Who was Mary Magdalene?

Mary Magdalene was a devoted follower of Jesus from Magdala in Galilee, "out of whom went seven devils" (Luke 8:2). She supported his ministry, stood by the cross, and was the first to see him risen. The later idea that she was a prostitute is not found in Scripture.

Mary Magdalene takes her name from Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Luke introduces her among the women who traveled with Jesus and the Twelve: "Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance" (Luke 8:2-3). Set free from severe spiritual bondage, she gave herself to supporting Jesus' ministry, and her faithfulness shines brightest at the end. She stood near the cross (John 19:25), watched where Jesus was buried (Mark 15:47), and came to the tomb early on the first day of the week. There the risen Jesus spoke her name, and she became the first witness of the resurrection, sent to tell the disciples (John 20:16-18). For this reason later Christian writers honored her as the "apostle to the apostles." Much of what people think they know about her, however, comes from later tradition. In a sermon in AD 591, Pope Gregory the Great identified her with the unnamed sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Luke 7 and with Mary of Bethany, and the image of Mary Magdalene as a repentant prostitute became widespread in the Western church. Scripture never makes either connection, and Luke introduces her as a new person in chapter 8, right after the story in chapter 7. Eastern Orthodox churches never adopted the identification, and the Roman Catholic Church set it aside in its 1969 calendar revision. Modern claims that she was Jesus' wife also have no basis in the Bible.

Key Passages

Mary Magdalene among the women who ministered

Luke 8:1-3

¹ And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, ² And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, ³ And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

At the cross of Jesus

John 19:25

²⁵ Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

The risen Jesus calls her by name

John 20:16-18

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. ¹⁷ Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her.