In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is the first to encounter the risen Christ. After the male disciples have returned to their homes, she weeps at the tomb alone, telling the two angels there, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”[1] She turns and sees Jesus, though she does not know it is he, and pleads with him: “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”[2] Mary is desperate, seeking and grieved. But Jesus reveals himself by saying her name, and she responds with joy: “Teacher!”[3] It is a sweet tale, full of grief and hidden expectation, full of the persistence of a follower of Christ who refuses to give up on his promise. It is also, however, not the story most will conjure up when thinking of Mary Magdalene.
The repentant whore, the woman with the alabaster jar, the lady of seven vices, the sinful woman – Mary has collected many names in the Christian world over the past two thousand years. But none, it turns out, is an accurate portrayal of Mary. A close analysis of the text of the New Testament, especially the Gospels, reveals no connection between Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons were removed, and the prostitute, who anoints his feet before the crucifixion. Scholars studying ancient sources both canonical and non-orthodox agree that Mary Magdalene was actually an important, non-prostitute figure in Jesus’ ministry, most certainly in appearance at his crucifixion and, according to tradition in almost all texts that mention her, at the tomb to encounter him in his risen form after the resurrection.[4]
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To Marvelous Light 