalene." (3) The mother of
James (called "the less," Mark 15:40) and Joses, the apostles. A
comparison of ; John 19:25; Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40 establishes the
inference that this Mary, the mother of James the less, and of Joses was
the wife of Alphaeus (called also Cleophas), John 19:25 and a sister of
Mary the mother of Jesus. Except in ; Matthew 27:61; 28:1 where she is
called "the other Mary (i.e. "other" than her sister, Mary the Virgin);
and John 19:25 where she is called "of Cleophas," she is mentioned only
in connection with one or both of her sons. (4) Mary of Bethany, sister
of Martha and Lazarus, mentioned by name only in Luke 10:39-42; John
11:1,2,19,20,28,31,32,45; 12:3 but referred to in ; Matthew 26:7; Mark
14:3-9. (5) The mother of John Mark and sister of Barnabas Acts 12:12.
(6) A helper of Paul in Rome Romans 16:6. 2 of whom was born 2 The
changed expression here is important. It is no longer, "who begat," but,
"Mary, of whom was born Jesus." Jesus was not begotten of natural
generation. However, in reality there are only two Mary's in the gospel
story, and three at the cross, the Mother and the Magdalene and Mary (Jerusalem)Salome.
he Jesus group did
not accept the values and institutions of their Jewish society and
milieu but often stood in opposition to them. Jesus and his disciples,
for example, did not live an ascetic life-style like John the Baptist
and his followers. The Jesus group rejected the religious purity laws
and attracted the outcasts of their society as well as those who were
for various reasons ostracized from their religious community. In
distinction to the community at Qumran or the Pharisees, the Jesus
movement in Palestine was not an exclusive but an inclusive group. Woman
were prominent among the people who made up much of Jesus's circle.
Jesus defied oppressive customs concerning women.
The New Testament gospels tell us that Mary was a Jewish woman who
followed Jesus of Nazareth. Apparently of independent means, she
accompanied Jesus during his ministry and supported him out of her own
resources (Mark 15:40-41; Matthew 27:55-56; Luke 8:1-3; John 19:25).
Now if Mary was a prostitute, how is it that she supported Jesus?
The Synoptic Gospels (Mt, Mk, Lk)describe Mary Magdalene as a woman
of Galilee who assisted our Lord and his disciples and who was present
at the crucifixion and burial of our Lord. The Gospel of St. John
records that Mary Magdalene as the first witness of the Risen Lord
Himself. St. Luke records that “seven demons had gone out of her” and
just prior to this note is the account of the sinful woman who tenderly
anointed our Lord with her tears and dried them with her hair. While
Luke does not make an explicit connection between these two figures,
from Patristic times until the present there is a strong tradition of
associating Mary of Magdalene with the sinful woman who anointed our
Lord:
7:36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into
the Pharisee's house, and took his place at table. 7:37 And behold, a
woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at
table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
7:38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his
feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and
kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 7:39 Now when the
Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man
were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is
who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 7:40 And Jesus answering said
to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "What
is it, Teacher?" 7:41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 7:42 When they could not pay, he
forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?" 7:43 Simon
answered, "The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." And he said to
him, "You have judged rightly." 7:44 Then turning toward the woman he
said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? ed your house, you gave me no
water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them
with her hair. 7:45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she
has not ceased to kiss my feet. 7:46 You did not anoint my head with
oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 7:47 Therefore I tell
you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he
who is forgiven little, loves little." 7:48 And he said to her, "Your
sins are forgiven." 7:49 Then those who were at table with him began to
say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"
The few details told us of the encounter between Mary Magdalene and our
Lord in the Garden seen of the Resurrection inclines one to imagine that
this may be the same woman, who was so grateful for having been set free
of sin and who once again weeping and sought to touch our Lord:
20:11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she
stooped to look into the tomb; 20:12 and she saw two angels in white,
sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the
feet. 20:13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to
them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where
they have laid him." 20:14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus
standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 20:15 Jesus said to
her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be
the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell
me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 20:16 Jesus said
to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!"
