Chapter 4.21
Mary Magdalene
Wife of Jesus? - Prostitute? –
Woman’s Liberation Advocate?
First Missionary? – Women of the Church Movement?
First
Word
There
is very little said about Mary Magdalene in the canonized scriptures,
but there are various other writings that talk about her extensively. Most are not believable since they carry “Gnostic”
overtones which the scriptures denounce.
However these other writings such as “The Gospel of Thomas” while not
deemed authentic, does shed light on the culture and “mind set” of the era and I will
hitch hike on that.
Jealousy –
Maybe, maybe not
There may have been some resentment from Peter concerning Mary’s relationship
with Jesus as He appeared to her FIRST before He
appeared to Peter. The Gospel of Thomas found at “Nag Hammadi” indicates a lot of tension or
competition between Mary and Peter. I
only mention this here for seasoning. (This Gospel subscribes to the Gnostic
system)
The “Gospel of Thomas” speaks of Jesus kissing Mary on
the mouth. (It’s
possible it said that, but parts are missing from the document; even complete
this would not necessarily make “The Gospel of Thomas”
true.)
I must point out that Mark 16:9-20 where
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene does not appear in the early manuscripts and
other ancient manuscripts do not have it either.[1] It seems it may have been added by a scribe
later. Some students question theses
passages. I have no problem with it.
With the Gnostic
mindset, it would be
inconceivable that Jesus would have appeared to a woman and not a man.[2] Therefore,
I can see how the scriptures and other writings might be “tilted”
to overlook the work of women.
In the “Gospel
of Mary”, Peter says, Jesus loved Mary more than all the other
women. Mary did not write this Gospel and this is not found in the scriptures
anywhere.
Mary
Mary
was a very common name; one out of four
Jewish women in the first century was named Mary; six are named in the New
Testament.[3]
Mary of Rome; a hard worker in Rome and served in the
Christian movement.
Mary the mother of Mark; opened her home
for meetings.
Mary the mother of James; mentioned as “The
Other Mary” and is
mentioned most often in service alongside of Mary Magdalene
Mary of Bethany helped by providing a place for Jesus to
stay in their home. This is the Mary
that anointed Jesus with oil and wiped His feet with her hair.
Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, was present from time to
time in the ministry, but did not seem to accompany Jesus on his journeys, but
was present at the end.
Mary of Magdala; cured of seven demons by Jesus. She was always present working quietly in the
background with devotion to Jesus’ life, His death and His resurrection.
Who
Mary Magdalene Was Not
ANOINTED JESUS
WITH OIL
Students
of the Bible have assumed that it was Mary Magdalene that poured the
expensive oil on Jesus, which would have cost a year’s wages. But it is legend alone that links
her to this story, probably because of her wealth and her ability to afford the
costly perfume.
Mark speaks of an unnamed woman in the home of SIMON the Leper, pouring perfume on Jesus.[4] Mary Magdalene is never mentioned in Mark. It is thought that SIMON the Leper is the Pharisee that is
mentioned in the story in Luke.
John speaks of Jesus in the home of Mary of Bethany and her anointing Him
with oil.[5] This is actually two different stories Mary Magdalene is introduced to us much
later in time than this; but in my BS, my Belief System, I certainly would like for it to have
been Mary Magdalene.
A PROSTITUTE
Luke’s account is
similar to Mark’s and expands it
saying this un-named woman is a sinner.
The new Living
Translation says; “A certain immoral woman”
The Amplified Bible says “For she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin)
The
definition or meaning of “Sinner” was a person who did not rigorously keep
the Laws; this could mean anything from WHEN she washed her
hands to WALKING TOO FAR on the
Sabbath. “Sinner” is never translated Prostitute.
Sidebar: Other scripture speaks of an unnamed woman caught in the
act of adultery. [6] Maybe this was Mary Magdalene too. By the way, where was the man caught in the act; the law applied to
both.
Jesus cast seven
demons out of a woman named Mary from Magdala.
