Mary Magdalene: the Shocking Story of a Hidden Disciple

Introduction

So many times when we think of women in the bible, we think of sexism and discrimination. Today, I’d like to point you to an uplifting feminist in the bible, Mary Magdalene. It’s one that is blatantly obvious when you read the text yourself but has often been skipped over and even changed to diminish the power and influence women had in Jesus’ ministry. If this is something you’re interested in, please let me know because I’m considering doing a series on feminism in the bible.

Who Paid Jesus’ Bills?

The first thing I want to go over is her connection to Jesus. She was one of the women who paid the way for Him. I provide you with the evidence in Luke 8:1-3: “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

Mary Magdalene

This verse, not only shows us the names of a few women who financially support Jesus, but explains Mary Magdalene’s background. She had been saved from 7 demons. Perhaps, that is referring to mental illness and physical ailments. We can’t really be sure. Whatever it was, though, she was healed from it and became one of Jesus’ disciples. Many of us are taught that she was a prostitute or sexually immoral and I am here to tell you that this is incorrect. She was also one of the women financially supporting Jesus

Her given name, “Magdalene” does not mean that she is from Magdala (that’s most likely one of the many lies we’ve been taught to downplay her importance). Here’s the real tea. It is better translated Mary the Magdalene or Mary the Watchtower, “a nickname like others Jesus gave to His apostles.” What’s a watchtower? I’m glad you ask. It’s a tower most commonly used in war to provide a safe place to rest and watch the chaos below without getting injured.

One Woman, Many Names

There is now definitive proof that the earliest copies of the book of John were changed to dilute the presence of Mary Magdalene. Thank you early new testament scribes! Elizabeth Schrader, a biblical scholar at Duke University who is also Christian), discovered letters in multiple early translations that had been scratched out and made to look like other letters, Even so, this research proved the general instability around Martha and Mary.

John 11 describes the story of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life. We’ve all read about how Martha and her sister, Mary beg Jesus to bring him back. In the original text, Mary was named and Martha was not even mentioned (John 11:21). In the first printing of the KJV Bible, only one sister is mentioned instead of the usual two, today, in John 11:3. The problem with this is that once Martha is mentioned, Mary Mags becomes a different Mary (or not, some people believe Mary Bethany and Mary Magdalene to be the same person).

Witness to Jesus 2.0

All four gospels agree that Mary Magdalene was present at the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Others also say that she is one of the/the first to see Jesus after His resurrection and tell the disciples He was alive. Mary Magdalene was obviously extremely close to Jesus. However, the fact that she was a woman would have contributed to why the disciples didn’t believe her right away. She was defying traditional gender roles and expectations Additionally, it’s very like God to use a woman, who was legally unable to be a witness to anything, as a witness to Jesus 2.0.

The Gospel of Mary

I think it would be ill-advised of me to ignore that Mary has her own Gnostic gospel. Likely written in the 2nd or 3rd century, the Gospel of Mary is not included in the biblical cannon. It was more recently translated and made available to the public in the mid 1900s. There are still missing fragments today. Even so, it reveals a very different picture of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the disciples. While I’ll hold it as non-canonical until proven otherwise, I find learning about books that didn’t quite make it into the bible to be really interesting. Plus, some of them still have a lot of we can learn from.

In this book, Mary is portrayed as the disciple closest to Jesus and the only one who truly understands His teaching. Based on the earliest texts of the new testament gospels, we do know that Mary Magdalene probably played a much bigger role than she is given credit for. Whether or not it’s as significant as the one in the Gospel of Mary, will probably remain a mystery.

Conclusion

I think that Mary Magdalene is one of the coolest women in the bible and I know I’m not alone in that. Something about her is so captivating that you just can’t look away. If you’re interested in reading more about Intersectional Feminism for Christians, look no further than these books. Otherwise, I’ll see ya next post!