When discussing the Bible’s New Testament, there are several individuals aside from Jesus that gander a lot of attention. It is not uncommon to hear pastors and priest preaching about the disciples that walked with the messiah during his time of great works during a Sunday service. There are many lessons to be learned from the experiences of and trails faced by the men that knew best. However, even though the Bible is considerable a masculine text, there are many notable women sprinkled throughout it. Most notable, of course, would be the mother of Jesus, Mary. She made several appearances throughout the Gospel from the moment the angel came to her and said “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28) to let her know that she was going to be the mother of the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32) to the moment she stood witness to the crucifixion of that Son. Today, after Jesus, Mary – sometimes also called The Virgin Mary – is among those most revered in the Bible. However, she is not the only Mary to have close ties to the Biblical savior. There are actually at least three other Marys to walk along side with Jesus at some point, but none more conversational than Mary Magdalene. The first time Mary Magdalene appears in the Bible is chapter 27 in the Book of Matthew, when it is mentioned that she was among those that followed and provided for Jesus during His crucifixion. In this same chapter it was mentioned she stayed at His tomb after it was sealed:
Her undying passion and faith in God contributed towards her vocation which inspired others. From birth till death Mary has been a significant figure in the church’s history.
The way in which both Matthew and Luke treat Mary in their birth narratives affects our understanding of the historicity of these accounts. It could be argued that both of the birth narratives present the male ideology of that time. This is clear when in Luke, Mary is first introduced as “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David” This description reveals the two most important features of a woman of her time: her virginity and, the man who she belonged to. This male ideology is also presented through Matthew’s writing as he also associates the female population with the aspect of birth and nurture. However, despite both of
Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of God are both biblical women who were faced with similar societal standards even thought these time periods are hundreds of years apart. Mary Magdalene was always seen as the “rebellious” women in the bible when it turns out she really wasn 't doing anything wrong. Similarly David Van Biema wrote about this topic in Time Magazine saying that Mary was first seen in the Gospel of Luke as
Mary has appeared 9 major approved times by the Catholic Church. She appears in times of trouble to urge people to recommit themselves to the church and inspire the conversion of sinners to Christianity.
When you open your bible it doesn’t take long to discover that Jesus broke all the rules when it came to women. He extended respect and dignity which was something that had not been seen up to this point in the culture. Jesus honored women and because Jesus was God in the flesh, the respect He had for women was expressed through Him from
In the Gospel of Mary, circa 120-180 AD, Mary Magdalene displays that women exercised agency by being a vessel of God and finding favor with the Lord. Beginning in the first paragraph of the work, it states, “Andrew and Peter question her veracity and ask why a woman should become a favorite disciple” (The Gospel of Mary 53). This demonstrates that men did not understand why a woman would be seen as a greater or more trustworthy being themselves as Christ’s inoculator. However, Mary remains humble, and she uses her agency to teach the men. Mary shows her willingness to enlighten the men when it is stated, “Mary answered, ‘What’s concealed from you I’ll tell; I saw him in a vision and I told him’” (The Gospel of Mary 57). This demonstrates Mary’s power over the males. In this situation, she holds knowledge that only she can give to them. This allows for her to become the individual in
Luke’s introduction of the Gospel started with an angel visiting a priest named Zechariah and informing him that his old barren wife will give birth to a son named John. Around the same time the angel Gabriel visited the virgin Mary in Nazareth and told her that
If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
She was one of Jesus’ most devoted followers. The women were alongside of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry in Galilee and, unlike his disciples, they did not desert him before the crucifixion. At the end of Jesus’ account, his tomb, only the women were present, Mary Magdalene being the most prominent among all of the gospels. Due to her devotion to the work of Jesus Christ, “She had been seen as an equal to the
Mary Magdalene, a.k.a. Mary of Magdala, was born in Magdala Nunayya by the Sea of Galilee in modern day Israel. Mary was recorded as one of the witnesses to Jesus’s crucifixion and according to the Gospel of John, she was the first to witness the empty tomb and the rising of Christ.
During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, claims not found in any of the four canonical gospels ( Mary Magdalen’s passion and love for Jesus can be seen at the cross, crucifixion and tomb. “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.” Mark 16:9. This first appearance of the Savior, after He had left the tomb to Mary Magdalene was special She was the only one even of the disciples who desired to sought and found.
Imagine having the ability to feel like you are mentally and physically in a painting, as if you were transported into another dimension and were able to feel every emotion specified at that very moment. The piece of art that is able to do this is Saint Mary Magdalene at the Sepulcher by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo painted in the 1530’s now shown at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. This painting illustrates a woman covered in her cloak as her body turns away and her emotion filled face looks back at you. The woman is Saint Mary Magdalene. As I glance to the background of the picture it shows a beautiful peaceful sky with white clouds over a mountain, and Mary Magdalene standing in front of a brick building with two lightened tunnels to the
Mary was the First Disciple of her own Son, Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. It is believed that she was the one who gave the first Gospel testimony, to her cousin Elizabeth, without words. Mary’s exact words are not found in the New Testament of the Bible as little of what she said was recorded explicitly. One can safely assume that the reason for this has nothing to do with her importance, or lack thereof.
(Cf. Luke 1: 26-35). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of God dwells. She is ‘the dwelling of God… with men.’” 2.
Mary had a major role in salvation and it all started by Mary saying “Yes” to God. According to Gina Keating it can be hard to say “Yes” to God, but, Mary still did it. It is hard to do what Mary did because of sin and fear and many people can't do that, but Mary did so she deserve all those holy names. According to Gina Keating Jesus was Mary's son by the flesh. Mary took care of her son and loved him not because God told her, but because she had the love inside her and many people need that love inside them to accept other people not caring about the looks or race.