Mary Magdalene

The prostitute turned Apostle to the Apostles is an enduring icon of Western civilisation, but we know surprisingly little about who she really was

- Robin Griffith-jones

Early on Easter morning, when it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to Jesus’ tomb. She knew where it was. By Jesus’ death, all his male disciples except one had abandoned him. It was the women — his mother, Mary Magdalene and others — who watched his agony to its end. They saw his hurried burial too, in a tomb (cut into a quarry), the entrance of which was then closed with a rock.

Now here is Mary Magdalene, after the Sabbath, back at the tomb. She has brought ointment with her to clean Jesus’ body. It is John’s distinctive version of the story that we hear. The tomb is in a garden. Mary comes alone. She finds the rock pushed away from the entrance and the tomb itself empty. She goes to tell two of Jesus’ principal disciples, Simon Peter and the anonymous “disciple whom Jesus loved”. They come back with her, confirm her story and leave. There is something almost dull about these men.

Mary, far from leaving, is crying inconsolably. She looks once more into the tomb and sees two angels in white. She turns away and there in the garden is Jesus. She fails to recognise him; she thinks he is the gardener. “Woman,” he asks, “why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She wants only to know where Jesus’ body has been put, so she can take it away. Now Jesus addresses her by name: “Mary.” She recognises him and tries to touch or cling to him but he doesn’t let her. “Go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God.”