Who was Mary Magdalene? Who was Mary of Bethany?
- Elaine R Kelly
- Dec 15, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 17
A sinner? A prostitute? Repentant woman? Patron of wayward women? Wife of Jesus? Recluse living in a cave? The sister of Martha?
None of the above, according to the Bible.
Early Christians were taught that Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, and the sinful woman of Luke 7 were one person. This merging of three women into one composite Mary makes Mary of Bethany invisible and maligns both Marys as sinful prostitutes. The idea of the composite Mary has persisted until recent times. Let's look at how it began and what it has meant to the church.
I have written a separate article contrasting the biblical passages of Mary and Martha to easily compare them with Luke 7, where Jesus is anointed by a sinful woman. While Duke scholar Elizabeth Schrader claims the passages in John 11-12 relate to Mary Magdalene, I have gone with the widely held view that these passages refer to Mary, the sister of Martha.
Is Mary Magdalene the sister of Martha?
I take a closer look at Mary of Bethany here, and I don't see any evidence that Martha's sister was Mary Magdalene. It is widely believed that Martha and Mary had to take their brother Lazarus away from Judea to save his life. Religious leaders of the day knew that as long as Lazarus was alive, witnesses would tell of Jesus' miracle and they continued to plan to kill Lazarus. Tradition says the siblings escaped with Maximin (one of the 72 disciples) on a boat with no sails or oars in AD 42. They landed in Marseille and preached about Jesus in Gaul (France). Today, the bones of Lazarus are housed in Notre Dame Cathédrale La Major in Marseille, France, and tourists can visit Martha’s tomb in Tarascon, France. It is said that after preaching about Jesus, Mary (sister of Martha), lived in a cave in the Sainte-Baume mountains.
In AD 1279, Carlos II, Count of Provence, ordered excavations and found a marble sarcophagus with a tablet that read “Here rests the body of Mary Magdalene”. The tablet was written by people who believed Mary of Bethany was the same person as Mary Magdalene. Written on a nearby piece of papyrus, it says that to prevent ransacking, the tablet and sarcophagus were hidden there in AD 710. Today, the skull from that sarcophagus is in the crypt at Sainte-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume near Marseille. Science has shown that the skull belongs to a woman of Mediterranean appearance. It is carried in a parade each year on the feast day of Mary Magdalene. Other relics said to have belonged to Mary Magdalene include a foot bone in Italy, a left hand in Greece, and a tooth in New York City. I submit that these stories all relate to Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
The idea of the composite Mary effectively hides Mary of Bethany, not honouring her as a separate biblical heroine. She chose the right thing, to sit at Jesus' feet as a disciple rather than worrying about earthly duties (Luke 10:38-42). She is the one that Jesus said would be remembered for her actions. She had an early understanding of Jesus' predictions, taking the role of a prophet by anointing Jesus as king by pouring oil on his head, and preparing his body for burial while he was still alive (Matthew 26:1-13, Mark 14:1-9, John 11:1-45, John 12:1-8). She is one of many leading women of faith who are minimized or forgotten.
Is Mary Magdalene the sinful woman of Luke 7?
The biblical record shows Mary Magdalene as a wealthy, independent patron, healed of seven demons, a devoted disciple, the first to witness the risen Jesus, and authorized by Jesus as an apostle.
"... She was probably a woman of greater social status, higher social status, a woman of wealth who accompanied Jesus as we see in Luke 8:2, helping Jesus and his disciples with her own resources." - Jennifer Ristine, director of the Magdalena Institute at Magdala.
Marie of Magdala was an eyewitness to Jesus’s ministry, death, burial and resurrection. The risen Jesus commissioned her to be an apostle to the apostles.
Marie travelled with Jesus and the twelve, was healed of seven demons and provided for Jesus and his companions from her own resources (Luke 8:1-3).
Marie followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem to care for his needs and was at the cross (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:49, John 19:25).
Marie saw Jesus laid in the tomb (Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47, Luke 23:55).
Marie went to the tomb at dawn; angels told her to tell his disciples he had risen (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-11).
Marie met the risen Jesus, and he told her to go and tell the brothers to go to Galilee to see him (Matthew 28:9-10, Mark 16:9-10, John 20:1-18).
The Bible does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, a past prostitute, or a sex worker. There is no biblical or historical evidence that Mary Magdalene was romantically involved with Jesus or married to him. The Western world has re-framed the image of Mary Magdalene as a woman who is sinful and repentant, a saint and model for wayward women. Theology and history combined to show her as a sex object rather than a mature, gifted, and devoted disciple.
Earliest Records Uplift Mary Magdalene
In early art and architecture, Mary Magdalene was portrayed as a leader in worship.
The Eastern Orthodox church has always disagreed with the composite Mary and characterizes Mary Magdalene as a virtuous disciple. According to Eastern tradition, Mary Magdalene appears before Emperor Tiberius in Rome to testify about Jesus. Eusebius of Caesarea, an early historian, wrote that Emperor Tiberius "knew from Pilate of the events in Palestine," and "did not find anything preposterous in Christ's teachings." Eusebius credits Mary Magdalene's preaching to the emperor for his proposal to the Senate that they "include Christ in the pantheon of Roman gods." Putting these pieces together, it's possible that Mary Magdalene carried and presented Pilate's written report and testified in person as to its truth. Legend also has it that Veronica, a woman from Judea, wiped Jesus's face with her veil and her veil was brought to Rome and cured Emperor Tiberius of an illness. Traditional church reports state that when Mary Magdalene testified, Tiberius told her that no one could rise from the dead any more than an egg can turn red. Then, Mary picked up an egg, and it turned bright red. That is why ancient art often portrays Mary holding a red egg. It is also the origin of the tradition of colouring eggs at Easter. Find out more about Mary Magdalene's Miracle here. The Senate denied Tiberius's proposal, but Tiberius did order that no one interfere with the followers of Christ.
