Jesus and Magdalene Revisited. Review on The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Jesus and Mary Magdalene – Revisited

The Christian gospels mention Mary Magdalene a few times with confusion: we do not know whether she and Mary of Bethany is same person. Luke refers to “sinner” who anoints Jesus and it is from this reference that Magdalene and the sinner are confused. Magdalene is the only woman mentioned in all the four Gospels besides Mother Mary. Magdalene is considered “apostle of the apostles” and so called by St Augustine because She was first to see the risen Christ. Let’s for instance see the gospel citations:

1. Jesus healed Magdalene of seven demons (Mark 16:9, Luke 8:2)

   
   




2. Magdalene came to dinner at Simon’s house with an alabaster jar from which she anointed the head and feet of Jesus (Mark 14:3, John 11:2, 12:3-8)

   
   




3. Magdalene was the first to see Jesus resurrected in the tomb(John 20, Mark16-9 and Mathew 25)

   
   

Each of these citations mean much more than its face value.

Seven Healings:

Magdalene was cured of seven demons, which has a different point of view. According to ancient spirituality human beings have seven energy centers or sevenfold structure of spiritual world in Hebrew scripture. So it seems that Magdalene cleared the way for “the seven virgins of light” and not as supposed to have possessed seven deadly sins interpreted usually. So Magdalene becomes the most sanctified person in the New Testament. Early century texts namely Nag Hammidi, Dead Sea Scrolls and Pistis Sophia declare her elevated state.

Magdalene was not considered a prostitute until Pope Gregory the great declared that Magdalene was the same as unnamed prostitute, the original Greek word being “Harmatalos” interpreted as a sinner. “Harmatalos” actually means one who has transgressed or placed himself outside the law or one who was not a Jew. So there is no direct reference anywhere in the Bible to Magdalene as a prostitute.

Alabaster Jar and Jesus ‘anointed Head and Feet:

What gave Her authority to anoint Him?

According to the Gospel of Thomas Magdalene helps prepare Him for the burial (alabaster jars were used in juvenary sites of Egypt for hundreds of years to carry unguents) and interestingly enough Jesus spent his early childhood in Egypt and some of them say that Jesus studied in Heliopolis. In Mark 14:9 Jesus remarks “verily I say unto you, whosoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the world, what she has done here, will be told in remembrance of her”. Magdalene may have acted within the tradition of the priestess of Isis, the Goddess of Fertility or Hebrew forms of Asherah and Ishtar the Divine Feminine.

“As he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke it open and poured the perfume on his head” (Mark 14:3)

Meeting At the Tomb:

Magdalene alone meets Jesus Christ at the tomb in his resurrected body. At this encounter according to The Bible, King James’s Version, in John 20:17 Jesus says “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father” meaning Jesus explains how it works between earthly body and resurrected body. So Magdalene becomes the only one to be explained, and therefore she becomes “apostle of the apostles”(which the Gnostic gospels build on).

Now the idea - Magdalene as Jesus’ Companion:

In the Gospel of Philip we find the description of Magdalene as Mary the one who was called His Companion, still more, some of the Gnostic texts expand on this relationship “And the companion of the…Mary Magdalene …loved her more than all her disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth”, Jesus sometimes used the Greek word “Kimonos” meaning consort to Mary. Jesus is said to have married her:

“The Sophia which all humans call barren is the Mother of the angels. And the mate of the Christ is Mariam Magdalene. The Lord loved Mariam more than all other disciples and kissed her often on her mouth. He embraced the other women also yet they said to him – why do thou love her than all of us? The savior replied, he said to them: why do I not love you as I do her? (Gospel of Philip, trans. Paterson Brown).

“She ran away from the priests, fell in love with a man and they took hold of each other’s hands. Hold of each others hands they took, went forth, and settled at the mouth of Frash. We will slay them and make Miryai scorned in Jerusalem, a stake will be set up for the man who has ruined Miryai and led her away. There shall be no day in the world when a stranger enters Jerusalem (Book of John the Baptist).

During the final moments of Christ’s life on the Cross, three figure stand at his feet Mother Mary, John and Magdalene (John 19:25), and tradition has it that Magdalene after the chaos in Jerusalem migrated to southern France, and lived in a cave called Ste Baume, for the last thirty years of her life.

Kind of a ............... proves Dan Brown 's Theory.