(which means Teacher). 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I
have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to
them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your
God." 20:18 Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen
the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
(John)
Beyond associating Mary Magdalene with the unnamed sinner who anointed
Jesus, there is a tradition going back to the Patristics which
associates her with Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Such
a link is suggested by the other anointing episode which occurred at
Bethany by Mary, as described in Mt, Mk, and John:
12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz'arus
was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 12:2 There they made him a
supper; Martha served, and Laz'arus was one of those at table with him.
12:3 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the
feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled
with the fragrance of the ointment. 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples (he who was to betray him), said, 12:5 "Why was this ointment
not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 12:6 This he
said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as
he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. 12:7 Jesus
said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. 12:8 The
poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
Those who hold that this is Mary Magdalene regard the episode of
anointing with tears as an earlier foreshadowing of this more perfect
anointing more immediately associated with the burial of Christ, by the
same woman.
ere
is a fact that few people seem to know: The Bible never explicitly says
that Mary Magdalene was ever a prostitute at any point in her life. By
comparison with the other women in Jesus'following, Mary Madalene "alone
stands out undefined by a designation attaching her to some male as
wife, mother, or daughter and she is the only one to be identifiable by
her place of birth".
It is, however, that in the gospel of John, that Mary Magdalen appears
as one of the several women of faith, and Unequivocally as the first
witness of the Empty Tomib and of the Risen Christ, the cornerstone of
Christian belief the first recipient of all apostolic commission, she
becomes not only the herald of the "New Life," but also the first
apostle.
"And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and
village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God:
and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed
of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went
seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna,
and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance." The
Greek version says "them" inferring the 12 were also supported by the
women
They are also referred to in Mark (I 5:40) "There were also women
looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in
Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women
which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
When Martha had complained for serving help Jesus indicates she has a
pivotal role to play Luke 10:41: " Jesus answered and said unto her,
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one
thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not
be taken away from her." This could be interest in his teachings, but
sounds also like the role of partner.
In the ancient world nearly everyone had two names and often titles or
aliases as well. Greek was the universal language and nealy everyone had
a name in his 'or her' own native tounge. Thomas was the Aramaic and
Didymus the Greek for 'a twin'. Tabitha was the Aramic and Dorcas the
Greek for 'a gazelle'. When Jesus saw Simon, as he was then called, he
said to him; "Your name is Simon; but you are going to be called Cephas,
which means a rock." Peter and Cephas are not different names; rather,
the same name in a different language. In the Old Testament names were
given by God and a change of name often denoted a change in relationship
to God. For example, Abram became Abraham , Jacob became Israel. Sarai
became Sarah, which means princess; for "She shall be a mother of
nations, kings of people shall be of her." Also, James and John became
the "Sons of thunder", so named by Jesus. Daniel became also
Belteshazzar, so named by the king of babylon. Saul became Paul. All of
these people are called by their various names at different times and
places throughout the scriptures. The name Magdalene means 'tower of the
flock'. Mary of Bethany, Mary the sister of Martha, and Mary Magdalene
are the same woman. Further, this woman is the Samaritian woman Jesus
met at the well of Jacob and the woman with the alabaster jar which
annonted the Messiah. 'Messiah' means 'the annointed one' and Mary knew
something of the Lord's coming temptation in the final week which the
other disciples seemed ignorant of.
"Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdala, a castle, and was born of
right noble lineage and parents, which were descended of the lineage of
kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her mother Eucharis. She with
her brother Lazarus, and her sister Martha, possessed the castle of
Magdalo, which is two miles from Nazareth, and Bethany, the castle which
is nigh to Jerusalem, and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all
these things they departed among them." - Legenda Aurea (published in
Genoa in 1275)
nd
being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very
precious; ans she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there
were some there that had indignation within themselves, and said, "Why
was this waste of ointment made?" For it might have been sold for more
than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor, and they
murmered against her. And Jesus said, "Let her alone; why trouble ye
her? She hath wrougth a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you
always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good; but me ye have not
always. She hath done what she could.; she is come aforehand to annoint
my body to the burying. Verily, I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel
shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath
done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."
