Mary Magdalene in the Canonical Gospels, the Gospels of Philip and Thomas, from the Pistis Sophia, and Associations with with Sophia or Wisdom
Gospel of John 20-1: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
Gospel of Mark 16-9: Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
Mary Magdalene
Mary followed Yeshua. She was the first to see Yeshua resurrect, making her technically the first “Apostle”. And she brought this news to the other Apostles in the “Upper Room”. So even from a canonical point of view she had long been a disciple. Yet technically too an Apostle. Mary Magdalene traveled with Yeshua. She was present at Yeshua’s two most important moments: the crucifixion and the resurrection. Within the four Gospels she is named at least 12 times, more than most of the other apostles. In non-canonical Gnostic scriptures Mary’s importance and Apostleship is significant.
Canonical References to Mary of Magdala During the Crucifixion
Gospel of Mark 15:40: There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.
Gospel of Matthew 27:56: Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Gospel of John 19:25: But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
References to Mary of Magdala After the Crucifixion
Gospel of Mark 15:47: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.
Gospel of Matthew 27:61: And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
Gospel of Matthew 28:1: Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
Gospel of Mark 16:1: When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.
References to Mary of Magdala At the Resurrection
Gospel of John 20:1: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
Gospel of Mark 16:9: Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
Gospel of John 20:18: Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
Gospel of Luke 24: But at daybreak on the first day of the week the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among
the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.
Gospel of Mark 16.9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 16.10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 16.11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it (longer ending).
The Apostle John elaborates:
Gospel of John 20.11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; 20.12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 20.13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 20.14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 20.15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 20.16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbo’ni!” (which means Revered Teacher). 20.17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Fa- ther and your Father, to my God and your God.” 20.18 Mary Mag’dalene went and said to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and she told them that he had said these things to her.”
Gospel of Matthew 8.11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 8.12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”
Gospel of Thomas 114 Simon Peter said to them, ” Mary should leave us, because women are not worthy of the Spiritual Life.” Yeshua responded, “I will lead her and impart the Word and Spirit so as to make her a living spirit as you are. For any that obtain Gnosis make themselves one with God and will enter the Kingdom (Aeon and Pleroma) of God Most High (After Davies, Stevan 2002)
Non-canonical Gospels, texts, canonical gospels and the roles of Mary Magdalene and Sophia
Some Gnostics believed Mary Magdalene and Sophia were one and the same (or at least in some way related). In the Wisdom of Jesus Christ, Jesus and Sophia become Yoked (technically a “syzygy” which is a nonsexual androgynous union of two beings of the opposite sex). They become a single unified whole – and a very powerful individual or divinity. So too in Pistis-Sophia (Faith and Wisdom) the chief disciple in that text is not Peter or a man but, a woman. That woman is Mary Magdalene, who is by far the most spiritual and intuitive of the disciples. This is not without significance when we remember the love of the Christ for Mary ‘out of whom he had cast seven devils.’ And as all beings, human and divine (in Valentinian cosmos) are believed to have a ‘divine but platonic or androgynous guardian angel’ of the opposite sex with which they join or are ‘yoked together’. Because in the Gospel of Philip ‘Mary Magdalene’ is described as always walking with Jesus; and described as the one ‘who Jesus loved the most’ and whom he often kissed…’ many believe they were ‘married or yoked’ in the human way.
Those who wrote the first gospels, gave the name Yeshu or Yeshua (Jesus in Greek) to the Messiah. Yeshua was from the highest Aeon, from Heaven above the Heavens. Yeshua dwelt as Wisdom, or the Fulness, in the Pleroma or “Aeon” of Messiah Yeshua. The name Mary Magdalene, or
Mariamne Magdal-eder, dwelled in her own Realm. But the same Realm or Aeon as Sophia (the lowest level of the Pleroma or the heaven just above the earth or matter).
Mary Magdalene and her association with Sophia or Wisdom
How is Mary Magdalene associated with Sophia? In the Pistis Sophia the most important Apostles who are to write the words of Yeshua are named. This is a surprise as there Yeshua names Philip, Matthew, Thomas and Mary. This is surprising to canonical readers but not to those who read the Gnostic literature. So first is the Apostle Philip. Philip is declared pre-eminently to be the scribe of all the deeds and discourses of the Savior. But and this is too is (as of February 2018) another surprise. Next come the Apostles Thomas and Matthew and finally Mary. There has been a recent breakthrough in locating the source of “Q” or Quelle as Hebrew Matthew. Hebrew Matthew is now been labeled the Sayings Gospel of Hebrew Matthew. the Pistis Sophia Mythotheology.
Additionally “Hebrew Matthew” and the discovery of the intact Gospels of Philip and Thomas. And (though less intact) the location of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene is a Jungian Synchrony. The Resurrected Yeshua answers questions put to him. The Apostle Mary Magdalene stands forth as the chief questioner. No less than 39 of the 42 questions come from her mouth. In this text Faith and Wisdom, she is titled, the Apostle who excels the rest. She is the Disciple of the Lord. And He labels her, “the One who knew the All”. And the “All” is both the Cosmos (or Universe) and the Highest Aeon or Heaven above Heaven where the True God dwells. Where God above God rests in Paradise.
