Does the Bible Say “Mary Magdalene Was A Prostitute?”

“Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.” Luke 8:1-3

Mary Magdalene is named accordingly because she was from the town of Magdala. It was a thriving fishing town on the coast of the sea of Galilee. Magdala is also within walking distance of Capernaum, an area Jesus was very familiar with. There are many “Mary’s” in the bible, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the sister of Lazarus, and Mary, the woman Jesus cast out many demons. (see above text)

Why was she called a prostitute? She was called a prostitute thanks to her story being merged with that of a sinful woman from Luke 7:36-39:

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”

This “composite Magdalene” was popularized in a sermon given by Pope Gregory I around 591 CE:

“She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark. And what did these seven devils signify, if not all the vices? It is clear, brothers, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts… What she therefore displayed more scandalously, she was now offering to God in a more praiseworthy manner.” — Pope Gregory the Great (homily XXXIII)

Conflating the stories of biblical characters was not uncommon in those days. But Mary Magdalene is named at least 12 times in the gospels, and not one of those references supports this interpretation. Even though Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, she did have her issues. And, the fact that she was traveling with so many men, something that would not have happened in her day, this fact would have contributed to her being targeted for labeling. And yet, she did not shrink from serving Jesus. So, no, Mary Magdalene was not labeled a prostitute in the bible – it was the gossiping that occurred hundreds of years later to which we must place the blame. The Catholic church would change that label for Mary in the mid-twentieth century. Everything you hear about Mary Magdalene, if it is negative labeling about her character, is pure speculation and nonsense.

Pastor Dave