Mary was, as her name implies, was born in Magdala the town on the western shore of Lake Galilee 5 km north of Tiberias. A thriving Gentile port town, with all that implies.

Mary is one of a group of women who joined Jesus and his disciples during Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and who financially supported his mission (Luke 8:1-3). She is often mistakenly depicted as the prostitute who washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, in reality this was another Mary, the name seeming to have been popular at the time. Luke, tells us that Mary of Magdala was a demoniac, and that Jesus had driven 7 demons out of her.

Mary after recovering from the possession was an intelligent and independently wealthy woman possibly afraid to be too far away from Jesus, as he had been the only one able to free her from demon possession. So we know for certain Mary Magdalene followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and contributed financially to Jesus’ cause (Mark 15:4:41; Luke 8:1-3). When the disciples fled in fear after Jesus arrest it was Mary Magdalene and John who stayed with him right through and were present at the crucifixion, comforting Jesus mother (Mark 15:40; John 19:25). It was they who after the death of Jesus, took spices to the tomb to anoint his body (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55-24:1). Mary and the other women reported the empty tomb to the 11 disciples (Luke 24:1-11), though the report was not believed (Luke 24:11).

In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene has an even more prominent role in the resurrection accounts. She is the one who runs to fetch Peter and another disciple and the first person to see the risen Jesus (unless you count Nicodemus account as truthful, in which case she was the second). Mary meets Jesus outside the empty tomb and mistakes him for the gardener (John 20:1-18). Mary Magdalene says “I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18). Mary Magdalene’s involvement with the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, on the criteria of (Acts 1:21,22), makes her the equal of the apostles.

Even with the question of her identity as the prostitute put to rest; Mary can still not escape controversy, as it is claimed that she was to be the Apostle to the Apostles and may have been the wife of Jesus Christ. It is possible, it was unusual for a Rabbi not to be married, she travelled with Jesus and the others and it is reported in one of the apocryphal gospels that Jesus spent much time with her, that she understood him and his ministry more than anyone else and that he kissed her. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't, it is not relevant to who Jesus was or is, or what he did and does. When did marriage become a sin? It doesn't change the fact of his being God's son and the Messiah. Many Old Testament Prophets were married, as were all the Patriarch's. Wife or not - she stands equal to the disciples and deserves remembrance and respect.

Some legends say that she lived with Jesus mother and the disciple John in Ephesus, and died there. Other legends say that she travelled to France with Lazarus and a few others and died there in a cave after 30 years living as a hermit.

BORN: Magdala, Israel

DIED: Ephesus, Turkey, Or France.

Quotes at the bottom of our prayer pages today come from the 'Gospel of Mary'. This was found in the late-19th Century somewhere near Akhmim in upper Egypt and became part of the Berlin Gnostic Codex (Papyrus Berolinensis 8502). Two more fragments were discovered in the 20th Century. The translation was finally printed and released in 1955. Academics say it is not written by Mary but is about her.