The Gospel of Mary Magdalene first came to light in Cairo in 1896, fifty years before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts. Mary Magdalene was branded as a sinful woman by one of Christ’s disciples, Luke, when he wrote his account of Jesus’ mission which became part of the New Testament. The Gospel of Mary is written in Sahidic Coptic, which borrowed from a number of other dialects, which makes modern translation a challenge.
Mary’s identity as a prostitute stem from Homily 33 of Pope Gregory I, written in the year 591. The Pope prepared this discourse for the spiritual edification of the Roman Catholic clergy. He declared Mary Magdalene, and the unnamed woman in Luke 7 are, in fact, one and the same, and the faithful should hold Mary as the whore who begged Jesus’ forgiveness.
Luke was an educated man, he wrote his recollection of the events of Jesus’ life in Greek, not Hebrew or Aramaic. The Greek word Pope Gregory interpreted as “sinner” was harmartolos. This word can be translated several ways. To a Jew living in Palestine 2,000 years ago, it would mean a person (male or female) who has transgressed Jewish law, up to and including paying their taxes. The Greek word for harlot, porin, which Luke used in other places in his writing, is not the word he used for the sinful woman who, weeping at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears and anointed them with an expensive oil. And here is an interesting point to be taken into consideration: There is no direct reference to the woman at Jesus’ feet, or to Mary Magdalene, as a prostitute anywhere in the synoptic gospels.
Since ancient times human beings have known about the seven energy centers found throughout the body. These are identified as chakras in Sanskrit. Knowledge of these energy wheels can be traced from India to Babylon to Assyria and finally to Egypt. It is thought this is where the knowledge entered Hebrew tradition. If seven demons possessed Mary Magdalene, did Jesus cast out pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony, and sloth replacing them with virtues?
Imagine what would we be like if prejudice, old grudges, illusion, hereditary obstacles to our health, and mundane desires were suddenly eliminated from all human behavior? In terms we embrace today, what if our heart and energy centers were suddenly opened and negative behavior vanished?
Mary Magdalene was referred to in the established Gospels as the “apostle of the apostles.” Do we know what she taught? The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is the primary source of the teachings she received from Jesus. Her appearance with special oils to use in anointing Jesus at the time of his death place her in the tradition of priests and priestesses of Isis, whose unguents were used to achieve the transition over the threshold of death while retaining consciousness. Why do most people know her as a reformed prostitute, rather than a ministering priestess with a deep understanding of the thresholds into the spirit world? Plain and simple. She was a woman and women didn’t hold positions of authority over men. The following is a line-by-line transcript of a conversation between the disciples contained in the Gospel of Mary.
“Then Andrew began to speak, and said this to his brothers:
Tell me, what do you think of these things she has been telling us?”
As for me, I do not believe that the Teacher would speak like this.
These ideas are too different from those we have known.”
And Peter added:
“How is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner, with a woman,
about the secrets of which we ourselves are ignorant?
Must we change our customs, and listen to this woman?
Did he really choose her, and prefer her to us?”
Mary 17:9-20
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