Bart Ehrman’s comment in his post: … the fact that Mary Magdalene is mentioned in all four Gospels tells us how important she was to early Christians.
How Mary Magdalene Became a Whore – Mary Magdalene is the primary witness to the fundamental data of early Christian faith. BAS Article by Jane Schaberg.
Was Mary Magdalene Wife of Jesus? Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute? How did her reputation evolve “from saint to sinner”? BAS Article by Birger A. Pearson.
Was Jesus Married to Mary Magdalene? By Mark Goodacre. BAS Lecture video
Gospel of Mary Magdalene: Summary, Dating, and Little-Known Facts by Marko Marina, Ph.D. – This manuscript, written in Coptic, isn’t included in the New Testament and offers a unique glimpse into early Christian thought, particularly a thought that probably shares some Gnostic elements. Furthermore, the content of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene primarily revolves around teachings attributed to Mary Magdalene, focusing on spiritual revelations and conflicts within the early Christian community. (extract)
Where did Jesus meet Mary Magdalene? New Archaeological Discoveries
BAS Library video by James H. Charlesworth
The Gospel of Mary BAS lecture by Mark Goodacre
A gospel written in the name of a woman, depicting Mary Magdalene not as the repentant prostitute of western Christian tradition, but as an important visionary and leader in the early church. This was part of the Animating Christian Apocrypha DVD. Running Time: 47:24
Dr. Justin Sledge’s video is below.
Mary Magdalene’s Appearances in the Bible
The list of verses is from Marg Mowszko’s Footnote 1 here. The NRSV extracts of the verses came from her links but were copied and pasted here by me.
- Mary Magdalene is mentioned by name in the following Bible verses: Matthew 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Luke 8:2; 24:10; John 19:25; 20:1, 11, 16, 18.
- Matthew 27:56 (NRSV): 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
- Matthew 27:61 (NRSV): 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
- Matthew 28:1 (NRSV): 28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
- Mark 15:40 (NRSV): 40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
- Mark 15:47 (NRSV): 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
- Mark 16:1 (NRSV): 16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
- Mark 16:9 (NRSV): 9 Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
- Luke 8:2 (NRSV): 2 … as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
- Luke 24:10 (NRSV): 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
- John 19:25 (NRSV): 25 And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
- John 20:1 (NRSV): 20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
- John 20:11 (NRSV): 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;
- John 20:16 (NRSV): 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).
- John 20:18 (NRSV): 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
- In most of these verses, she is called Maria (or Mariam) hē Magdalēnē (Mary the Magdalene): Matt. 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Luke 8:2; 24: 10; John 19:25; 20:1, 18. (Note that Mark 16:9 may not have been part of the original Gospel of Mark. The oldest manuscripts of Mark end at Mark 16:8.)
- In Luke 24:10 Mary’s name appears as hē Magdalēnē Maria (the Magdalene Mary), but in Luke 8:2 we have a difference of note, Maria hē kaloumenē Magdalēnē (Mary the one called Magdalene).
- In John 20:1ff, she is mentioned several times. In John 20: 11 and 16 she is simply called Maria or Mariam.
- (Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary of Bethany are likewise sometimes called Maria and at other times called Mariam. The names are essentially the same; however, Mariam is more Hebraic.)
- In the New Testament, Mary Magdalene is not mentioned outside of the four canonical Gospels, but [Marg] sometimes wonder if the Mary in Romans 16:6, who is mentioned fourth (fairly high up) in the list of twenty-eight Roman Christians, was Mary the Magdalene now ministering in Rome. (Some suggest Joanna, another female disciple of Jesus, is Junia in Romans 16:7.) The Eastern Orthodox Church tells the tradition that Mary Magdalene went to Rome and traveled throughout Italy with the message of the gospel, and that she even spoke to Tiberias, the Roman Emperor. (Source)
- Footnote [2] – The grammatical construction of “Jesus” with “Nazarene” in the Greek New Testament is not nearly as consistent as the construction of “Mary the Magdalene” (Maria hē Magdalēnē) (cf. Matt. 2:23; Mark 14:67; 16:6).
All Marg’s articles on Women in the Gospels are here.
