Misunderstood

 

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”

—John 20:18

Throughout much of history, largely because of the proximity of their stories in the Bible, many scholars and other individuals have confused the identity of Mary Magdalene (or, Mary from Magdala) with that of another unnamed woman. In order to rightly understand this narrative portion of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must examine more carefully the exact identity of this important woman, Mary Magdalene.

In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) we read the story of a woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in gratitude and worship. She had lived a sinful life as a prostitute and came to worship Jesus for forgiving her.

At the beginning of the very next chapter, (Luke 8:1-2), we read about a different woman, Mary Magdalene, who became one of Jesus’ closest followers. The Scripture tells us that Jesus had touched her and cured her from the possession of evil spirits and diseases. She has a distinct identity from the unnamed woman described in the previous chapter of Luke’s Gospel.

Nevertheless, this godly woman, Mary Magdalene, has been portrayed by writers and filmmakers as Jesus’ wife, as in the motion picture, The DaVinci Code. At best, the play, Jesus Christ Superstar, portrays Mary Magdalene as a fallen woman now in love with Jesus, comparing Him to her other lovers in the song: “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

Even biblically knowledgeable Christians get the prostitute in Luke 7 confused with Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus called the evil spirits, setting her free. Mary Magdalene became a close follower of Jesus, sat at His feet, and traveled with His large group of disciples.

Throughout the New Testament, all four Gospel writers have mentioned Mary Magdalene only slightly fewer times than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary Magdalene’s name appears in nine lists of women. And, it always appears first in those lists.

States a well-known writer, Carolyn James:¹

Mary’s real story is with the twelve apostles. Her relationship with Jesus resulted in the transformation of a useless, self-destructing life into a masterpiece of his grace. She became a key contributor to the advancement of his kingdom and someone to whom all Christians are indebted. Mary and the other women from Galilee were not incidental to the stories of Jesus’ male disciples either. These women had a profound, life-changing impact on the Twelve.

At the tomb on Easter morning, here sat Mary Magdalene, in despair, weeping over her crucified Lord. She, out of whom Satan was cast, became the first to celebrate the victory of the seed of the woman prophesied to Eve in the Garden of Eden. But, as Carolyn James points out, not only did Jesus show Himself first to Mary Magdalene:²

He authorized and commissioned her to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to his brothers, the eleven apostles… Distinguished men down through the ages have bestowed upon Mary the title “apostle to the apostles.”

Considering the life of Mary Magdalene should cause us to ask some questions of ourselves. Do we feel like a misunderstood Christian? Do others think of us more because of a past reputation that has been forgiven, rather than the godly disciple Jesus is making of us?

We must not be disheartened. Jesus has a way of coming near and speaking to us in unprecedented ways—ways that show His love and choice of us as His treasured followers. He has not misunderstood us. In fact, He understands us best of all. We must rejoice in that knowledge!

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1 James, Carolyn Curtis. Lost Women of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing Co., 2005. Pp. 188, 197.

2 Ibid.