Combining all the accounts, there you have
it… there was a sinful woman who was probably
a prostitute and her name was probably
Mary, and probably from Magdala. This
is Guilt by association; but there is just no evidence
MARRIED TO JESUS
The scriptures identify the
relationships of Jesus; there was His Mother, His brothers and references
to His sisters, but no mention of a wife or companion. Mary is always identified as Mary Magdalene
or Mary of Magdala.
Is it possible that Jesus was
married to Mary? YES… It is also possible that He was
married to Martha or her younger sister Mary, or to one of the many women in
the entourage. It’s more possible that
Mary was married to someone from her hometown, as was Joanna her co-worker; the
canonized scripture (our
Bible)
does not tell us.
Mary Married: Obscure writing
indicate that Mary was married to the Jew, “Pappus
ben Juda” and divorced him to marry ”Panther”
an officer of Herod Antipas entourage which aroused public indignation (it was sinful). Although
this is widely circulated, the information is not deemed correct from a
historical prospective. Mary is always
pictured with other women providing for the needs of the ministry. No record in the Gospel, canonical or
non-canonical is reported to show the relationship between Mary and Jesus as
being married; NONE
She is not mentioned during the lifetime of Jesus except at the end of
His ministry and Mary referred to Jesus as “Teacher”, not “Sweet Cheeks” or some other
special term of endearment.
There are writing that suggest that Jesus kissed Mary. A kiss was adopted as a formal greeting
among believers and was usually given on the forehead, cheek or beard. Out of the MOUTH of the Teacher
came knowledge and wisdom. Through the MOUTH the Gospel is presented; the MOUTH conceives; it gives birth.
Most writers are men; and women are a far
better subject matter than men and receive more embellishments. Remember; “The Da Vinci Code”, “Jesus Christ
Superstar” and “The Last Temptation of Christ”. From my Belief System, my
earthly BS prospective, “I want” Jesus to have Loved Mary, but
the Bible just does not support this.
Who
Mary Magdalene Was
Mary in the Greek form
is “Strong.”
She is not considered a major player in the scriptures although she is very
prominent near the end of the Life of Jesus.
Mary is mention in the Gospels only 13 times. She is also mentioned in the Gnostic writings found at “Nag Hammadi”
in; “The
Gospel of Peter”, “The Gospel of Philip” and “The Gospel of
Mary”; other writings “Dialogue of the Savior”, “The Gospel of the Egyptians” and
“The Greater
Questions of Mary”.
Sidebar: As I read these other writings, in my BS I
felt the same rhythm, cadence, verbiage and thoughts that I found in the Freemason’s oaths, doctrines and dogma. Just saying.
Mary was from a town called
Madala in the region of Galilee. The
word “Madala”
is Hebrew for “Watchtower”
and probably got this name because of the tower that guarded their city. This town was in the same region as Nazareth,
but was much larger. It had about 4000
inhabitants, and sported about 230 boats; had 80 weaver shops and some 300
shops that sold just pigeons for sacrifices.
It was primarily a Gentile City located on the southwest coast of the
Sea of Galilee noted for their dye works and fine woolen textures. It was considered a resort community and was
notorious for its moral corruption and according to the “Talmud” Rabbinic writings, PROSTITUTION was the
reputation of this city
MENTALLY ILL
Guilt by Association; because Mary
was from Madala which was notorious for prostitution, students of the Word
immediately jump to the conclusion that Mary was a Prostitute. There were UN-NAMED women in
scripture that were prostitutes and were just assumed to be Mary.
Demons: Mary was said to have seven demons cast out of
her by Jesus.[7] In scripture the number seven represents
completeness. It is reasonable to
believe that Mary was completely taken over by demons and Jesus completely cast
them
WEALTHY
Assets: You will also note that Mary had substance or
assets as she helped provide for the ministry of Jesus out of her own means.[8] Other writing indicate Mary’s family was very
wealthy and had died and left her a substantial inheritance. It should be noted here that there was no “Middle Class”,
some had a lot of wealth, but the majority were scrape along poor.
