By Brenda Cannon Henley
I enjoy and appreciate things that make me think. I don’t always come to a concrete conclusion right away, but I do enjoy the challenge of trying to come to an agreement (or disagreement) with things I have heard or read. Nothing causes quite so much controversy as Bible passages, political promises, or childrearing advice.

While I was casually clicking through the television channels the other night, I happened to catch a phrase in a production that got my attention, and so, I paused and listened to the speaker. I honestly do not remember the name of the series, but I gathered it was religious in nature and perhaps a re-run of a program that had been presented earlier. The characters were portrayed well and most of the material seemed accurate and in line with what I had learned over the years — Until I heard a clear proclamation that Mary Magdalene was a harlot. I started paying closer attention.

My object in this column is not to cause division, arguments, or hurt feelings among our readers. Instead, I would like to think we are creating an opportunity for private study and learning. I happened to love the story of Mary Magdalene in Scripture and have made it a matter of personal study to learn about her life, as much as we can from the verses in which she is found. No where in Scripture or in historical accounts of Bible times have I ever found anything to warrant the belief that this Mary who forsook all and followed Jesus was a harlot, prostitute, or fallen woman.

In the presentation I happened to find on TV, to my knowledge, no proof was ever shared that the author or scriptwriter had that information either. If he or she did, it was not shared with the audience. I thought it might be interesting to take a closer look at Bible characters, which we hear about often in sermons, lessons, and even in music, and see just what we do know about them. I welcome readers’ comments and all that I ask is that you kindly list your source(s) if you offer your view. I found many years ago that biographies are very interesting, and that we can usually find something in the life that we want to emulate in ours, or traits that we might want to remove.

One of my very favorite Easter stories that I have ever written or taught is about Mary Magdalene. I said that she received the most important message ever given to man or woman. When I taught this lesson to young adults, I brought a pretend telegraph machine, a typewriter, and a megaphone to garner attention and to get the idea of a message given to be shared with others. It was usually effective and many of my students still remember the various objects and visual illustrations used over the years. This Mary, a great friend to Jesus, was last at the cross and first at the empty tomb. What an honor.

The reason she is called Mary Magdalene is that she hailed from the town or area of Magdala, the Greek form of Migdol or Watchtower. The town of Magdala, from which Mary came, is identified today as Mejdel, at the south of the Plain of Gennesaret, where the hills reach toward the lake of Galilee. It was common in Bible times, and even later in history, to identify a person with his place of birth or living area.

We should keep in mind, too, that there are several Marys in Scripture and we would do well to work at keeping them separate in our minds. It is certain that Mary Magdalene had a very important role in the ministry of Christ, and especially, at the time of the resurrection. She often is pictured as standing beside the mother of Jesus. One writer declares that Mary is mentioned 14 times in Scripture, and in eight of these passages, her name heads the list. In five references, her name appears alone. These concern the appearance of Christ to her, as narrated by the Apostle John.

We will continue to visit with Mary Magdalene in our next column.
[1-5-2016]

We welcome your comments and questions about Bible characters. Perhaps you have a favorite you would like for us to look at in a future column.

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788, at
[email protected], or by using the contact form below.

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