In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears for the first time after His resurrection to a woman, which is Mary Magdalene. But who is this woman close to Jesus? We can see her together in the Gospels to see how theologians and writers have interpreted this figure.
According to the canonical Gospels, we can already say that Mary Magdalene occupies a special place alongside Jesus. Mary (called Magdalene) was one of the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and helped Him with their possessions out of gratitude for the healing they had obtained. The nickname Magdalene, given to her, probably means that she was from Magdala. Jesus had delivered her from seven demons, which doesn’t necessarily mean she was a sinner.
Mary Magdalene is explicitly mentioned: in the Gospel of Luke, where she was exorcised. But also in the Gospels, where she lies at the foot of the cross. She is also said to meet the risen Jesus. And in the history of interpretation, some writers have also recognized her as Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who anoints the feet of Jesus in Bethany. The anonymous forgiven sinner who anoints Jesus’ feet in the pages of the Bible.
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St Mary Magdalene
At the end of the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great, in one of his sermons, transformed all the biblical figures into a single composite character. This made this woman extraordinarily popular in Western Churches, where mysticism was to fuel literature and sermons for centuries.
According to apocryphal sources and historical evidence, Mary Magdalene was declared a saint in 1969, on July 22. Until then, the Church had been a victim of the secular patriarchate when it equated Mary Magdalene with a prostitute to dishonor her and deny women their rightful place. The honest Mary is much more than a prostitute: she represents solidarity with the dying ones, loyalty even in the face of death, courage, creativity, and perseverance.
In Victorian England, Magdalen was a euphemism for prostitutes. In Ireland, women who disrupted the social order were called “Madeleines” and jailed without trial. Famous sculptor depicts. Magdalene is at once naked and utterly modest, endowed by the Creator with sublime hair that symbolizes the grace that covers all her past sins.
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How did Mary Magdalene meet Jesus?
Mary Magdalene is a close friend of Jesus. In Da Vinci’s Code, she is shown as His wife. Mary Magdalene is presented as the founder of a hidden dynasty that also had the Holy Grail. Applying conspiracy theory to Christian origins, some authors thought they could use the Gospel of Philip to reveal a truth hidden for ages.
According to biblical sources, Mary Magdalene met Jesus on His way to Bethany when she was demonized with a spirit of fornication. And asked Jesus to heal her by touching His clothes. The Gospel of John 20:1-13. It. is revealed to us at the moment of their meeting.
In 1945, Egyptian peasants in the village of Nag Hammadi discovered a collection of manuscripts that have since become known as the Nag Hammadi Library. Among these works, one story caught the attention of scholars, who named it the ‘Gospel of Philip.’ The text offered a new version of Jesus’ life and, in particular, his relationship with her. Jesus is said to have loved her as a companion “more than all the disciples” and “often kissed her on the mouth.”
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Did Jesus heal Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene is once again in the media and commercial spotlight. Her fictional character fuels, on the one hand, fantasies of new sulfurous revelations amid conspiracy theories. And on the other, ecclesiastical reactions were outraged by the blasphemy of the evocation of the chosen possible sexuality of Jesus. And she was claiming to restore “biblical truth.”
According to the Bible, Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus Christ. He healed her at their first official meeting on His way to Bethany. This miraculous healing is mentioned in Luke 8:1-3.
She has always been one of the most popular saints. From the earliest times, she was seen in Scripture and the Liturgy as the woman who, together with the mother of Jesus, shared with the apostles the rare and essential privilege of being with the Lord.
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Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene in the Bible
The woman from Magdala in the Gospels was a disciple of Jesus who followed Him to His last days, witnessed His Resurrection, and gave birth to an important figure in Christianity. At the same time, Mary of Magdala was a woman who had an unknown connection with Nicodemus, one of the priests who was secretly curious about Jesus and His teachings.
The bond that creates a connection between Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene is that the Bible portrays Nicodemus as the dark side of Mary Magdalene, or we could say otherwise: Mary Magdalene and Nicodemus represent two aspects of the mess in every human being. But at the same time, they find their light and hope in Jesus Christ.
The character of Nicodemus intervenes three times in the Gospel of John. At the beginning of chapter 3, in dialogue with Jesus, in chapter 7, .he intervenes to defend Jesus. Chosenchosen at the end of chapter 19, where he brings a hundred pounds of myrrh for Jesus’ burial. Like most of the characters in the Gospels, he belongs to the writing after Christ’s resurrection.
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Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
The large shrine in the crypt under the main nave contains a skull which, according to tradition, is that of Mary Magdalene. A crystal tube sealed at both ends by a gilded clasp is attached to the shrine of St Magdalene’s head, made of flesh or bone tissue adhering to the saint’s frontal bone, where Jesus is said to have placed his fingers on the day of resurrection. These bones are among those discovered during the excavations carried out by Charles II.
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is found in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, began in 1295, and was completed in 1532. It is the most important Gothic religious building in Provence. It is 73 meters long, 43 meters wide, and 29 meters high.
Built at the instigation of Charles II of Anjou, Count of Provence, after the ‘rediscovery’ of the relics of St Mary Magdalene under the floor of the town church a few years earlier, this church was designed to be the place where pilgrims could visit the tomb of St Mary Magdalene.
