BIBLE FILMS - Mary Magdalene in films         THE DA VINCI CODE - Were Mary and Jesus married?

  BIBLE PEOPLE - THEIR STORIES  

 MARY MAGDALENE

FAMOUS PAINTINGS
OF 
MARY MAGDALENE

HE'S ALIVE!

  PEOPLE IN THE STORY

  FAMOUS QUOTES

  BIBLE REFERENCE

  INTERESTING SITES

  ACTIVITIES/QUESTIONS

WHO WAS MARY?
Mary Magdalene was not the wife or lover of Jesus, but after his mother she was probably the main woman in his life. She was certainly his financial backer and leader of the women who followed Jesus as disciples. She was with him during that fateful Passover week in Jerusalem, and stood by him during the blasphemy of the crucifixion. She was the first witness of the Resurrection, and first Apostle to spread news of that event.

There is nothing romantic or even sexy about Mary’s story. Her hometown Magdala was a thriving center of the fishing industry, producing smoked fish in large quantities, for sale to the surrounding countries. Dried fish - that’s where Mary probably made her money, not in prostitution as the legends would have us believe - Mary the astute businesswoman is not nearly as fascinating as Mary the repentant prostitute.

MARY'S ILLNESS
But she did have a serious illness, though just what it was we do not know. At the time, people believed that some illnesses like schizophrenia or epilepsy were caused by evil spirits, which entered the body and controlled it. Mary is described in the gospels as having seven of these demons living inside her body, the number seven being an indication of the severity of her illness - she was very ill indeed.

MARY MEETS JESUS
At some point in her life Mary met an itinerant miracle worker called Jesus, and the power of his personality and teachings bowled her over. He cured her of her illness, and she became a whole-hearted supporter of this man and his mission. 

You have to imagine what Jesus' life was during the three years of his wandering mission throughout Galilee and Judea. He moved around the villages and towns with two separate groups of men and women - they had to be separate and respectable, to maintain his credibility as a religious teacher. Mary seems to have been in charge of the group of women who traveled with Jesus and supported him financially. As far as it is possible to tell, Mary led the women’s group, Peter led the men’s.

THE HORROR OF THE CRUCIFIXION
When things went badly wrong at that fateful Passover in Jerusalem, Mary stood resolutely by Jesus. None of them knew what would happen, not even Jesus - Jesus' humanity is often ignored. People assume that because he was divine he knew every detail of what would happen. But he was also human like us, not knowing exactly what was coming, having bad things happen and having to respond to them the best he could - just as we do. 

When the worst that could happen did happen, Mary was there. She had been close to him during his life, and she would be close to him when he faced death. The men disciples fled – there was every possibility they might be the next victims of the Roman authorities. But Mary stood as near to the cross as she could, watching every dreadful action, hearing every scream. No one can imagine what it was like for her, or for the other women standing there.

'Dried fish - that’s where Mary probably made her money, not in prostitution as the legends would have us believe - Mary the astute businesswoman is not nearly as fascinating as Mary the repentant prostitute.'

_____________________________________

When Jesus was finally dead, silent at last, they took him down from the cross. Then Mary faced the task that every Jewish woman had to do sooner or later – preparing the body of someone she loved for burial. This entailed washing the body - in Jesus' case the pitifully torn and mangled body, gently wiping it with a mixture of spices and then wrapping it in linen strips. While this was happening, prayers from the Scriptures were softly chanted.

PREPARING JESUS' BODY FOR BURIAL
The women's work had to be done quickly – the Sabbath was about to begin. But there had not been time to buy the ointments and spices, so they knew they have to come back after the Sabbath to complete the task.   

At the earliest opportunity, they returned to the tomb where his body had been placed - but there was no one there. The soldiers were nowhere in sight, and the place seemed deserted. Jesus’ body was gone. Where was it? A young man at the tomb said that Jesus was gone – but gone where?

'MARY'. SHE RECOGNIZED THE VOICE
Mary collapsed on the ground. Everything was wrong. His body should have been there. Then someone spoke to Mary, said her name, and she recognized the voice. It was Jesus. She was mute with shock. She made as if to grab hold of him, but he pulled back. Don’t hold on to me, he said. Just tell the others.

She ran back to the house where the men were hidden. He’s alive, she said. He’s alive.

AND A GOOD FRIDAY WAS HAD BY ALL

Bruce Dawe

You men there, keep those women back
and God Almighty he laid down
on the crossed timber and old Silenus
my off-sider looked at me as if to say
nice work for soldiers, your mind's not your own
once you sign that dotted line Ave Caesar
and all that malarkey Imperator Rex

well this Nazarene
didn't make it any easier
really - not like the ones
who kick up a fuss so you can
do your block and take it out on them

Silenus held the spikes steady and I let fly
with the sledge-hammer, not looking
on the downswing trying hard not to hear
over the women's wailing the bones give way
the iron shocking the dumb wood.

