I have heard preachers
say, and have read in
books, that Mary
Magdalene was a
prostitute. I am doing
this Bible study to see
if that is the truth or
not. I searched for
every reference to
'Mary' in the New
Testament in God's
Holy Word, the King
James Bible, in order to
find out everything I
In these Bible verses
Mary Magdalene is
with a group of women
who followed Jesus
from Galilee and
ministered unto Him.
Jesus' mother was
among these women.
This story is confirmed
in Mark 15:39-15:41.
Matthew
27:54 Now when the
centurion, and they
that were with him,
watching Jesus, saw
the earthquake, and
those things that were
done, they feared
greatly, saying, Truly
this was the Son of
God.
27:55 And many women
were there beholding
afar off, which followed
Jesus from Galilee,
ministering unto him:
27:56 Among which
was Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother
of James and Joses*,
and the mother of
Zebedee's children.
[*Jesus' mother]
When Joseph of
Arimathaea laid Jesus'
body in the tomb, Mary
Magdalene was there
with Jesus' mother.
Note that it was
evening when Joseph
buried Him; and yet
both Marys stayed all
day through the
crucifixion of Jesus
and into the evening to
see that Jesus was
properly taken care
of before the Sabbath
began. This
information is also
repeated in Mark
15:42-15:47.
Matthew
27:57 When the even*
was come, there
came a rich man of
Arimathaea, named
Joseph, who also
himself was Jesus'
disciple: [*evening]
27:58 He went to Pilate,
and begged the body
of Jesus. Then Pilate
commanded the body
to be delivered.
27:59 And when Joseph
had taken the body, he
wrapped it in a clean
linen cloth,
27:60 And laid it in his own
new tomb, which he had
hewn out in the rock: and
he rolled a great stone to
the door of the sepulchre,
and departed.
27:61 And there was Mary
Magdalene, and the other
Mary, sitting over against
the sepulchre.
The third day after Jesus'
death, Mary Magdalene
and Mary, Jesus' mother,
came to the tomb
(Matthew 28:1).
There was a great
earthquake and an
angel of the Lord rolled
back the stone from
the door (Matthew
28:2).
[The angel told them not
to be afraid, and that
Jesus Christ had risen
from the dead. The
angel then told the
women to go to His
disciples and tell
them that Jesus was
alive! (Matthew
28:5-7)]
As the two Marys ran
quickly to bring the
good news to His
disciples; Jesus met
them, and gave them
a message for the
disciples: that they
should go into
Galilee and Jesus
would meet them
there. (Matthew
28:8-28:10)
On the third day after
His crucifixion, Mary
Magdalene and Mary,
Jesus' mother, bought
sweet spices to anoint
Jesus Christ's body.
(Matthew 16:1)
Now, here are the verses
that tell about Mary
Magdalene personally.
It just says that Mary
had been possessed
by seven devils (evil
spirits); and that
Jesus Christ had cast
them out of her. It says
nothing about Mary
being a prostitute!
Mark 16:9
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.
Luke 8:2
And certain women, which
had been healed of evil
spirits and infirmities,
Mary called Magdalene,
out of whom went
seven devils,
In Luke 24:1-24:9 it tells
about the women coming
to Jesus' tomb and
finding the stone rolled
away, and encountering
two angels who told
them of Jesus Christ's
resurrection. Mary
Magdalene and the
other women with her
told these things to the
disciples, but they did
not believe them:
Luke
24:10 It was Mary
Magdalene, and
Joanna, and Mary the
mother of James, and
other women that were
with them, which told
these things unto the
apostles.
24:11 And their words
seemed to them as idle
tales, and they believed
them not.
In the Book of John it
says that Mary Magdalene
stood at the cross with
Jesus' mother and His
aunt. Amazing! The male
disciples (except for young
John) seem to be missing
from the scene at Jesus
Christ's cross, probably
afraid that they would
suffer the same fate if
they were known to be
His followers. And yet,
Mary Magdalene and
Jesus' mother and
aunt were among the
women who bravely
stood by Jesus all during
His hours of torturous
crucifixion.
John 19:25
Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus his mother,
and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Cleophas,
and Mary Magdalene.
In John 20:1-20:2 Mary
Magdalene went very
early, while it was still
dark, to Jesus Christ's
tomb. Then she ran and
told Simon Peter and
the young disciple John
that Jesus' tomb was
empty. Peter and John
ran to the tomb to check
it out. And when they
saw the empty grave
clothes, they believed
that Jesus was risen
from the dead, as the
Scripture said He
would. Then the
disciples went to
their own home.
(John 20:3-20:10)
But Mary Magdalene stood
outside the tomb weeping.
She stooped down to look
inside the tomb, and saw
two angels sitting where
Jesus Christ's body had
been. The angels asked
Mary why she wept, and
she said because her
Lord's body was gone
and she didn't know
where it had been taken.
(John 20:11-20:13) Then
she turned around and
saw Jesus, but she didn't
know it was Him. (John
20:14) Then Jesus asked
her why she was weeping,
and who she sought. Mary
thought He was the gardener,
and asked where He had
lain Jesus' body so that
she could take Him away.
(John 20:15) Then Jesus
Christ said her name,
"Mary". And she turned
and saw Him, and
recognized Him, and
called Him "Rabboni"
(meaning Master).
(John 20:16) Then
Jesus Christ told her not
to touch Him because
He had not yet
ascended to His
Father in heaven. He
told her to go to His
disciples and say to
them, "I ascend unto
my Father, and your
Father; and to my God,
and your God." And
Mary Magdalene
came and told the
disciples that she had
seen the Lord, and
that He had spoken
these things to her.
(John 20:17- 20:18)
So, as you can see,
there is no specific
evidence in the Bible
that Mary Magdalene
was a prostitute! Yes,
she had been
possessed by seven
devils, but that does
not mean that they
caused her to be a
prostitute!
I guess we won't know the
truth about poor vilified
and maligned Mary
Magdalene until we get
to heaven. But, we do
know that Jesus Christ
did cast out those devils
from her. And we do
know that she became a
committed follower of
Jesus Christ or she
wouldn't have risked her
life standing at the foot
of the cross with Jesus
Christ's mother and aunt.
So, no matter what those
devils previously had made
her do, Mary Magdalene
was a forgiven child of
God, just as we believers
in Jesus Christ are. So,
until we know better, let's
not spread the rumor
that she was a prostitute.
We don't want to be
ashamed when we meet
her in heaven for ruining
her reputation for
something we can not
prove was true!