Yeshua Messiah states that Mary Magdalene is a disciple. Yeshua Messiah rescues Mary form the lowest Heaven or Pleroma. This is the Realm of the earth and humanity just above the realms of Hell below. Reminding her of Gnosis the two can return to the highest Heaven. There they can become again the paired “Syzygy” they had previously been. And, before where He and Mary Magdala are seen on Earth as representing the ‘yoked couple’ in the Heaven as Yeshua and Sophia (Mead., G.R.S. 1921 Pistis Sophia in: Gnostic Society Library, The. 2015; Lester, Meera. 2007).
Micah 4:8 is a Messianic prophecy about Migdal-eder. Some say that Mary Magdalene’s name derives from Migdal-eder. Migdal means “tower” or “great tower”. Eder means the Flock. Usually a flock of sheep. Thus some scholars have noted it is near Bethlehem where “flocks of sheep” were raised. The Prophecy some believe relates to Mary Magdalene. And also to Yeshua:
Micah 4:8 And you, O tower (“or migdal”) of the flock (or “eder”); the stronghold of the daughter of Zion. To you shall it come. Even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
In this Gnostic literature she is titled, the Apostle who ex- cels the rest. The Disciple of the Lord, the One who knew the All. The One who reveals the Greatness of the Reveal- er. The Inheritor of the Light. The privileged Interlocutor. The One who is always with the Lord, the One whom they call His Consort, and the Chosen of Women (Mead., G.R.S. 1921 Pistis Sophia in: Gnostic Society Library, The. 2015; Romanoff, Katia. 2016.)
Thus a new and modern association with Mary Magdalene in the New Testament is developing. Her role as noted in the Pistis Sophia (and the Gospel of Philip) is that of an Apostle. She is also found in Gospels of Thomas and in the Canonical Gospels where she is the chief female disciple. She is prominent and as Thomas Aquinus noted the apostle to the apostles. And first witness of the resurrection. In fact the Catholic Church has upped her liturgical status from a memorial to a “Feast day”. This puts her as the first witness of the Resurrection on par with the other Apostles.
How is Mary Magdalene associated with Sophia?
In this Gnostic literature she is titled, the Apostle who ex- cels the rest. The Disciple of the Lord, the One who knew the All. The One who reveals the Greatness of the Reveal- er. The Inheritor of the Light. The privileged Interlocutor. The One who is always with the Lord, the One whom they call His Consort, and the Chosen of Women (Mead., G.R.S. 1921 Pistis Sophia in: Gnostic Society Library, The. 2015; Romanoff, Katia. 2016.)
Thus a new and modern association with Mary Magdalene in the New Testament is developing. Her role as noted in the Pistis Sophia (and the Gospel of Philip) is that of an Apostle. She is also found in Gospels of Thomas and in the Canonical Gospels where she is the chief female disciple. She is prominent and as Thomas Aquinus noted the apostle to the apostles. And first witness of the resurrection. In fact the Catholic Church has upped her liturgical status from a memorial to a “Feast day”. This puts her as the first witness of the Resurrection on par with the other Apostles.
The Gospel of Mary an Extraordinary Gnostic Gospel – an excerpt from the coming Brantingham edition:
The Gospel of Mary, which was recovered in 1896 in a 5th- century papyrus codex as part of the Akhmim Codex and published in 1955 is The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
The Scholar Elaine Pagels notes that Mary Magdalene is favored with insights and visions that appear to surpass even Peter’s
Mary Magdalene says from the Gospel of Mary (my own unpublished edition to be published in 2018)
Here is an excerpt from that remarkable Gospel:
7… The entire cosmos and your very bones, groaneth and cleaveth to life and flesh. Flesh in this world of matter, materiality and life desires and lusts uncontrollably. This gives birth to unmanageable passions, and to many things that lead toward sorrow and death. These come from a ‘false and counterfeit spirit,’ and from bad inclinations or ‘the beast’ within you who, bears not His Image or His, God’s Icon, but is an Icon of the Adversary. Such passions are contrary to nature. These cause deep confusion and discomfort that arises throughout the entire mind, heart and body. Therefore, the Savior said, ‘this is why I told you, ‘be content at heart’… for if you are discontented or discouraged, find contentment and be assured and, know my peace by beholding the inconceivable, wonderful things and images within matter, found within the materiality and flesh of this Cosmos and World that God Most High allowed to exist. For in nature and life there is much Good but also great and terrible Evil. But all that is good is allowed, including, and in His Image, the Son, who brings Salvation from the True and Loving God. These good images and life are, not from the Adversary but, from the True God above God for, He said, I will give you a rebirth, a new heart and put my spirit within you; I will remove from thee thy heart of stone and give you compassion and, a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you for you shalt be called, my sons and daughters of God! And that is what you are! Anyone who has ears to hear should hear!’
