Who was Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene appears first as one of a group of women travelling with Jesus and the twelve, named for the deliverance He worked in her. Much of what people assume about her comes from tradition rather than the text, so the commentators start by asking what Scripture actually says.
Her Name
"Magdalene" is not a description of her character but of her home town. Writers point out that the popular use of the word has no basis in the record.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe name given to a woman called Mary, "out of whom went seven demons," to show that she was a native of Magdala. There is nothing in the name, nor in the character of Mary, to link her with the modern meaning of the word Magdalen.
That misreading has left marks on the English language itself:
Edward DennettThis mistaken idea is even kept alive in the name of a hospital — Magdalene Hospital. A false word-history has done the same: "Maudlin" is a corruption of Magdalene. It is not only bad etymology, it carries the world's unbelief in the reality of repentance, because "maudlin" tears have come to mean weakness and sentimentality.
Not the Woman of Luke 7
She is often confused with the unnamed woman who wept over the Lord's feet, and with Mary of Bethany. Commentators reject both identifications, on the grounds of where she first appears:
William KellySome have supposed her to be Mary Magdalene. This is another of the errors of tradition, and cannot be reconciled with Scripture. Mary of Magdala comes forward first in the next chapter (Luke 8) as a stranger… These are set before us as entirely new persons. This Mary is nowhere spoken of as a woman of loose life; hers was the dreadful lot of having seven demons living in her — an extremely awful case, as a prey to the power of the devil, whether people believe it or not.
Commentators differ on how far her past can be guessed. Kelly holds that "never is moral looseness attributed to her," while Dennett writes that "it can scarcely be conceived that Satan could assert his power so completely over a soul, except through abandonment to a guilty and sinful life." What both agree on is that the text names demon possession, not immorality.
Her Deliverance
Her story begins with an encounter she did not arrange. Where it happened is not told, but the result is:
Edward DennettHe did meet with this sorrowful outcast, and with His word of power He "cast out" from her the seven demons… She who had been the slave of Satan, made to do his bidding however hateful and wicked, with her soul and body under his evil control, was now brought into the blessed circle where grace was supreme, where God was exalted, and where she sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus clothed and in her right mind.
What Followed
Deliverance was not the end of it. She joined the travelling company and put what she owned at His disposal — and both things flowed from the same source.
Edward DennettThe first effect of the Lord's word was deliverance; the next was attraction… She was drawn, attracted by the grace of her Deliverer… Her one characteristic from the day of her deliverance was intense affection: she loved Him who had first loved her; and, as is often noted, nothing satisfies love but the company of the one it loves.
At the Cross
When the men scattered, she stayed. Her presence there is read as the plain outcome of what He had done for her:
Edward DennettWhy then was Mary at the cross? It was because of her love to Him who had redeemed her from Satan's bondage. Jesus possessed her heart, and that drew her wherever He went; and so, as she had been with Him, identified with Him, in life, she would also be identified with Him in His death.
The same devotion kept her at the empty tomb after the others had gone:
Hamilton SmithBlessings were not enough for Mary; she could find no rest in this world without Christ. With Him she was happy, without Him she was desolate.
The Message She Carried
She was the first person to see the risen Lord, and she was given words to deliver that no one had heard before.
J. N. DarbyMary Magdalene shows more devotion of heart to Christ than the others; and this is why she is seen at the tomb before sunrise, and is the first of all of them to see the Lord. What is more, a more excellent message is entrusted to her… The disciples are here called the brethren of Christ for the first time, brethren of the risen Christ. His God is our God; His Father is our Father.
Others draw out who was chosen for that errand:
C. H. MackintoshIt is a fact of deepest interest that to "Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils," was granted the privilege of announcing to the disciples the new and wonderful relationship into which they were brought.
Summary
- Name. "Magdalene" marks her home town of Magdala; nothing in the name or her record supports the meaning tradition later attached to it.
- Case. Scripture describes demon possession, not immorality — she is a distinct person from the weeping sinner of Luke 7 and from Mary of Bethany.
- Deliverance. One word from Christ moved her from Satan's control to sitting at His feet, clothed and in her right mind.
- Attraction. Deliverance produced attachment: she followed Him, supported Him from her own means, and stood at His cross when others fled.
- Commission. The one out of whom seven demons went was the first to see Him risen, and the first to carry the message that His Father is now our Father.