Guide
Who was Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute — she was Jesus’s most faithful disciple and the first witness of the resurrection.
No figure in the Bible has been more misrepresented than Mary Magdalene. For centuries she was identified as a reformed prostitute, a confusion that has no basis in Scripture. The real Mary Magdalene is far more interesting: a woman healed of demonic affliction who became Jesus’s most devoted follower and the first person to see the risen Lord.
This guide separates fact from fiction, examines what the Gospels actually say about Mary Magdalene, and explains why her role matters for understanding the New Testament.
What the Gospels say
Luke 8:2 introduces Mary as a woman "out of whom went seven devils." She came from Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. After her healing, she became part of the group of women who followed Jesus and supported his ministry financially — a remarkable detail that Luke records without embarrassment.
Mary Magdalene appears at the crucifixion in all four Gospels when most male disciples had fled. She was present at the burial. And she was the first person to encounter the risen Jesus on Easter morning. In John’s account, Jesus says her name — "Mary" — and she recognises him and replies, "Rabboni."
The prostitute myth
The identification of Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’s feet in Luke 7 was made by Pope Gregory I in a sermon in AD 591. There is no textual basis for it. Luke introduces the sinful woman in chapter 7 and Mary Magdalene in chapter 8 as a different person.
The conflation stuck for over a thousand years and shaped Western art, literature, and theology. It was not officially corrected by the Catholic Church until 1969. The effect was to reduce a woman the Gospels honour as a witness and disciple to a sexual cautionary tale.
Why she matters
In a culture where women’s testimony was not accepted in court, Jesus chose a woman as the first witness of the most important event in history. The early church called Mary Magdalene the "apostle to the apostles" because she was sent to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen.
Her story challenges both ancient and modern assumptions about women’s roles. She was not passive, not peripheral, and not defined by her past affliction. She was present when it mattered most, and Jesus trusted her with the message that changed the world.
Key passages
"Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master."
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni.
"And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,"
Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.
"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."
He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.