The Eastern tradition is that after preaching in Egypt, Mary Magdalene travelled to Ephesus, visiting the apostle John and Virgin Mary. According to sixth-century historian Gregory of Tours, Mary Magdalene was buried in Ephesus and Byzantine Emperor Leo VI moved her remains to Constantinople in AD 886.
Catholic Church: A Mixed View
The Roman Catholic Pope Gregory confirmed the belief in the composite Mary in a sermon in AD 591. The composite Mary portrays her not as the one honoured as the first to see the risen Jesus, but as a penitent sinner. The Western world has run with this idea, which promotes the stereotype of Mary as a prostitute and women as causing sin.
In the 13th century, Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas affirmed Mary Magdalene as an apostle to the apostles. Aquinas was tried for heresy because some of his teachings were derived from Aristotle and other philosophers. The church called Aquinas heretical because he used human reason to achieve an understanding of God. When Aquinas died in 1274, the church called him a heretic and excommunicated him posthumously. In 1324, the Catholic church declared Aquinas a saint, but they did not accept his view of Mary as an apostle; instead, they persisted with the composite Mary.
Some Roman Catholics, including the Benedictine Order, opposed the
merging of Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman. The Catholic St Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century called Mary Magdalene an ‘apostle to the apostles’ because Jesus authorized her to tell the apostles that he had risen.
In 1118, when the Knights of Templar was formed to protect Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, they honoured Mary Magdalene as a model disciple and apostle who brought key knowledge and wisdom. When the Gospel of Philip refers to Jesus kissing Mary Magdalene on the mouth, some Christians of the era saw this as a reference to passing on wisdom through the mouth, the word, and the breath of life. They followed Lady Wisdom, a feminine counterpart of Christ.
They believed Mary Magdalene was a priest of the Essene Jewish sect. Essenes were dedicated to celibacy, and it appears Mary Magdalene never married. They believed the reference to Mary being healed of seven demons referred to the normal process of becoming a priestess by cleansing the seven chakras to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through.
In 1169, Landercost Priory in Cumbria, UK, named Mary Magdalene as their patron saint. The statue of Mary Magdalene still stands above their entry. Beside Mary are the faces of Kind Edward 1 and Queen Eleanor, who gifted the statue to the priory. Beside her a canon is praying. Many Augustinians prayed to saints, not as a substitute for God, but as intercessors, much like Protestants today ask a Christian friend to pray for you.
Protestants: A Mixed View
In the sixteenth century, Protestant Reformers were divided on the topic. Reformer John Calvin rejected the composite Mary and called ignorant those who ever believed the idea. However, Reformers Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli supported the composite Mary. Reformers confirmed that all believers can approach God directly and associated images of Mary Magdalene with the practice of praying through saints as intercessors. Zwingli demanded that all images of Mary Magdalene be destroyed, including those that showed her as an apostle or liturgical leader. In 1519 Paris theologians of the Sorbonne condemned criticism of the composite Mary as heresy. Artists were not permitted to portray Mary Magdalene in a priestly or liturgical role, but only as a reformed sinner. Baroque and Renaissance art depict Mary as erotic, sensual, and penitent. Theologians who viewed Mary as a sinful woman equated the seven demons who plagued her with seven deadly sins. The focus was on her as a sinner, not as one Jesus forgave and honoured for her faith.
While the idea of Mary Magdalene as a penitent, sinful woman came from Catholicism and not from the Bible, when Protestants broke from Catholicism, many ideas remained, including the composite Mary Magdalene. Many Protestants do not recognize her as a devoted disciple, financial patron and evangelical preacher. She is hidden, along with other women of the Bible who were disciples, apostles, preachers and church planters.
Recent Recovery of Early View Honouring Mary Magdalene
Finally, in 1896, fragments of the non-canonical Gospel of Mary were found in Upper Egypt. These scrolls show Mary Magdalene as a disciple with special revelations from Jesus. These scrolls were written in Coptic, likely by followers of Mary Magdalene in the second century. The Gospel of Mary is not part of the Bible but is useful as a historical document. It shows Mary Magdalene as an influential preacher in Egypt with many devoted followers. It also shows that women were church leaders from the earliest days of the Christian church.
In 1969, Roman Catholic Pope Paul VI removed the identification of the three women as one composite Mary in the Roman Catholic calendar. The church now acknowledges that Mary Magdalene is not the same as the unnamed sinful woman of Luke 7, nor is she the same woman as Mary of Bethany. Their calendar moved the recognition of Mary of Bethany from July 22 to July 29th, the same day as Martha and Lazarus. The date honouring Mary Magdalene, July 22, no longer refers to Mary of Bethany, and the liturgical reading for July 22 was changed from the penitent woman in Luke 7 to the account of Mary Magdalene as the first witness to the risen Jesus (John 20). In 2016, Pope Francis raised the commemoration of Mary Magdalene to a feast day, the same level as the apostles.
Mary Magdalene has unfortunately been remembered as a repentant sinner and forgotten in the Western church as a devoted disciple, patron and apostle. Theologians are slowly reversing Mary Magdalene's sinful reputation, as growing numbers realize Mary Magdalene was a follower, eyewitness, patron, supporter, disciple, and apostle. Now it's time for popular culture to remember her as a devoted disciple and honoured evangelical teacher, preacher, and leader.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, A Novel of Early Female Apostles (coming October 2025)
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