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How Did Mary Magdalene Die?
The version of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute held for centuries, but Orthodoxy and Protestantism did not adopt the same image. Eventually, even the Catholic Church admitted in 1969 that the text of the Bible did not support this interpretation. Today, Mary Magdalene is considered a saint in Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.
According to the Apocrypha and Gnostic writings, Mary Magdalene died as a martyr in Ephesus (0061 AD), 27 years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This leads us to understand she suffered for her faith in Yeshua.
She was martyred in her missionary work while accompanying St. John. The tomb of St Mary Magdalene of Ephesus is to the right of the entrance to the cave. Where the seven young men of Ephesus later fell asleep. The worshippers of the Holy Places never missed an opportunity to pass through Ephesus. To worship at the tomb of the Saint. Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450) very soon erected a shining basilica over the cave to commemorate the seven young men of Ephesus.
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Where was Mary Magdalene buried?
Mary Magdalene is known because when Jesus was crucified, she was at the foot of the Cross until the end. She was the first to see him when he rose from the dead. Since the Middle Ages, in iconography, she has always been depicted with a vase full of perfume. But let’s see where she, the apostle of Jesus, was buried after touching the lap of His garment and serving Him.
Mary Magdalene was buried in a plain in the department of Var in the town of Saint-Maximin. We can find her tomb in the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene, the third-largest tomb in Christendom. With a crypt containing her relics.
In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene demonstrated that she is indeed the woman Christ delivered from seven demons and seven demons and who then became His disciple. She also appears as Mary of Bethany, sister of St Lazarus and St Martha.
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Mary Magdalene Tomb
In 1279, during the excavations by Charles of Salerno in Saint-Maximin. Her tomb was discovered, along with three others, in the crypt. Where it is still located and which is open to the public.
The tomb of Mary Magdalene can be found in the Church of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, and her coffin is made of fine-grained alabaster called gypsum, quarried in Marmara.
The expensive alabaster is proof that nothing was too good for the saint. It was probably given to Mary Magdalene by Constantine and his pious mother, St Helena. They were chosen as a happy resident of Arles, where the first evangelization of the region was well known.
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Things that you might want to know…
Around Mary, Magdalene gathered from all parts of Scripture as the patroness of all sinners in need of mercy. Significantly, her forgiveness is not always in Simon’s house but in the garden of winter. Where all sins are forgiven to those, who love much. The following lines are two essential aspects of the famous woman’s life in Magdala. Or interpretations of her role in the contemporary series.
Why is Mary Magdalene called Lilith in The Chosen?
“The Chosen” is the first multi-season TV series about the life of Jesus. Even though it’s free to watch on the mobile app created specifically for the series. Fans donated over $40 million to the production budget. Making it the most significant crowd-funded media venture in entertainment history.
According to the producers of “The Chosen,” Mary Magdalene was called Lilith on the show because she had demons associated with Lilith. That is the demons of fornication and female deception.
Created by American evangelical director Dallas Jenkins, “The Chosen” is the first multi-season series about the life of Christ and those who surrounded Him in His life on this earth. The production has amassed several records: world record for most donations from the general public.
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Mary Magdalene Prostitute
In the Bible, women prostitutes are often the key characters. Rahab, Tamar, and Mary Magdalene: are the bearers of salvation and privileged witnesses of Revelation. In the Bible, the Gospel of Luke mentions a “sinner in the city” (Luke 7:37). It is not for nothing that Mary Magdalene has the reputation of being a sensual woman. However, it has been shown that she was a prostitute, as is commonly believed.
According to the Gospel of Philip account, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. There is nothing in the Gospel that says this directly. But we are told that the spirits of prostitution possessed her. Before her encounter with Jesus, we can imagine her as a free-spirited, glamorous, and dissolute woman. Also passionate about lust, luxury, and pleasure, they frequented King Herod’s court.
Mary Magdalene’s wealth challenges us and questions our attachments: she had everything in abundance, but when she saw Christ, she recognized the deep source of joy and knew how to leave everything to hold on to Him to live a good Christian life.
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Primary Takeaways
- After the resurrection, Jesus appeared for the first time to Mary Magdalene. But she did not recognize Him and thought He was the gardener. However, as soon as she said His name, Mary realized who was in front of her and told the other disciples about His resurrection.
- It is well known that women are not strongly represented in the Bible. It is perhaps not surprising that Mary Magdalene, a part of Jesus’ mother, is the only woman whose name is mentioned in all four Gospels.
- Her name alone suggests that she was an emancipated and independent personality. Unlike what was usual for women of that period, she does not bear the name of a husband, son, or brother. Mary Magdalene, or Mary of Magdala, after her birthplace at the Sea of Galilee.
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Conclusion
She was considered a promiscuous and sinful woman. To others, she was a saint. The role of the Magdalene woman is still disputed today. The only thing that seems likely is that she used her financial independence to support Jesus and his disciples. She may have paid their living expenses. But she was also helped by her actions. This woman and Jesus’ mother, Mary, accompanied Jesus to His death and rejoiced in His resurrection.