When we first meet Mary Magdalene she is already witnessing to Jesus. Not only so. She is a substantial witness. For she is a member of a band of women supporting the Master out of their own means as they accompany him throughout Galilee (Luke 8:1-3) -- in itself no small testimony.
I
Unfortunately, for 16 centuries Mary has stood unjustly in the shadow of slander. A fourth-century scholar thought he saw a link between Luke's account of a sinful woman seeking Jesus' forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50) and the Evangelist's introduction of Mary's role in the Master's ministry with only two verses of scripture intervening. (Luke 8:1-2) Others around him quickly accepted his conclusion; and, as a result, it took root -- so deeply, in fact, that the church of the middle ages went so far as to stage mystery plays portraying Mary "in league with Lucifer" until the Savior miraculously snatched her from the Evil One's clutches. As a consequence Mary's name became a synonym for the word prostitute.
Nothing Jesus ever did or said where Mary was concerned justified the charge. Equally to the point, during the church's first 300 years the Magdalene was highly regarded in its circles. Indeed, wherever scripture or other early Christian writings speak of her she is saluted as one whose presence would grace any gathering of right-minded people. A true "mother of the church" is the way one scholar describes her. Yet another refers to her as holding "a good social position."
Moreover, the gospels call our attention to Mary no fewer than 14 times to bestow upon her a distinction they do not even accord the disciples; for better than half of the Apostles are dismissed with only the notation that "they had been with Jesus."
II
Where or how Mary attained the means to support the Master in his mission to humanity we are never told. Unlike Salome and Joanna, there is no hint she had a sympathetic husband to underwrite her efforts in the Lord's behalf. It would seem quite logical, therefore, to surmise that, like Lydia of Thyatira, (Acts 16:14) she may have operated a business of her own providing her with a tidy income.
After all, Mary came from Magdala which, like Paul's Tarsus, was "no mean city." (cf. Acts 21:39) For not only was it the center of a flourishing fishing industry, it likewise boasted both a woolen factory and a celebrated dyeworks. In addition, it experienced a brisk traffic in turtledoves for ceremonial purification.
That this latter was no small enterprise seems apparent in the fact tradition, with what is probably Oriental exaggeration, indicates the town had 300 shops engaged in this endeavor. Be that as it may, however, something of the traffic's impact on the area as a whole is suggested by the fact that just twenty minutes north of Magdala caravans plying between Nazareth and Damascus passed through a wady known as the Valley of Doves. In fact, such was Magdala's commerce, as Alfred Edersheim points out, that the city was one of three which forwarded their taxes to Jerusalem by wagon.
These were not the only resources, however, offering Mary Magdalene a favorable climate for any enterprise she may have undertaken. Magdala was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Accordingly, it was but a Sabbath day's journey -- roughly three miles -- from Tiberius, whose amphitheaters and public baths made it a veritable "picture of magnificence" as well as a lucrative source of income. Thus, Magdala's proximity to it offered Mary ready access to a variety of thriving commercial opportunities. So the monies she contributed to the support of Jesus' ministry may very well have stemmed from her own labors.
Lending credence to this conjecture is the fact that Mary appears to have been a middle-aged woman when she joined the Master's coterie. To be sure, artists have never tired of portraying her as a lithe, auburn-haired young woman. But nothing in the gospels supports such a concept while first-century practices offer strong evidence against it.
To begin with, Israel's stern code governing women would have required a girl of tender years to be strictly supervised by either her father or a male guardian, holding each severely to account for her conduct. Thus, it is highly improbable Mary would have traveled the countryside with any man -- not even a rabbi -- had she not been older.
In the second place, Hebrew custom put a premium on seniority. Consequently, it is doubtful the gospel writers would have listed Mary first among the ministering women if she had been the youthful individual painters have so frequently depicted her. Yet, when referring to the women in Jesus' life, the Evangelists often put Mary's name ahead of her colleagues -- a practice clearly reflecting the respect her years commanded. (cf. Matthew 27:56, 61; Mark 15:40, 16:1; Luke 24:10) At the same time the practice also suggests that Mary was quite possibly a person of rank and consequently prominent.
Mary's high prestige in Magdala notwithstanding, however, her commitment to Jesus was total. Thus, she would not allow the untoward events Pilate was setting in motion to divert her from it. So she readily joined a little band of weeping women following the Master as he carried his cross like a common criminal to Calvary. Not even the choking dust the sad procession stirred up as it wended its way to the skull-shaped hill could deter her from following. For she was bent on one thing -- and one thing only. She would tell Pilate -- and in telling him she would tell the world -- that Jesus was her Lord. (cf. Luke 23:27; John 20:25)
III
Be all this as it may, however, Mary Magdalene comes fully into her own on the day of resurrection when supposition yields to biblical history.
Jesus was crucified at noon. By three o'clock he was dead. Except for John, the disciples had fled, locking themselves behind closed doors "for fear of the Jews." (John 19:26-27; 20:10) But Mary, along with Salome and several other women, had stood vigil throughout the entire ordeal, her very manner an open witness to friend and foe alike of her loyalty to the Master. (Matthew 27:55-56) Nor would she leave until she knew what was to become of Jesus' body. When Pilate finally released it to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea she followed to see where the two men would lay him.
Early in the morning of the first day of the week Mary's sad heart brought her back to the tomb. Because of the intervening Sabbath, which had begun just as the entrance stone was rolled into place at the sepulchre, the customary administrations for the dead had been hasty and the Magdalene was intent upon completing the full rites.
To Mary's consternation she found the grave open, Pilate's official seal tattered and fluttering in the breeze. Fearing the worst, she looked about and saw a man a short distance from her. Supposing him to be a gardener, she approached him for a clue to the mystery she was facing. When he called Mary by name she recognized Jesus, and on the wings of joy she sped to share the good news with the disciples. (John 20:15-18)
Not only was Mary Magdalene the first to know of the resurrection, she was likewise the first to bear witness to it to the world. Indeed, so telling was her testimony that the French scholar, Ernest Renan, does not hesitate to declare, "Next after Jesus, hers was the most essential part in the founding of Christianity."
According to an early legend Mary later went to Ephesus with John and died there.