Service: The Greek term for “ministered” can be translated “served”
and can be extended to mean; facilitate, promote, advance forward, and even underwrite;
to “finance”.
Joanna was the wife of Chuza, King Herod’s
personal steward and also had money available for the ministry.
THE APOCALYPTIC MINDSET – This is who the believer is.
The
belief that the Kingdom of God would arrive soon. They were living in the end times when God
would intervene and overthrow the forces of evil with a cataclysmic event.
Women’s Lib: The Apocalyptic mindset might have also
been a “QUALITY” which drew women into the ministry;
believing that they would be part of the kingdom in EQUALITY. No more
oppression based on gender or class.
The Essenes who are thought
to have provided the Dead Sea scrolls were Apocalyptcist and so was Jesus. The Essenes were celibate and had moved to
the desert to devote themselves totally to God.
They were
In the kingdom of God we will have a sexless
and marriage-less existence; EQUALITY.[10] We will certainly get to see our “believing”
spouse in heaven, but we will just not be married to them; we will have a “different”
sexless
glorified
body.[11]
FEMALE DISCIPLE
Women were considered “Second
Class” to their father, brothers and husband. The message of Jesus was of freedom
and equality of the sexes; liberation from the
constraints, restrictions of Jewish Law concerning women. This
may be why so many women were attracted to the teachings of Christ.
Mary is always mentioned first among the women and thus by
interpretation, she can be assumed to be the leader of the Women’s Ministry,
and obviously had leadership qualities; she was a female disciple. (A follower) After all the Disciples had disappeared, Mary
was still following.[12]
Mary was present during the mock trial of
Jesus; heard His death sentence; saw the beatings, felt His humiliation and stayed near even to
his death
and burial.
She was the last to leave the cross and
the first to arrive at His tomb. Mary
had seen how the body of Jesus was laid; it was not a finished burial. After the Sabbath, she had planned to anoint
Him with more spices and perfume. His resurrection
occurred just before dawn and before she got there.[13]
Why did Jesus appear to Mary first? God says in Proverbs that; “I love those who
love me, and those who seek me will find me.
When He appeared to her, she did not recognize Him until He spoke her
name. She called him "Rabboni"
which means “Teacher”.
(She didn’t call to Him with a term of endearment) [14]
Here’s how it
all played out; from a distance Mary watches everything that happens to Jesus including
the mock trial; she stood near the cross as Jesus died, and followed them to
the tomb and saw WHEN, WHERE and HOW He was
laid. She was there when the stone
closed the entrance and went back after the Sabbath bringing spices to anoint
the body. She found the stone rolled
away and then Jesus appeared to her and commissioned her to go tell the
Disciples.[15]
She did and they thought that what she
said was nonsense.[16] She was found among the 120 in the upper room
on the day
of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out.[17]
The First Apostle – Beginning of Christianity
It
is also thought that Mary was one of the women present in the upper
room awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit.
At the resurrection of Christ, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb and commissioned “her”
to go and tell His Disciples what had happened; that would make her the first apostle.[18] The Greek word “Apostle” means “One who has been sent”; a Disciple
means “follower.”
God used a woman; deemed “second class”, to spread the Gospel.
He used the weaker vessel, considered
foolish, to confound those who think themselves wise. There were other Apostles
that were women mention in the scriptures; Junia is a female name and so is
Priscilla.[19]
I know that this is a stretch, but Mary Magdalene could be said to have established or originated “Christianity”
as she was the first to believe that Jesus Christ was “raised
from the dead” and went on and told others as none of the Twelve Disciples were
present. [20]
The resurrection is the bed rock
of Christianity. What if Mary had not
gone to the grave on the third day? Up
until this time they preached the coming of
the Kingdom of God, now they were teaching the
resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilling
the scriptures.
