Amelia

God bless you in your search for truth!

Amelia

Starting with the Bible, we have 12 verses which speak of "Mary Magdalene" specifically. These are Matthew 27:56, 27:61, and 28:1; Mark 15:40, 15:47, 16:1, and 16:9; Luke 8:2 and 24:10; and John 19:25, 20:1, and 20:18. None of these verses speak of her as being a harlot, so neither should we.

Where the seven devils is concerned, the Greek word "daimonion" is used for the English "devils" in Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils." The same word "daimonion" is used in Luke 8:2, "And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils."

This same Greek word is used many times throughout the gospels, notably in Mark 1:34: "And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him." Also Luke 8, the account of the Gadarene demoniac -- "And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him." Luke 8:30.

So whatever these "devils" were, that were cast out of Mary Magdalene, the same type of thing was cast out of the Gadarene, and many others. For "experts" to say that the devils cast out of Mary weren't really demons at all, is to say that there really is no such thing as devils in the first place! Which is a common practice these days. Modern psychiatry has consigned the idea of evil spirits to the "superstitious old wives' tale" category, which is unfortunate. "Science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20) is helping Satan cloak his doings, and those of his helpers.

The Bible passages mentioning Mary Magdalene don't establish her identity as being the same Mary who was sister of Lazarus and Martha; who anointed Jesus' feet with oil, washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7:36-50; John 11:1-2, 12:1-8). But Ellen White does make this identification.

"At the table the Saviour sat with Simon, whom He had cured of a loathsome disease, on one side, and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus.....At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of 'ointment of spikenard, very costly,' with which to anoint His body." - Desire of Ages, pp. 558-559.

Still in the same chapter, speaking of the same Mary: "Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life.....Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind....Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour." DA 568. Scripture says it was Mary Magdalene who first saw the empty tomb, then the risen Christ, and who first ran to the apostles with the news that He was alive. John 20:1-18. What an incredibly high honor! She emptied herself and made some of the greatest sacrifices for her Lord, showed great love for Him; and was highly rewarded for it. "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her." Matthew 26:13. (Not to mention her reward when He comes again, and for all eternity afterwards.)

[ April 15, 2002: Message edited by: John ]

I had always accepted the common idea that she was the prostitute whom the leaders trapped when Jesus wrote in the sand, but I have not found anywhere that supports that in the Bible or EGW. Thank you John for sharing your supports and conclusion as well.

As John indicated, many in today's society no longer believe in demons - in fact one of my prior employers told me that he did not believe in the devil. I was thinking a few moments ago that those who refuse to believe in the devil are, in essence, calling God a liar because He very much states that there is a devil and that the devil is the enemy of God.

quote:

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He who gave back to the widow her only son as he was carried to the burial is touched today by the woe of the bereaved mother. He who wept tears of sympathy at the grave of Lazarus, and gave back to Martha and Mary their buried brother; who pardoned Mary Magdalene; who remembered His mother when He was hanging in agony upon the cross; who appeared to the weeping women, and made them His messengers to spread the first glad tidings of a risen Saviour--He is woman's best friend today, and is ready to aid her in all the relations of life. {RC 170.5}

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Great study.

I have changed the font color where the Spirit of Prophecy is mentioning the different women Jesus helped while here on this earth. The way I am reading it it is saying that Mary, Martha and Lazuras's sister, is different than Mary Magdalene. How do you all read it? Seems to me that I heard somewhere in SDA circles that they thought Mary Magdalene was the sister Mary. But this quote lists her separate from Mary their sister.

In The Blessed Hope

Avalee

[ April 18, 2002: Message edited by: Avalee ]

One movie, actually, that brought the difference clearly to my mind is "The Greatest Story Ever Told". This movie, while it is not always Biblically accurate, nor complete, does it's best to portray the Scripture and Christ's life with no interpretations, and also does not portray Lazarus' sister as being the adulterous woman, nor Mary Magdelene! (In fact, Mary of Bethany is introduced very early in the movie - much before the adulterous woman and Mary Magdelene is not identified very clearly at all - much is not included, probably in a bid to shorten the movie which is already 3 hours.)

On the other hand, much that has been written under the impression that Mary Magdelene, Mary of Bethany and the adulterous woman are one and the same have been a great blessing to many! I draw attention to the book "At Jesus' Feet" by Doug Bachelor which has been a great blessing to me and to my friends (some of whom are not Adventists nor Christians). (In fact, if you can handle the inaccuracy of the identity of Mary, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!)

And yes Mary seemed to be a very popular name. There is one scripture or quote that uses the phrase "and the other Marys"