This anointing of Jesus is, 'by an express command of Jesus', to be
recorded whenever the gospel is preached [Mt 26:13]. Therefore, because
the only anointing Luke records is the one by that "woman of the city,"
we must conclude that this is the same anointing as we see recorded in
the other gospels. Note what the other accounts add: The anointing is in
the house of Simon the leper of Bethany and the box contained "very
precious" ointment [Mt 26:6-13]. This anointing of Jesus is followed by
Judas betraying Jesus, implying a direct link between the anointing and
Judas' decision [Mt 26:14-15]. Mark adds the fact that this ointment in
Simon's house was of a very precious substance called "Spikenard"; but
someone complains, "Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it
might have been sold for more then 300 pence."[Mk 14:3-5] That equals a
YEAR'S WAGES in those days, or several thousand dollars in modern terms,
such as oil used to anoint someone KING. John, at last, completes the
story: The woman who anoints Jesus is none other than Mary of Bethany,
the sister of Martha and Lazarus. So the woman was named Mary after all.
And because she and her sister are supposed to serve guests in this
house, a house we can now identify as the house of Simon the Pharisee, a
"leper", Simon perhaps is Cyrus the father of Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
or perhaps Simon is Lazarus. Now it becomes clear why these three
siblings are living in the same house; it is a family estate. We know
that Lazarus is wealthy when we are told of the huge crowds that gather
when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Bethany was on the eastern
slope of the Mount of Olives; prime real estate. Simon is a wealthy man
who owns choice property near Jerusalem with a house big enough to sleep
several adult men and women. It is his daughter who anoints Jesus with
royal ointment, and his daughter who helps support Jesus and his
apostles out of her means as Mary Magdalene.
urther, the names of Mary and the Apostles, and Lazarus and/or Simon,
may have been changed to protect the innocent and the royal house of
David. The Scriptures never said that Jesus was not married; we have
seen from history that the physical danger to his family and followers
would have been reason enough to remove Jesus' marriage from the record.
The Mother Church had been lost with Jerusalem and the latter
destruction of Israel itself. The Jewish Christian Church disappeared as
the Jewish people were killed or sold into slavery. After Jesus's death,
the messianic political revolutionary movements led by the Zealot party
continued among the Jews against the Romans, reaching a critical peak a
generation later in a widespread Palestinian revolt. In the ensuing war,
Roman troops crushed the rebellion, captured Jerusalem, and destroyed
the Jewish Temple (70 A.D.). The Christian community in Jerusalem and
Palestine was thereby dispersed, and the closest link of the Christian
religion to Judaism-maintained and symbolized by the Jerusalem
Christians-was severed. Christianity thereafter was more a Hellenistic
than a Palestinian phenomenon. From Paul, at the start of Christianity,
to Augustine, its most influential protagonist at the end of the
classical era, the character and aspirations of the new religion were
decisively molded by its Greco-Roman context. How many records were lost
or censored? The physical documents avalible to us today date 'several'
years after the life of Jesus. Early doucments speak of Jesus' relation
to Mary as romantic and her being most devoted of his disciples.
Romantic Love was killed by the established traditions of Patriarchy;
and dismissed when the church became an arm of Rome. Suffice it to
remember that his beloved sat at his feet drinking in his every word
(Luke 10: 39) and that she anointed his feet with her tears and dried
them with her hair (John 12:3).
In John, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus is portrayed in a
different light. She lives in Bethany of Judea and she calls on Jesus to
return there to save her brother: 1 1:1 "Now a certain man was sick,
named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister
Martha."saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Now Jesus
loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." Jesus delays ceremonially
for two days. Lazarus dies and is 'stinking'. Martha goes out to meet
him. In almost ritual style Jesus has Martha declare 1 1:27 "Yea, Lord:
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come
into the world."
"And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister
secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as
she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him." This term is used
again by Magdalene at the burial - Rabboni.
