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What Does The Bible
Tell Us About Mary Magdalene?

By Glenn Davis

Mary Magdalene is well known in the life of Jesus, yet the Scriptures say very little about her.  The first time she is mentioned is in Luke 8:1-3:

After this, Jesus travelled 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. [NIV]

From her name, Magdalene, we knew she came from the town of Magdala near Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.  The town has one possible reference in the Bible in Matthew 15:39.  Some manuscripts say Jesus “went to the vicinity of Magdala,” while most say Magadan, which is probably a different town.  

The next and last time we meet Mary is around the events of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  All four gospel writers mention her in relation to these events.

In Matt. 27:55-56 [also see Mk 15:40-41, John 19:25], Mary and other women are mentioned as watching the crucifixion at a distance.  Again, it mentions that they financially supported Jesus and His ministry team.

In Matt. 27:61 [also see Mk 15:47] we see Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” sitting carefully watching Jesus' body being laid in the tomb and the stone being rolled in front of the entrance.

Note: In the Gospels, we have four different writers, and while they all agree on the general event, each one records slightly different details.  This is one piece of evidence for the truthfulness of the records, but it also means we have to piece the details together with what we know the big picture is.  The scenario below seems to explain both, but you can read the accounts and judge for yourself.

Mary Magdalene and other women went to the tomb early [at dawn] in the morning.  Their highest priority after the duties of the Passover was to anoint and take care of the body of the Lord they loved.  On the way, they realized they couldn't move the stone.  When they arrived, it wasn’t a problem! They witnessed the guards lying on the ground like dead men around an open tomb.  Mary Magdalene ran back to tell the disciples that Jesus' body had been moved.  The other women entered the tomb and saw the two angels, who looked like young men dressed in white.  One angel gave them the privilege of being the first to hear of the resurrection.  Meanwhile, Mary told the disciples the body was missing, and Peter and John raced to the tomb.  The other women had left before Peter and John arrived and gone into the city, some to keep quiet and others to tell the disciples the message of the angel.  

Mary returns to the tomb after the other women have left and enters.  An angel speaks to her.  Still weeping, she exits the tomb, and Jesus speaks to her, asking her why she is crying.  She thinks He is the gardener until He says her name.  Then she knows!  She becomes the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. [Jesus later appears to the other women before they have reached the city.]  Jesus gives her a message for the disciples.  She returns and tells the disciples that she has seen the Lord, as some of the other women had already done. The disciples thought the women were just babbling out of grief or delusions.  [Matt. 28:1-11, Mk. 16:1-11, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-18 ]

As a side note, this is evidence of the truth of the resurrection and of how God honours women who love Him.  In the Jewish tradition of the time, women were considered unreliable and could not testify in court.  Yet Jesus chose women as the first witnesses of the greatest event in the history of the world.  No Jewish person trying to invent a story would ever have done that.  Anyone who claims the Bible degrades women has only read it [if they have read it at all] without prejudiced and ignorant eyes.

After the resurrection, Mary Magdalene fades from history.  She was likely one of the 120 in the upper room when the Holy Spirit first descended and was involved in the church in Acts, but we have no Scriptural confirmation.

Scriptural References

Matthew 27 & 28, Mark 15&16, Luke 8:2, 24:10, John 19 & 20

Mary Magdalene Articles

A Devoted Disciple *** Why Are You Crying?

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