Orders is orders, I said after it was over
nothing personal you understand - we had a 
drill-sergeant once thought he was God but he wasn't
at patch on you

then we hauled on the ropes
and he rose in the hot air
like a diver just leaving the springboard, arms spread
so it seemed
over the whole damned creation
over the big men who must have had it in for him
and the curious ones who'll watch anything if it's free
with only the usual women caring anywhere
and a blind man in tears.

______________________________________________________________________________

BIBLE REFERENCE
Matthew 27:61, Matthew 27:55-56, Matthew 28:1-10
Mark 15:40-41, Mark 16:1-11
Luke 8:1-3, Luke 23:49, Luke 23:55-56, Luke 24:1-11
John 19:25, John 20:1-18

PEOPLE IN THE STORY
Mary Magdalene - leader of a group of women disciples who followed Jesus; first witness of the Resurrection
Peter - leader of the group of men disciples who followed Jesus

FAMOUS QUOTES
'He is not here.' (Matthew 28:6, Luke 24:5)
'I have seen the Lord.' (John 20:18)

INTERESTING WEBSITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions

Crucifixion: archaeological evidence of the terrible death that Jesus suffered
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: CRUCIFIXION

Mary and the Resurrection: setting the scene
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS

The way artists liked to see it
BIBLE ART: RESURRECTION

Caring for the body of someone who died: Mary's task after the death of Jesus
WOMEN IN THE BIBLE: DEATH AND BURIAL 

Sinner or saint? Famous paintings of Mary Magdalene
BIBLE ART: MARY MAGDALENE

Mary Magdalene in modern films
BIBLE TOP TEN FILMS

Was Mary Magdalene married to Jesus, or his lover?
BIBLE WOMEN: THE DA VINCI CODE

Mary Magdalene's story in more detail
BIBLE WOMEN: MARY MAGDALENE

_____________________________________________________________

ACTIVITIES AND FOCUS QUESTIONS

Comparing the stories
In columns, transcribe the gospel accounts of an event in Mary's life, for example

• the women standing near the cross when Jesus died

• the appearance of the angels at the tomb

• the appearance of Jesus to Mary of Magdala.

Find and mark the phrases that are the same in each gospel. Then find and mark the phrases that are different. Remember that the evidence given by eye-witnesses is often inaccurate in details; you might test this yourself by having members of your group give separate descriptions of a recent event you all witnessed.
1. What information is contained in all accounts of the gospel event?
2. What information is left out of any one account?
3. What information is added?
Find out what the general purpose of each evangelist was. What audience was each writing for?
Is the evangelist’s purpose evident from the passages you have looked at?

Interviewing an eye-witness
Imagine that you can interview an eyewitness who was present at some incident in the gospel. This eyewitness has direct experience of one or several events.

• Choose an incident you wish to examine.

• Read different accounts of the event in the four gospels.

• Prepare a list of questions you might ask the eyewitness for further information about the events and people.

•  

In depth study of one person's story
Choose one of the people whose stories are told on this site and develop a PowerPoint presentation about them.
The presentation must be at least 10 slides long and should include 
 *  a supporting image/picture/painting of each person 
 *  a map of Israel showing the cities and areas where the story took place.  
You may call up other websites to support your ideas.

In your presentation (approximately 10 minutes), answer the following questions:

1. What are the main events of the person's life? Tell the story.

2. What were their main qualities? What made them stand out from the crowd?

3. What obstacles did they face? Did they overcome them, or go with the flow? Explain.

4. How did they use their abilities to do God’s work?  

5. Which part of their story appeals to you most? Why?

You must include three short quotations from the gospel texts to illustrate the points you are making. 

Linking with Old Testament Stories - Lot's Wife
1.  Read the whole of Genesis 19 thoroughly, trying to get a grasp on the characters and their actions - why they do what they do. 

2.  Concentrate on Lot's wife and try to imagine you are her - what would you be thinking, feeling, etc. Maybe jot down a few thoughts she might have had. Why does she look back? 
See information about this story at BIBLE TOP TEN: BAD WOMEN 

3.  Link her story with the story of Mary Magdalene in the garden outside the tomb, where she meets the resurrected Jesus and he says to her 'don't hold on to me' - which can be interpreted as 'don't hold onto the past'. Link this gospel event with the story of Lot's wife by drawing out the message of Jesus, that we are not to hold onto that which is past, or look back as Lot's wife did.

Focus Questions for the gospel passages
1. What are the most interesting moments in Mary Magdalene's story? 
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends with? Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to know?
6. Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story still present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially your own?

Custom Search

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bible Stories: People of the New Testament - Bible Study Resource: Mary Magdalene