1st century AD · Follower of Jesus from Magdala
Mary Magdalene in the Bible: Healed, Faithful, a Witness
Seven demons had gone out of her. She followed Jesus through Galilee, stayed at the cross when others fled, watched where he was buried, and came to the tomb while it was still dark. Ask about faithfulness, grief, and that first morning.
Published by Walk Into Scripture · Updated · Scripture and AI editorial standards
Who was Mary Magdalene in the Bible?
Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom seven demons had gone out, who followed Jesus in Galilee and helped support his ministry with other women. She watched the crucifixion, saw where he was buried, and on the first day of the week found the tomb empty. John records that the risen Jesus spoke her name (Luke 8:2; John 20:1-18).
Roman-ruled Judea and Galilee in the early first century. Magdala was a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A group of women travelled with Jesus and the twelve and supported them from their own means. Crucifixion was a public execution, and those who stayed near it were exposed to shame and danger.
Where to read Mary Magdalene’s story
The four Gospels: Luke 8, the crucifixion and burial accounts, and the resurrection accounts, above all John 20. The Gospels differ in some details of that morning, and this voice will not blend them silently.
Mary Magdalene is not the sinful woman of Luke 7, and the Gospels never call her a prostitute or anyone's wife; those ideas came later. This voice is an AI representation: it recounts Jesus's words only as Scripture records them and never speaks for him.
Mary Magdalene’s story in order
- Luke 8:1-3
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, travels with Jesus and supports the work from her possessions.
- Mark 15:40-41
She watches the crucifixion with other women who had followed him from Galilee.
- John 19:25
John places her standing by the cross with Jesus' mother.
- Matthew 27:57-61
Joseph of Arimathea lays the body in his tomb; Mary Magdalene sits opposite it.
- Mark 16:1-8
After the Sabbath she brings spices with other women and finds the stone rolled back.
- John 20:1-2
Coming while it is still dark, she finds the stone taken away and runs to tell Peter.
- John 20:11-16
Weeping outside the tomb, she takes Jesus for the gardener until he says her name.
- John 20:17-18
She goes and tells the disciples that she has seen the Lord.
- Luke 24:9-11
With Joanna and Mary the mother of James she tells the apostles, who do not believe them.
Who was Mary Magdalene?
Her name most likely means Mary of Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Luke introduces her among “certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out” (Luke 8:2, WEB). She travelled with Jesus and the twelve through cities and villages, together with Joanna, Susanna, and many others “who served them from their possessions” (Luke 8:3, WEB). Scripture does not describe what her affliction was like, how she was healed, her age, or her family.
That is nearly all the Gospels say about her before the crucifixion, but it says a good deal. She had been freed from a serious affliction, she chose to follow, and she gave of her own means to support the work. Luke names her first in his list of these women, and she is named first in most of the Gospel lists of women at the cross and the tomb, which suggests she was well known among the early followers.
At the cross and the tomb
Matthew, Mark and John all name Mary Magdalene at the crucifixion, and Luke places the women from Galilee there. Mark says women were “watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome” (Mark 15:40, WEB), women who had followed him in Galilee. John places her among those “standing by Jesus' cross” with his mother (John 19:25, WEB). When Joseph of Arimathea laid the body in his own new tomb and rolled a stone against the door, Matthew records that “Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb” (Matthew 27:61, WEB).
She stayed through the worst of it, and then she watched to see where he was laid. After the Sabbath she and other women brought spices to anoint the body (Mark 16:1). The Gospels tell that morning with differences of detail: how many women came, whether they saw one angel or two, a young man or two men. Mark's earliest manuscripts end with the women fleeing in fear and telling no one (Mark 16:8), while Luke records that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James told the apostles, and that “these words seemed to them to be nonsense” (Luke 24:11, WEB).
In the garden: “Mary”
John gives the fullest account. Mary came to the tomb early, “while it was still dark,” saw that the stone had been taken away, and ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid him!” (John 20:1-2, WEB). The two men came, saw the linen cloths, and went home. Mary stayed outside, weeping. When she looked in, two angels asked why she was weeping, and she said, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him” (John 20:13, WEB).
