[36] By contrast, that Mary's exorcism receives little attention may indicate that either Jesus performed it privately or that the recorders did not perceive it as particularly dramatic. [91] He concludes that the idea that early Christians would have had "no motive" to make up the story simply "suffers from a poverty of imagination"[92] and that they would have had all kinds of possible motives,[93] especially since women were overrepresented in early Christian communities and women themselves would have had strong motivation to make up a story about other women being the first to find the tomb. "[150] The aspect of the repentant sinner became almost equally significant as the disciple in her persona as depicted in Western art and religious literature, fitting well with the great importance of penitence in medieval theology. "[132][130], The Borborites, also known as the Phibionites, were an early Christian Gnostic sect during the late fourth century who had numerous scriptures involving Mary Magdalene,[133][134][135] including The Questions of Mary, The Greater Questions of Mary, The Lesser Questions of Mary, and The Birth of Mary. Jusino based his argument largely on the Nag Hammadi Gnostic books, rejecting the view of Raymond E. Brown that these books were later developments, and maintaining instead that the extant Gospel of John is the result of modification of an earlier text that presented Mary Magdalene as the Beloved Disciple. [133][136][135][137] Epiphanius says that the Greater Questions of Mary contained an episode in which, during a post-resurrection appearance, Jesus took Mary to the top of a mountain, where he pulled a woman out of his side and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. The Chosen isn't trying to mess with the Bible. Two brothers struggle with a Jewish tax collector over their debts to Rome; a Pharisee confronts a demon-possessed woman in the "Red Quarter" of Capernaum. [108][98] Two of the sayings reference a woman named "Mary", who is generally regarded as Mary Magdalene. The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. [86] First, it describes an appearance by Jesus to Mary Magdalene alone (as in the Gospel of John),[86] followed by brief descriptions of him appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (as in the Gospel of Luke) and to the eleven remaining disciples (as in the Gospel of Matthew). Have you seen other examples of how Jesus can show up suddenly and change someone's life in a big way? New Testament apocrypha writings mention Mary Magdalene. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions. [10] Instead, it received its title because it is about her. Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. In her first few scenes, people refer to her as Lilith. For other uses, see, The Old and New Testament and Gnostic contexts and the text are discussed by. [168][205] Various authors published a flurry of books and pamphlets in response, the vast majority of which opposed Lefvre d'taples. And others took it a step further, that Jesus and Mary Magdalene got married and had a child, which morphed into the earth-shattering secret at the heart of "The Da Vinci Code." Meanwhile, in the youth ministry that I lead, I had the chance to view and discuss season one of The Chosen with several high schoolers and found it very fruitful. [86], In his book published in 2006, Ehrman states that "it appears virtually certain" that the stories of the empty tomb, regardless of whether or not they are accurate, can definitely be traced back to the historical Mary Magdalene,[87] saying that, in Jewish society, women were regarded as unreliable witnesses and were forbidden from giving testimony in court,[88] so early Christians would have had no motive to make up a story about a woman being the first to discover the empty tomb. The Gospel of Mary is a non-canonical text discovered in 1896 in a 5th-century papyrus codex written in Sahidic Coptic.This Berlin Codex was purchased in Cairo by German diplomat Carl Reinhardt.. By noting how Mary is in the "Red Quarter", The Chosen is implying that she is a prostitute. Mary Magdalene was the first eyewitness of the Risen Christ, and for this reason she was also the first to bear witness to him before the Apostles. There are no textual variants in extant New Testament manuscripts to contradict this,[301] and thus no physical evidence of this hypothetical earlier document. [322] Ehrman says that, if Jesus had been married to Mary Magdalene, the authors of the gospels would definitely have mentioned it, since they mention all his other family members, including his mother Mary, his father Joseph, his four brothers, and his at least two sisters. The entire series, especially Episode 1, heavily features a character named Mary Magdalene. The second passage is the Scripture that Mary has written down: This passage that Mary's father taught her is from the Book of Isaiah. Of Purgatory", "Selected Topics of Comparison in Christianity and the Bah Faith", The Incorrupt Left Hand of St. Mary Magdalene, "Mary Magdalene: Author of the Fourth Gospel? 1065/701132).[178]. Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? ", Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2006, p. 57, Juliet Thompson, I, Mary Magdalene, Foreword, `Abdu'l-Bah, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 420, `Abdu'l-Bah, Bah' World Faith `Abdu'l-Bah Section, p. 385, `Abdu'l-Bah, Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bah Vol.2, p. 467, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, "Koinonos Meaning in Bible - New Testament Greek Lexicon - King James Version", "Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book 1", "Picturing the Magdalene: How Artists Imagine the Apostle to the Apostles", "Lady Gaga says she 'always wanted to play' Mary Magdalene from the Bible", "FKA twigs' new fragrance fuses the virgin and the whore", "Deborah Rose, "So, Really Who was She? When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Jane Schaberg adds Geoffrey of Vendme (c. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. [101] In saying 53, the Dialogue attributes to Mary three aphorisms that are attributed to Jesus in the New Testament: "The wickedness of each day [is sufficient]. In 2016, Pope Francis raised the level of liturgical memory on July 22 from memorial to feast, and for her to be referred to as the "Apostle of the apostles". [36], Since Mary is listed as one of the women who supported Jesus' ministry financially, she must have been relatively wealthy. The first part of the gospel deals with Jesus' parting words to his followers after a post-resurrection appearance. They are the first to hear 'He is not here. There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, who was called his companion. A kneeling Magdalene by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel (c. 1305) was especially influential. [136], Most of the earliest Church Fathers do not mention Mary Magdalene at all,[142][11][143] and those who do mention her usually only discuss her very briefly. "[104] Simon Peter, annoyed at Mary's dominance of the conversation, tells Jesus, "My master, we cannot endure this woman who gets in our way and does not let any of us speak, though she talks all the time. His sister,[e] his mother and his companion were each a Mary. Disciples resemble their teachers. [136][137] Then, upon ejaculating, Jesus drank his own semen and told Mary, "Thus we must do, that we may live. [300] The gospel, at least in its current form, clearly and consistently identifies the disciple as having masculine gender, only ever referring to him using words inflected in the masculine. This article is about the biblical figure. [68][69][78] Then they went and told the eleven remaining apostles, who dismissed their story as nonsense. In the Bible, Mary Magdelene is a follower of Christ. [75][82] His next words may be translated as "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father" or "Stop clinging to me, [etc.]" [171] Modestus, the Patriarch of Jerusalem from 630 until 634, describes a slightly different tradition that Mary Magdalene had come to Ephesus to live with the apostle John following the death of Mary the mother of Jesus. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullness and the completion of completion. You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. Whether you're studying on your own or with your small group or ministry, Come and See is a perfect resource to help you dig deeper into The Chosen. "[136][134][137] This story was supposedly the basis for the Borborite Eucharist ritual in which they allegedly engaged in orgies and drank semen and menstrual blood as the "body and blood of Christ" respectively. Because of the legends saying that Mary Magdalene had been a prostitute, she became the patroness of "wayward women", and, in the eighteenth century, moral reformers established Magdalene asylums to help save women from prostitution. The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. Now I see you arguing against this woman like an adversary. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. The overwhelming consensus of scholars is that the fragment is a modern forgery,[316][317][318] and in 2016, King herself said that the alleged Gospel was a forgery. [284], Mary Magdalene is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival and in the Episcopal Church with a Major Feast on 22 July. And she began to speak to them these words: "I", she said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision". However, Luke refers to Mary earlier in his account of . [174][173] In the tenth century, Odo of Cluny (c. 880 942) wrote a sermon in which he described Mary as an extraordinarily wealthy noblewoman of royal descent. They were fully engaged by the show on the level of entertainment but also seemed solidify their understanding of important gospel events and figures, as well as the cultural context. Here are seven things we DO know about Mary. [318], Ehrman states that the historical sources reveal absolutely nothing about Jesus' sexuality[319] and that there is no evidence whatsoever to support the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married or that they had any kind of sexual or romantic relationship. That is why he loved her more than us. [155], In one of his preserved sayings, Gregory of Nyssa (c. 330 395) identifies Mary Magdalene as "the first witness to the resurrection, that she might set straight again by her faith in the resurrection, what was turned over in her transgression. [263] She mentions in particular Hugh of Cluny (10241109), Peter Abelard (10791142), and Bernard of Clairvaux (10901153) among those who gave Mary Magdalene the title of apostolorum apostola (apostle of the apostles). Mary's mention in saying 114, however, has generated considerable controversy:[109]. Let's look deeper into theses false stereotypes. the latter more probable in view of the grammar (negated present imperative: stop doing something already in progress) as well as Jesus' challenge to Thomas a