Mary Magdalene in the
New Testament
Mary Magdalene is
mentioned in all four gospels as a witness of the crucifixion and empty tomb. In
Matthew and John, she also encounters the resurrected Jesus.
Only in Luke is Mary
mentioned earlier in the story. Luke 8 refers to Mary, called Magdalene, as one
of several women who travelled with Jesus and the disciples in Galilee. Immediately
preceding this reference is the story of the woman described as a sinner who anoints
Jesus with her tears and is forgiven by him.
In later Christian
tradition, this unnamed woman was identified with Mary Magdalene, and all of these references were combined
with references to Mary, the sister of Martha, in Luke and John, to construct the
image of Mary Magdalene as repentant sinner, anointer, disciple, sister of Martha
and Lazarus. The image of Mary as repentant sinner became far more prominent in
the history of painting than the Mary Magdalene of the empty tomb stories. The
depiction of MaryÕs encounter with the risen Jesus in GJohn 20 was widely represented
in paintings known as ÒNolo me TangereÓ (ÒDo not touch meÓ). Click on the link
to the Gallery of Images to see a variety of images of Mary Magdalene in western
painting.
33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock Jesus cried
out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" . . . . . . 37 Then
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And
the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now
when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his
last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" 40 There
were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These
used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were
many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. . . . .47 Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
16: 1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint
him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun
had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one
another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the
tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very
large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the
tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side;
and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be
alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been
raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But
go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So
they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them;
and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
55 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they
had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 56 Among
them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and
the mother of the sons of Zebedee. 57 When it was evening, there
came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.
58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then
Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 So Joseph took the body
and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his own
new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the
door of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
28: 1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And
suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending
from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His
appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For
fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But
the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are
looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he
has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then
go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you
to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." 8 So
they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his
disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!"
And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then
Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to
Galilee; there they will see me."
1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages,
proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were
with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and
infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and
Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who
provided for them out of their
resources.
Immediately
preceding this explicit reference to Mary Magdalene is the story of the woman
who anoints Jesus with her tears, in Luke 7:36-50.
7:36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he
went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And a
woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the
Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She
stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her
tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and
anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had
invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he
would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching himÑthat
she is a sinner." 40 Jesus spoke up and said to
him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he
replied, "speak." 41 "A certain creditor had
two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When
they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them
will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I
suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to
him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then
turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I
entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my
feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You
gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my
feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my
feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which
were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to
whom little is forgiven, loves little." 48 Then
he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 But
those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who
is this who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the
woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
24:1-10 1 But on
the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the
spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled
away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find
the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in
dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and
bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you
look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember
how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that
the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the
third day rise again." 8 Then they remembered his
words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the
eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the
apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did
not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb;
stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went
home, amazed at what had happened.
19:25-30 Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus
were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved
standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your
son." 27 Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your
mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. 28 After
this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill
the scripture), "I am thirsty." 29 A jar
full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on
a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When
Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed
his head and gave up his spirit.
20:1-18 1 Early on the first day of the
week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the
tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she
ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved,
and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not
know where they have laid him." 3 Then Peter and the
other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The
two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the
tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying
there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came,
following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and
the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but
rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who
reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as
yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then
the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As
she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and
she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying,
one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They
said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them,
"They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid
him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus
standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus
said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have
carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him
away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She
turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus
said to her, "Do not hold on to me [Latin: ÒNolo me tangereÓ], because I
have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them,
"I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'
" 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the
disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said
these things to her.