📖 Biblical Definition
Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2). Delivered from severe demonic oppression, she became one of Jesus' most faithful followers, supporting His ministry out of her own means (Luke 8:3). She stood at the foot of the cross when most disciples had fled (John 19:25), watched where Jesus was buried, and came to the tomb early on Sunday morning. She was the first person to see the risen Christ (John 20:16), and Jesus commissioned her to go and tell the disciples: "I am ascending to my Father" (John 20:17). That the risen Christ appeared first to a woman — whose testimony was inadmissible in Jewish courts — is powerful evidence of the historicity of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene is a model of grateful devotion — one who had been delivered from much loved much.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A woman of Magdala delivered from seven demons; a follower of Jesus; the first witness of the resurrection.
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MAG'DALENE, n. [from Magdala, a tower.] Mary of Magdala, a woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons, who became a devoted follower and was the first person to see and testify to the risen Christ.
📖 Key Scripture
• Luke 8:2 — "Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out."
• John 19:25 — "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and... Mary Magdalene."
• John 20:16-17 — "Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him, 'Rabboni!'... 'Go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father.'"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Mary Magdalene is falsely identified as a prostitute and co-opted as a proto-feminist icon or Gnostic authority figure.
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The most persistent myth about Mary Magdalene is that she was a prostitute — a conflation with the unnamed sinful woman in Luke 7 that has no basis in the text. Modern revisionism swings to the opposite extreme: Gnostic gospels are cited to argue that Mary was Jesus' romantic partner or a suppressed female apostle. In reality, Scripture presents Mary Magdalene clearly: she was delivered from demons, she followed Jesus faithfully, she witnessed His death and resurrection, and she was sent to testify. She was not a prostitute, not a wife, not an apostle — she was a faithful disciple whose devotion was rewarded with the privilege of being the first to proclaim: "I have seen the Lord."
Usage
• "Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute — she was a woman delivered from seven demons who responded with a lifetime of faithful, sacrificial devotion to Christ."
• "That Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene after the resurrection is one of the strongest proofs the accounts are not fabricated — no ancient forger would have chosen a woman as the first witness."