8. When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all, ‘Peace be with you! Let my peace arise within you; not as the world confereth peace, but as I do’. ‘But, beware. Do not let anyone mislead you by saying,’ ‘here is Christ or there is Christ’ or ‘look here!’ or ‘over there!’ ‘Rather, remember this, The Kingdom of God and of the Son of Man, is within! Follow Him! Those who are the children of the True God, seek him and you will find him! ‘So, go now and announce the Good, the Gospel of the Kingdom. And remember, do not make up new rules and new laws bedsides those you already possess. Or you will be bound by what you make up! But by my teaching and instruction from, and through the Covenants and all their Inspired Scriptures is sufficient to you. After He said these things, He left.
9. But the disciples grieved and wept bitterly. They said to each other, ‘how can we go to the Gentiles and preach the Gospel, that the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived? That is, how can we say such things as He said… such as the Kingdom is within? Why should they listen to us since, the Adversary’s human Archons and Rulers slayed the Son. For nothing stopped them from killing Him, even the Anointed, the Son? Why then would these Dark Powers, and fallen human Archons and Rulers spare us or even them?’
10. Peter said to Mary, ‘Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the hidden words of the Savior that you remember. Tell us the secret words you have learned and we have not, the words of the Savior that you heard’. In response Mary said, ‘If you wish, I will tell you what I have heard Him say. That which up to now has been hidden from you.’ So, Mary began to tell them about her vision and the Saviors’ words. She said to them this, ‘I saw the Lord in a vision today,’ and I said to him, ‘Lord, I see you now in a vision.’ And in response to me, He said, ‘thou art blessed beloved, because you didst not falter or tremble nor run away at my sight, because most are overcome with fear by such a vision. For where the heart is, there will be thy treasure twixt the soul and spirit; there is where thou see my immortal image.’ ‘Then I said to him, ‘Lord, how does the one who sees the vision, perceive it? Did I see it in the soul or in the spirit?’ In response the Savior said, ‘Thou does not see it solely in the spirit nor in the soul but, in the nous, the mind, which perceives it there between the soul and spirit’. That beloved, is how you saw this vision; my countenance before you.
11. Mary continued, ‘The Lord is ‘the One, God the Father Most High whom is the Power above Power and the True God, the Lord of Spirits. He is over all Archons and Rulers, good and evil, both human and divine. He dwells in the Highest Aeon, Him who is Aiōn Teleos, that is the Perfect Aeon. Yet He is in all and by His pleasure keeps in existence all Aeons and Realms above and below. He, YHWE-Sabbataios is Spirit, and in His Aeon existeth no fallen and ungodly, material, fleshly dark powers nor sin. His Pleroma is fullness; the Highest Heaven above. Fallen material, matter, flesh and power maketh up things and beings in the Cosmos and world and are illusions. This world did not cometh by the immutable, imperturbable Good God Above, but from a ‘false and deficient Wisdom, or Sofia’s, failed attempt to beget a ‘higher divinity’ but instead she gave birth to a mental and psychologically twisted abortion. This I delusional creator and Adversary, believed himself to be the only ‘god’ of this cosmos and world; this dense, heavy, material and unspiritual world. Not from the Light. But from the fallen Archons, Rulers, Angels and humanity of darkness. It is opposite of that which is spiritual and is the matter, flesh and powers found in the lower Aeons even the Abyss and Hell itself.
Brantingham, James. (2017) The Gospel of Philip: A New Translation (Kindle Locations 17-18). Kindle Edition.
Brantingham, James. Gospel of Mary. Unpublished 2018
Davies, Stevan. (2002) The Gospel of Thomas. Skylight Paths Publishing. Woodstock, Vermont
Gnostic Society Library, The. (2015) The Nag Hammadi Library. Available at http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html Accessed 2/7 2015
James, MR. (1924). The Acts of Peter from: The Apocryphal New Testament. Clarendon Press, Oxford. UK. The Gnostic Society Library. http://gnosis.org/library/actpete.htm Accessed 1 28 2018
Lester, Meera. (2007). The Everything Gnostic Gospels Book: A Complete Guide to the Secret Gospels. Published by Adams Media an F+W Publication. Avon, MA
Mattison, Mark M. The Gospel of Mary. [Accessed 9/25/2017) https://www.gospels.net/mary/ The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of BG 8502
Mead, GRS. (1892). Simon Magus. An Essay on the Founder of Simonianism. The Gnostic Mead Collection Bookstore. The Gnostic Society Library. http://gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/grsm_simon_magus.htm Accessed 1 28 2018
Mead, G.R.S. (1899). Pistis Sophia. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. From Mead, G.R.S. (1892). The Gnostic Society Library. gnosis.org
Mead, G.R.S. (1892). Simon Magus. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. From Mead, G.R.S. (1892). The Gnostic Society Library. gnosis.org
Parrott, DM. The Sophia of Jesus Christ in: Gnostic Society Library, The. (2015) The Nag Hammadi Library. Available at http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html Accessed 2/7 2015
Robinson, James M., Hoffmann, Paul., Kloppenborg, John S., Moreland, Milton C. (2000) The Critical Edition of Q with Publisher Fortress and Peeters Press. Minneapolis.
Romanoff, Katia. (2016) Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom & God’s Wife. http://www.northernway.org/sophia.html (Accessed 7-30-2016)