The Take Away
Mary
was from the town of Madala, a town located on the Southwest coast of
the Sea of Galilee, a town that was notorious for its moral corruption. i.e.: Prostitution. Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary; most student of the Word believe SEVEN
symbolizes completeness; she was completely
healed of her
illness and completely forgiven of her sins.
Mary could have been married before she
joined the ministry as other writings suggest. She became a devoted follower of Jesus and
used her wealth to provide for the needs of the ministry. She embraced the apocalyptic
mindset of Jesus and that of “Women’s Liberation”. She was not a prostitute, nor was she the
Mary that anointed Jesus with Oil. She
was not His wife nor bore Him children and only referred to Him as her “Teacher”.
She was the leader of the women apostles,
which I call the WOC the “Women of the Church.”
She was present at the mock trial, death sentence, beatings,
humiliations, death and burial of Jesus.
She was the first to see Jesus resurrected and was commissioned to “Go and Tell”.
Did you see it? Mary totally
believed that Jesus was still dead; she did not go to the tomb looking
for a risen Savior. Unbelief causes Blindness
to our Faith,
that’s why she did not recognize Jesus; but she did
recognized the voice of the
Shepard that she had followed; [21]
exclaiming Rabboni, Teacher.
God used Mary, the weaker vessel, considered foolish; confounding
the mighty and wise.[22]
Unbelief causes Blindness to our Faith
I enjoy walking
through all the commentaries;
crawling into
the stories; pausing to look around;
digesting their
culture and traditions and
just being there
in the moment.
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:14
I am grateful to those that
went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture
verses. Because of them I can stand on their
shoulders
and see further that I otherwise ever
could have.
All the Miracles of the Bible - Herbert Lockyer
All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen
Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias
Apocrypha –
Goodspeed
Apparitions of Mary – The Second Window
Bad Girls of the Bible - Higgs
Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell
Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Bible Study Tools – Liberty University
Book
of Bible Lists – H. L. Willmington
CARM – Christian Apologetics & Research
Ministry – M .J. Slick
Commentary
on the Pre-Adamic flood – Dr. Al
McCallister.
Customs
and Folkways of Jewish Life – Theodor H.
Gaster
Dake’s Annotated Bible –
Dake
Dead
Sea Scrolls Translated; The – Florentino Garcia Martinez
Does God Control Everything – R.C. Sproul
Don’t know much about the Bible – Kenneth C. Davis
Double Predestination Paper – Darryl Williams
Encountering
the Old Testament – Bill T. Arnold, Bryan
E. Beyer
English Standard Version Bible – ESV
Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein
Fascinating
Bible Facts – Howard & Burger
Forgotten
Books of Eden; The – World
Fraud at Fatima – Website Submission
Girls
of the Bible – Harvey Albert Snyder
Gospel
of Luke; The – J. Vernon McGee
Gospels Interwoven; The – Karmit Zarley
Great
Doctrines of the Bible Vol 2 – W. A. Criswell
Great Marian Catholic Apostasy; The – David Hughes
Guide Post - Lent – Max Lucado
Hidden
Dangers of the Rainbow; The – Constance
E. Cumbey
His Glory Revealed – John Hagee
Hoax of our Lady of Fatima;
The – David J. Stewart
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale
Illustrated
Manners and Customs of the Bible –
Packer-Tenny
Influence;
The – A novel – Matthew John Slick
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament – Baker
International Thesaurus - Roget’s
Invisible War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse
Israel Today Magazine – March 2008, page 18
Jewish book of Why; The –
Kolatch
Josephus; the
Jewish Historian A.D. 37-98
King James Version Bible – KJV
Lies of Fatima; The – Philip Coppens
Lost
Books of the Bible; The - Bell
Lost
Books of the Bible; The - World
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
Meredith’s
Book of List; 1&2 –Bethany House Publishers
Missing
Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
Nag
Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
New International Dictionary of the Bible;
The – Douglas - Tenney
New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV
New Living Translation Bible - NLT
Now that’s a Good Question – R.C. Sproul
One Hundred Bible Topics – Marvin Hunt
Other
side of the Good News; The – Larry Dixon
Parables
of Jesus; The – J. Dwight Pentecost
Paul & His Letters – John B. Polhill
Secrets
of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J.