Sarah also called her husband Lord.; Sitting Shiva ( an ancient
engagement custom ) explains the mystery of why she waited before coming
quickly.
When Jesus Calls on Lazarus, he groans. This very act of 'miracle work'
with well known associates, sets the stage for his own demise, a life
for a life, because the priests plot because of this miracle, that he
should become the sacrifice ; Did they know he was the atonement king?
"Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for
the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John then tells a
story in which the foot anointing leads to Jesus'demise: 12:2 "There
they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them
that sat at the table with him.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the
house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Then saith ... Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why
was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor? ... Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying
hath she kept this ." Mary is thus acclaimed by Jesus as the only one
who has foreknowledge of the inner mystery that is about to take place,
unlike his disciples.
There are in each gospel three women attending the crucifixion the
consistency, despite variation of the characters, suggests that the
three women are part of the sacred drama: Mark 15:40 has them as
follows: "There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and
Salome (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered
unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem
Matthew 27:55 has: "And many women were there beholding afar off, which
followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of
Zebedees children." Luke 23:49 is less specific at the Crucifixion "And
all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee,
stood afar off, beholding these things.", but reverts to the three-fold
pattern at the tomb.
John 19:25 has a slightly different set of muses: "Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." The only satisfactory explanation of
two'sisters' being Mary is that they are sisters in law, but this idea
was developed later. It is extremely unlikely these repeated motifs
concerning the Marys and the women would have been included in all four
gospels, given the already established patriarchal heritage that
followed Paul, had not it had a basis in history and a truth to be
discovered in the Gospel.
From his controversial sermon at Galilee, we note that mother Mary
is'the mother of James and Joses': Mark 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and
Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at
him." And in each of,the gospels it was the women, and particularly Mary
Magdelene who were first to see the risen Christ, for which she receives
the title Apostola Apostolorum - apostle of apostles: Mark 16:9 "Now
when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first
to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." Now
unfortunately this section of Mark is missing from the Codex Sinaiticus
recovered from St. Catherine's monastery and is thus beilived to be a
later addition, however Luke 24:1 0 confirms "It was Mary Magdalene and
Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with
them, which told these things unto the apostles." and of course they are
not believed "And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they
believed them not. There is an earthquake and angels everywhere.
Discounting the angel and the earthquake, we still however have these
two female participants. 27:61 "And there was Mary Magdalene, and the
other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre." : 28:1 "In the end of
the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold,
there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon
it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow."
In John 20:1 it is Mary Magdalene who calls [the risen]
Jesus'Rabboni'and who afterwards utters the exhaltation to the others: "Thefirst
day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto
the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. When
she goes to get Peter the disciples did not understand the Resurrection
John 20:8 "Then cometh Simon Peter ... then went in also that other
disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw [the empty
napkins] and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he
must rise again from the dead." They depart but Mary waits. Mary then
utters the searching cry : 20:13 "And they say unto her, 'Woman, why
weepest thou? 'She saith unto them,'Because they have taken away my
LORD, and I know not where they have laid him'." Compare with the Song
of Songs "I opened to my beloved-, but my beloved had withdrawn himself
and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could
not find him".
Immediately she turns and he is there! 20:15: "Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me
where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto
her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to
say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, "do not cling to me; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father:" In Greek this reads 'Do not continue embracing
me'." Jesus then tells her to tell his "brethren," "I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."" ' Are the few
accounts in the gospels tell is all we can claim to know about Mary
Magdalene?
The woman in the passage is called "O Magdal-eder, watchtower of the
flock" and the title "Magdalene" is like saying "the great" or
"elevated, magnificent." She was "First Lady."
The whole "priestess"/harlot idea was imputed to her because of the
similarities with ancient rites of the bridegroom/King with the Gospel
anointing, passion and resurrection stories.... but that doesn't mean
that this Mary was a "priestess." Anointing had ancient associations
with marriage thoughout the region...and identified her as Bride. Since
it was the prerogative of the Bride to anoint and to meet the King
resurrected in the garden, she can be easily identified as Mary "called
Magdalene" by these actions, although John identifies her as Mary, the
sister of Lazarus (John 11:2 and 12:3). Mary and Jesus EMBODIED the
ancient mythology of the archetypal Bride and Bridegroom -- they weren't
just doing a ritual--they were living it!