week later (see John 20:2429[85][77]). [6][7][8] Nonetheless, very little is known about her life. On June 10, 2016, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a decree which elevated Mary's liturgical commemoration from an obligatory memorial to a feast day, like that of most of the Apostles (Peter and Paul are jointly commemorated with a solemnity). Instead, she has traditionally been honored as a "Myrrhbearer" (; the equivalent of the western Three Marys)[255] and "Equal to the Apostles" (). There are several Marys in the Bible, in fact, 3 Marys alone are at the foot of the cross. When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. [75][82] According to John 20:110, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb alone when it was still dark and saw that the stone had already been rolled away. The story of . The Gospel of Philip, dating from the second or third century, survives in part among the texts found in Nag Hammadi in 1945. Bible movies & shows like The Chosen provide us with fresh eyes to see the significance of the Bible and the beauty of the Gospel. [234][235][236] Instead, the film portrays her as Jesus' closest disciple[234][235][236] and the only one who truly understands his teachings. [d] In a manner very similar to John 19:2526, the Gospel of Philip presents Mary Magdalene among Jesus' female entourage, adding that she was his koinnos,[110] a Greek word variously translated in contemporary versions as partner, associate, comrade, companion:[111][110]. [102] It was discovered in the 18th century in a large volume containing numerous early Gnostic treatises. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. [176], The theologian Honorius Augustodunensis (c. 1080 c. 1151) embellished this tale even further, reporting that Mary was a wealthy noblewoman who was married in "Magdalum",[176] but that she committed adultery, so she fled to Jerusalem and became a "public sinner" (vulgaris meretrix). Mr . Lilith is the name of Mary Magdalene when she first appears in episode one. Workers deserve their food. [52] Nonetheless, the gospels' accounts of Jesus' crucifixion differ considerably[53] and most secular historians agree that some of the details in the accounts have been altered to fit their authors' theological agendas. "John Rivera, "Restoring Mary Magdalene" in "Worldwide Religious News", "Pseudo-Rabanus Maurus' Life of Mary Magdalene and her sister Martha Magdalen College Oxford", "Mulieris Dignitatem, John Paul II, 15 August 1988 Apostolic Letter", "St. Mary Magdalene, Disciple of the Lord - Information on the Saint of the Day", "The liturgical memory of Mary Magdalene becomes a feast, like that of the other apostles, 10.06.2016", "J. Frank Henderson, "The Disappearance of the Feast of Mary Magdalene from the Anglican Liturgy" (2004), pp. Mary then proceeds to describe the Gnostic cosmology in depth, revealing that she is the only one who has understood Jesus' true teachings. [47] Mark 15:47 lists Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jesus as witnesses to the burial of Jesus. According to Gospel of Luke,[26] Jesus exorcised "seven demons" from Mary Magdalene. The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. [165] This composite depiction of Mary Magdalene was carried into the Mass texts for her feast day: in the Tridentine Mass, the collect explicitly identifies her as Mary of Bethany by describing Lazarus as her brother, and the Gospel is the story of the penitent woman anointing Jesus' feet. [296], Her left hand relic is kept in the Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos. Among Eastern Orthodox Christians this sharing is accompanied by the proclamation "Christ is risen!" [166], The "composite Magdalene" was never accepted by the Eastern Orthodox churches, who saw only Mary the disciple, and believed that after the Resurrection she lived as a companion to Mary the mother of Jesus, and not even in the West was it universally accepted. [323], Maurice Casey rejects the idea of Mary Magdalene as Jesus' wife as nothing more than wild popular sensationalism. [53] Ehrman states that the presence of Mary Magdalene and the other women at the cross is probably historical because Christians would have been unlikely to make up that the main witnesses to the crucifixion were women[54] and also because their presence is attested in both the Synoptic Gospels and in the Gospel of John independently. How does that truth encourage you? [176][177] This portrayal became so popular that it quickly spread to Germany and England. [47] Ehrman, who previously accepted the story of Jesus' burial as historical, now rejects it as a later invention on the basis that Roman governors almost never allowed for executed criminals to be given any kind of burial[58] and Pontius Pilate in particular was not "the sort of ruler who would break with tradition and policy when kindly asked by a member of the Jewish council to provide a decent burial for a crucified victim. The specific demon is not named in Scripture. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? `Abdu'l-Bah said that Mary traveled to Rome and spoke before the emperor Tiberius, which is presumably why Pilate was later recalled to Rome for his cruel treatment of the Jews (a tradition also attested to in the Eastern Orthodox Church). Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? February 02, 2023. Such works often support sensationalist statements about Jesus and Mary Magdalene's relationship. [82][75] According to John 20:1118, Mary, now alone in the garden outside the tomb, saw two angels sitting where Jesus' body had been. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. [181] On December 9, 1279, an excavation ordered by Charles II, King of Naples at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, Provence, led to the discovery of another purported burial of Mary Magdalene. [142][11][143] In his anti-Christian polemic The True Word, written between 170 and 180, the pagan philosopher Celsus declared that Mary Magdalene was nothing more than "a hysterical female who either dreamt in a certain state of mind and through wishful thinking had a hallucination due to some mistaken notion (an experience which has happened to thousands), or, which is more likely, wanted to impress others by telling this fantastic tale, and so by this cock-and-bull story to provide a chance for other beggars. (he is God). In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. resurrection. [55] Maurice Casey concurs that the presence of Mary Magdalene and the other women at the crucifixion of Jesus may be recorded as an historical fact. Movies. You can find episode one, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. Mary Magdalene is first mentioned by name in Mark, the second Gospel. [268] In his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem ("On the dignity and vocation of women", parts 6769) dated August 15, 1988, Pope John Paul II dealt with the Easter events in relation to the women being present at the tomb after the Resurrection, in a section entitled 'First Witnesses of the Resurrection': The women are the first at the tomb. [64] Nonetheless, he rejects that Jesus could have been interred in an expensive tomb with a stone rolled in front of it like the one described in the gospels,[65] leading him to conclude that Mary and the other women must not have seen the tomb. [185][186] Miraculously, however, the boat washes ashore at Marseille in southern France. [13][14][15], Mary Magdalene's epithet Magdalene ( ; literally "the Magdalene") most likely means that she came from Magdala,[16][17][b] a village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee that was primarily known in antiquity as a fishing town. [249], Noli me tangere (c. 1440-1442), fresco by Fra Angelico, Mary Magdalene Reading (c. 15001510) by Piero di Cosimo, Mary Magdalene (early 1500s) by Ambrosius Benson, Magdalena Penitente (early 1500s) by Giampietrino, Mary Magdalene (1615) by Juan Bautista Mano, Penitent Magdalene (c. 15761578) by El Greco, Mary Magdalene (16151616 or 16201625) by Artemisia Gentileschi, St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (c. 16191620) by Peter Paul Rubens, Magdalene with the Smoking Flame (c. 1640) by Georges de La Tour, Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene (between 1640 and 1650) by Pietro da Cortona, The Magdalene (before 1792) by George Romney, Mary Magdalene (18581860) by Frederick Sandys, Sarah Bernhardt as Maria Magdalena (1887) by Alfred Stevens, Christ and Mary Magdalene (1890) by Albert Edelfelt in a Finnish locale, The Eastern Orthodox Church has never identified Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany or the "sinful woman" who anoints Jesus in Luke 7:3650[254] and has always taught that Mary was a virtuous woman her entire life, even before her conversion. in, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 22:10. With that, Mary's image was, according to Susan Haskins, author of Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor, "finally settledfor nearly fourteen hundred years,"[164] although in fact the most important late medieval popular accounts of her life describe her as a rich woman whose life of sexual freedom is purely for pleasure. Mary's epithet Magdalene may mean that she came from the town of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Roman Judea. "[101], The Pistis Sophia, possibly dating as early as the second century, is the best surviving of the Gnostic writings. Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. Rather, let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us truly human. [133] None of these texts have survived to the present,[133][135] but they are mentioned by the early Christian heretic-hunter Epiphanius of Salamis in his Panarion. I am glad and blythe that St Jerome should say so". [312] Numerous works were written in response to the historical inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code,[313][314] but the novel still exerted massive influence on how members of the general public viewed Mary Magdalene. She may be shown either as very extravagantly and fashionably dressed, unlike other female figures wearing contemporary styles of clothes, or alternatively as completely naked but covered by very long blonde or reddish-blonde hair. [68][69][78] They went inside and saw two young men dressed in white who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. [232] Lady Gaga's song "Judas" (2011) is sung from Mary's perspective, portraying her as a prostitute who is "beyond repentance". [131][130] Matthew the Apostle comes to Mary's defense, giving a sharp rebuke to Peter:[129][130] "Peter, you are always angry. Pope Gregory's Easter sermon resulted in a widespread belief that Mary Magdalene was a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman. [231][226] Ki Longfellow's novel The Secret Magdalene (2005) draws on the Gnostic gospels and other sources to portray Mary as a brilliant and dynamic woman who studies at the fabled library of Alexandria, and shares her knowledge with Jesus.