She turned and saw Jesus standing there but did not know him, supposing him to be the gardener. John records that Jesus said to her, “Mary,” and that she turned and answered, “Rabboni!” which means Teacher (John 20:16, WEB). He told her not to hold him and sent her to his brothers. “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her” (John 20:18, WEB). In John's account she is the first to see the risen Jesus and the first sent to tell the others, which is why later Christian writers sometimes called her the apostle to the apostles.
What the Gospels do not say about her
For centuries in the Western church, Mary Magdalene was identified with the unnamed woman “who was a sinner” who anointed Jesus' feet in Luke 7:36-50, and from there with a reformed prostitute. That identification is commonly traced to a sermon by Pope Gregory the Great around 591. The Gospels do not make it. Luke tells the story of the unnamed woman in chapter 7 and introduces Mary Magdalene as someone new in chapter 8. Eastern churches kept them distinct, and the Roman Catholic Church set the identification aside in its 1969 calendar revision. Being healed of demons is never described in the Gospels as moral sin.
Modern novels and films have also suggested that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife or partner. Nothing in Scripture says this. Later writings outside the Bible that bear her name come from long after the Gospels and are not part of the canon any church recognizes. What the Gospels actually record is in some ways more striking than the legends: a woman healed of a terrible affliction who gave her resources, stayed at the cross, watched the burial, came back in the dark, and was entrusted with the news that he was alive.
What Scripture records about Mary Magdalene — and what it doesn’t
What the text says
- Seven demons had gone out of her, and she supported Jesus from her possessions (Luke 8:2-3).
- She watched the crucifixion with other women from Galilee (Mark 15:40-41).
- She saw where Jesus' body was laid (Mark 15:47).
- She found the stone taken away from the tomb (John 20:1).
- She told the disciples that she had seen the Lord (John 20:18).
What it does not say
- It does not say Mary Magdalene was the sinful woman of Luke 7.
- It does not say she was a prostitute.
- It does not say she was married to Jesus.
- It does not describe what her seven demons were like or how she was healed.
- It does not record her age, family, or what became of her later.
Common questions about Mary Magdalene
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute?
No passage of Scripture says so. The idea came from a later Western tradition that identified her with the unnamed sinful woman of Luke 7:36-50. Luke tells that woman's story and then introduces Mary Magdalene separately in Luke 8:2, as one from whom seven demons had gone out. Many churches, including the Roman Catholic Church since 1969, now treat them as different women.
What does “seven demons had gone out” mean?
Luke says Mary was among women healed of evil spirits and infirmities, and that seven demons had gone out of her (Luke 8:2). Seven often suggests completeness in Scripture, so many readers take it to mean a severe affliction. The text does not describe her symptoms or the moment of healing, and it does not link her condition to any sin.
Was Mary Magdalene Jesus' wife?
No. Nothing in the Gospels or anywhere in Scripture says she was married to Jesus. The Gospels present her as a follower who travelled with him, supported his work, stayed at the cross, and witnessed the empty tomb (Luke 8:2-3; John 20:1-18). The idea of a marriage comes from modern fiction and from speculative readings of much later writings outside the Bible.
Was Mary Magdalene the first to see the risen Jesus?
In John's Gospel she is the first: she sees him in the garden outside the tomb and goes to tell the disciples (John 20:14-18). Matthew describes Jesus meeting Mary Magdalene and the other Mary together as they ran from the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10). The longer ending of Mark, missing from the earliest manuscripts, also says he appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9).
What did Mary Magdalene see at the tomb?
John records that she found the stone taken away, ran to tell Peter, and later, weeping outside, saw two angels in white sitting where the body had lain (John 20:1-2, 20:11-12). The other Gospels describe the women seeing an angel or young man, or two men in dazzling clothing, and being told that he had risen (Matthew 28:5-6; Mark 16:5-6; Luke 24:4-6).