Mary Magdalene in The Dialogue of the Savior
The Dialogue of the Savior, also written in the second century A.D., is
a dialogue between the Savior (never called Jesus or Christ) and some of
his disciples, including Mary. The disciples ask questions about
esoteric religious things, and Jesus gives equally esoteric answers.
Although Mary is one of the frequent interrogators of the Savior, at one
point she makes an observation. The text explains, "This word she spoke
as a woman who knew the All" (Section 139, trans. Harold Attridge). In
other words, Mary has special knowledge of spiritual reality.
The Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic gospel and is a revelation of Christ in
which Mary plays a prominent role, asking the majority of the questions
about all measure of esoteric matters.
Mary is praised in The Pistis Sophia as one "whose heart is more
directed to the Kingdom of Heaven than all [her] brothers" (Chapter 17,
trans. Carl Schmidt and Violet MacDermott). Jesus says that she is
"blessed beyond all women upon the earth, because [she shall be] the
pleroma of all Pleromas and the completion of all completions" (section
19). In other words, Mary will have the fullness of knowledge and
therefore spiritual life within her. So impressed is Jesus with Mary's
spiritual excellence that he promises not to conceal anything from her,
but to reveal everything to her "with certainty and openly" (section
25). She is the blessed one who will "inherit the whole Kingdom of the
Light" (section 61).
The Gospel of Mary, written in the second century, goes even further
than The Pistis Sophia in portraying Mary as a source of secret
revelation because of her close relationship to the Savior. At one point
Peter asks, "Sister, We know that the Savior loved you more than the
rest of women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember--which
you know but we do not nor have we heard them" (section 10, trans.
George W. MacRae and R. McL. Wilson). So Mary reveals what the Lord made
known to her in a vision.
The Gospel of Mary reports that several of the disciples were none too
impressed by Mary's purported insights into heavenly things. Andrew
responded to her revelation by saying "I at least do not believe that
the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas"
(section 17). Then Peter asked, "Did he really speak privately with a
woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her?
Did he prefer her to us?" But Levi speaks up for Mary, "Peter, you have
always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman
like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you
indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why
he loved her more than us" (section 18).
She is the recipient of his secret revelations and private speeches. The
Savior, who is not called Jesus in The Gospel of Mary, even preferred
Mary to the other disciples, loving her more than them. Mary's
relationship with Jesus has clearly entered a new dimension we have not
seen before.
Finally we come to The Gospel of Philip, the last of the extra-biblical
gospels to mention Mary Magdalene, and the one that excites proponents
of her marriage to Jesus more than any other ancient document. The
Gospel of Philip is one of the latest of the non-canonical gospels, The
first of these passages reads, "There were three who always walked with
the Lord: Mary his mother and her sister and Magdalene, the one who was
called his companion" (section 59). The second passage in The Gospel of
Philip that concerns Mary is the most suggestive: "And the companion of
the Savior is Mary Magdalene. But Christ loved her more than all the
disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the
disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to
him, 'Why do you love her more than all of us?' The Savior answered and
said to them, 'Why do I not love you like her?' When a blind man and one
who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one
another. Then the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and
he who is blind will remain in darkness" (sections 63-63).
the Greek original (Μή μου ἅπτου) is better represented by a translation
of cease from holding on to me,
Magdalene; this name was coined by Christ's
disciples after Pentecost, as it makes reference literally
to "migdal," which means tower, and to In
other words, it was their wish to express that Magdalene is the one
who has been magnified,
Although it is barely mentioned in the Bible, Magdala was among the
larger of the cities around the Sea of Galilee at the time of Jesus.
According to Jewish historian Josephus Flavius it had a population of
40,000 at the time of the first Jewish revolt (66-70 AD)
