Will the real Mary Magdalene please stand up?

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July 22 is the feast of Mary Magdalene in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches. Because of the popularity of The DaVinci Code, this Mary has received a lot of attention in the last few years, though most of it has been based on poor scholarship or fabrication of “facts” about her (this article in the Wikipedia gives a good run-down of the various ideas about Mary Magdalene and their origins).

Among Christians, it is commonly–and mistakenly–believed that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute and the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet; she’s also often identified with Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Much of this conflation of different women is based on a sermon given by Pope Gregory I in 591; as an aside, it’s interesting to note that one man’s misunderstanding of Scripture could have such a widespread acceptance. I remember hearing in Sunday school or sermons that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute who anointed Christ. However, the Gospels don’t support this idea at all.

So what do we know about Mary? Luke 8 tells us:

Soon afterward he [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (verses 1–3)

Mary Magdalene appears to have been a woman of wealth, given that she provided financial support for Jesus’ ministry. What we know for sure is that she had seven demons, and Jesus healed her.

She appears again at the crucifixion and resurrection; according to John:

standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.… Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. (19:25, 20:1)

Shortly after, she sees the angels at the tomb, followed by the resurrected Jesus, who tells her:

“go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. (John 20:17–18; you can read the entire passage here)

Christian tradition honors Mary Magdalene’s role in bringing the good news of the risen Lord to the disciples by giving her the title “Apostle to the Apostles.” Mary has plenty to mark her as special:

• healed by Jesus
• traveled with Jesus, providing support and hearing Him teach
• witnessed the crucifixion
• saw, spoke to, and touched the resurrected Christ—first
• sent by Jesus to tell the others that He lives

With all this established in Scripture, one wonders why anyone feels a need to add to her life. Tomorrow Next time I’ll consider what we can learn from Mary Magdalene.