Who was Mary Magdalene?


Who was Mary Magdalene? Prostitute? Wife of Jesus? There has been a great deal confusion, speculation, and straight-up lies regarding this Biblical character.

I’d like to give you a quick profile of Mary Magdalene. This is not intended to be an in-depth study. First, I’d like to dispel a few false beliefs about her:

False belief #1: Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus.

Scripture never states that Jesus had a wife. Consider what John’s gospel tells us about Jesus’ final hours:

Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
-John 19:25-27

We see that Jesus asked John to take care of his mother. If Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife, wouldn’t he have asked someone to take care of her? After all, she was right there with Jesus’ family!

Nowhere does the New Testament claim that Magdalene was Jesus’ wife. Even false gospels like the “Gospel of Philip” make no such claim (contrary to what Dan Brown’s book claimed—Brown didn’t even correctly identify the language of the Gospel of Philip).

False belief #2: Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.

We find no evidence of this in Scripture. This is what the Bible tells us about Magdalene’s past:

Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. . .
-Luke 8:1-2

Mary suffered from demon-possession, but we have no reason to believe she was a prostitute. This believe apparently came when she was confused with other women in the Bible (such as the one mentioned at the end of Luke 7). Such confused interpretations led to more myths and stories that are unscriptural.

The Truth about Mary Magdalene:

Mary Magdalene became a follower of Jesus after she was healed of demon possession. She was there at his crucifixion and was the first witness to the empty tomb. The Gospel of John records that she was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection (John 20). This is about all we can say with absolute certainty.

I’ll close this article with a quotation from 1st Timothy. We would be wise to apply this instruction and avoid “myths” and “meaningless speculations”:

When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.
-1st Timothy 1:3-4

Matthew 13: Missing the Miracle


He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
-Matthew 13:54-58

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is a commonly used expression in the States. It means that when we know someone, we tend to take them for granted and even treat them disrespectfully. This is one reason that it can be challenging to get along with the people that live with us (family, roommates, etc).

As I have mentioned before, most people here have some idea of who Jesus is. They’ve heard stories about Him and have probably even heard messages about His life. I’m thankful, of course, that most Filipinos know of Jesus’ importance. The problem, however, is that religious environments can actually create apathy and misunderstanding.

Let’s consider what happened to Jesus in His own hometown. He preached to those who had seen Him grow up. They thought they knew Jesus, so they did not accept Him as the Christ. He was simply a local carpenter to them—a fixture of everyday life. Unfortunately, this same attitude is prevalent now. For many people, Jesus is just a figurine on a dashboard, a parade decoration, or someone to greet on Sunday. Many are simply not interested in allowing Him to have the role of Lord and Savior in daily life. Is Jesus just a religious “fixture” in the background of your life? Do you know Him or just know about Him?

It seems the people of Nazareth believed that the Messiah should come from a mysterious or wealthy family background. Here’s the problem with their belief: it is not found in Scripture. Once again, I still see the same problem on a daily basis. People believe religious traditions or bizarre theories (such as the Da Vinci Code) instead of reading God’s word. Have you studied the Bible so that you can know the truth about Jesus?

There’s another interesting twist to this story. In verse 55, we see references to Jesus’ mother and brothers. This was a derogatory statement, since Jewish people normally referred to someone by their father’s name (even in the case of a widowed mother). Jesus Himself was amazed at their contempt and unbelief.

The people in Jesus’ hometown should have been the first to believe in Him. Instead, they only experienced a few miracles because of their unbelief. Most importantly, they missed the miracle of truly knowing Him. Let’s not be guilty of the sin of Nazareth. Familiarity may breed contempt, but true intimacy with the Lord Jesus will produce just the opposite. Don’t miss the miracle!