Schonfield
Shepherd’s Chapel – Arnold Murray
Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible –
Nelson
Systematic Theology –
Wayne Grudem
Table Talk – R.C. Sproul
Temple Institute; The
Temple Mount & Land of Israel - Faithful Movement
Temple Mount Location - Dr. Asher Kaufman
Theomatics
– Jerry Lucas
There
were Two Trees in the Garden – Rick
Joyner
Three Secrets of Fatima – Wikipedia
Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee
Twelve Ordinary Men – John MacArthur
Unraveling
the Big Questions about God – Kenneth Boa
Unseen Realm; The – Michael S. Heiser
Victor
Journey through the Bible; The – V.
Gilbert Beers
Vincent’s Word Studies of the New
Testament – Mac Donald
What in the World is going on? – David Jeremiah
What the Bible is all about – Henrietta C. Mears
Where to find it in the Bible – Ken Anderson
Who’s Who and Where’s Where – Stephen M. Miller
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Why Do Catholics Do That? – Kevin Orlin Johnson
Wikipedia
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison
[1] Mark 16:9 – Jesus appears
first to Mary Magdalene -- Luke 24:9-11 – Peter did not respect Mary
[2] 1 Corenthians 1:27 – God
uses the weaker things to confound the wise
[3] Mark 15:40-41 – Many
women worked to provide care for the Disciples
[4] Luke 7:36-48 – Home of
Simon the Pharisee; The Woman was a sinner
[5] John 12:1-3 – Home of
Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany; Mary poured oil on Jesus
[6] John 8:3-11 – Woman
caught in the act of adultery
[7] Luke 8:1-2– Jesus cast out SEVEN demons from Mary Magdalene
[8] Luke 8:1-3 – Many women
gave money to support the ministry. NIV -- Luke 8:3 – Mary, Joanna, Susanna and the other
women had assets. (NIV) -- Luke 8:3 – The Women Ministered, Served, facilitated and financed the
ministry (KJV)
[9] 1 Corenthians 7:7 – Paul
remained single
[10] Mark 12:25 – Heaven will
be Sexless; no marriages
[11] Philippians 3:21 – Our
bodies will be transformed into a glorified body
[12] Proverbs 8:17 – Mary
loves, seeks and finds Jesus
[13] Mark 15:40-41 – Mary
Magdalen had followed Jesus -- Matthew 27:55-56 – Mary watches at first from a
distance -- John 19:25 – Mary Magdalen stood near the cross -- Mark 15:46-47 –
Mary Magdalen saw WHERE
Jesus was laid -- Luke 23:55-56 – Mary Magdalen saw HOW the body was laid --
Matthew 27:59-61 – Mary was at the tomb when it was closed -- Matthew 28:1 –
Mary went to the tomb after the Sabbath -- Mark 16:1 – Mary Magdalen took
spices to the tomb
[14] John 20:15-16 – Mary
called the resurrected Jesus; “Teacher”, Rabboni
[15] John 20:1 – Mary found
the stone removed from the tomb
[16] Luke 24:9-11 – Mary
Magdalen’s words were NONSENSE
to Peter.
[17] Acts 1:14 - Upper Room;
Mary of Nazareth and other women
[18] Mark 16:9 – Mary
Magdalene saw the Risen Lord first. -- Mark 16:6-7 – Mary Magdalene
commissioned to go and tell -- John 20:18
[19] Matthew 28:5-7 – Women
commissioned to go and tell -- Mark 16:6-7 – Mary commissioned to go and tell
-- Romans 16:7 - Junia was a woman apostle -- Romans 16:3 – Priscilla was a
woman apostle
[20] Mary Magdalene told the
Disciples that she had seen the Lord
[21] John 10:27 – My sheep
know my voice
[22] 1 Corenthians 1:27 - God
chose the foolish things to confound the wise
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