Wasn't Mary of Bethany sister to Martha and Lazarus, John 12:1-3?
Yes.
In Luke 7:36-39, the woman who anointed Jesus is not named, whereas in Luke 8:3 Mary Magdalene is named and described as the woman from whom 7 demons had been driven out.
The following is extracted from a sermon I gave many years ago:
We also know that there were a number of female disciples of Jesus - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, the sisters Mary and Martha, Joanna, Susanna and Salome are all named. Whenever the female disciples are mentioned in the Bible, Mary Magdalene is always the first named. In the literary tradition of the time the first named is always the most important. Mary Magdalene is even named ahead of Mary his mother. Even the name Mary Magdalene may be informative. Mary "of Magdala" seems not to be correct since there is no solid historical or archaeological evidence that there ever was such a town. Another possible interpretation of the word "Magdalene" is that it is derived from an Aramaic word meaning roughly "the most important". Early Christian writers have sometimes referred to her as "Mary the Great" and also as the “Apostle to the Apostles”. Why should such importance be attached to this woman?
Here is an interesting take on the story of Mary and her sister Martha. Martha is scurrying around preparing a meal and is getting a little overheated because Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him teach. Martha comes to Jesus and asks him to tell Mary to get up and help her.
The fact that she asked Jesus rather than going directly to her sister says something in and of itself. In that culture a married woman could be directed only by her husband. To go to the wife directly when her husband is present would be an insult to the husband in that very patriarchal society. We can draw each of us our own conclusions here. And yes I do believe that Mary the Magdalene and Mary of Bethany are the same person.
Christian, particularly Catholic tradition, has been very unkind to Mary Magdalene. She has been variously identified as the woman taken in adultery or the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair or possibly both. She is portrayed as a great sinner who became a great saint. The Gospel of John says that Jesus cast seven demons from her. Some might jump to the conclusion that demonic possession is indicated here. However, we must examine this in the context of the times. Disease was thought to have been caused by invisible demons. We know today that this is wrong - disease is actually caused by invisible germs or viruses. It seems that we have renamed the demons! John is simply saying that Jesus cured her of some unspecified disease. As for the charge that she was a prostitute, that first appeared in a sixth century sermon by Pope Gregory.
Scripture does indicate that she should be ranked on a level with the apostles among the disciples of Jesus. She was the first to the tomb to do what a wife was expected to do for a deceased husband. When she encountered the risen Jesus and finally recognized him, she called him "Rabboni" and "Lord". "Rabboni" is the familiar or affectionate form of "Rabbi", and "Lord" or "Master" is how a Jewish wife would have addressed her husband in that very patriarchal age. Jesus also warned her "do not embrace me". All this is certainly suggestive of a close relationship between the two but stops short of anything definitive.
There are other sources we can turn to for further light on the subject. Almost everyone is aware of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. However, very few are aware of a second major find. Just two years earlier in the Sinai Desert at a place called Nag Hamadi an entire library of about fifty ancient manuscripts was found sealed in a jar in a cave. The Nag Hamadi Library includes the only known copies of the Gospels of Thomas, of James, of Philip and of Mary as well as many other documents.
A passage in the Gospel of Philip states that the three most important women in Jesus' life were all named Mary. They were Mary his mother, Mary his sister and Mary Magdalene his companion. I find, as I am sure you do too, the use of the word companion to be most interesting since it suggests something more personal and more equal than a rabbi / student or a master / disciple relationship.
The Gospel of Mary is a gospel about Mary Magdalene rather than a gospel authored by her. It opens with the apostles bewildered and grieving after the final departure of the resurrected Jesus. Mary assumes a leadership role by comforting and encouraging them. They in turn ask her to reveal to them any teachings that Jesus had imparted to her in private and not to the whole group. The question seems significant in and of itself. She does answer their question but encounters disbelief on the part of Peter. He as much as accuses her of lying saying "Has the Savior spoken secretly to a woman and not openly so that we would all hear? Surely he did not wish to indicate that she is more worthy than we are?" Mary, quite naturally, is very upset by Peter's attack but is defended by Levi (probably Matthew) who says "Peter, you have a constant inclination to anger and you are always ready to give way to it. And even now you are doing exactly that by questioning the woman as if you were her adversary. If the Savior considered her to be worthy, who are you to disregard her? For he knew her completely and loved her devotedly." Once again we are teased but the record stops just short of being unequivocal. We don't quite get a glimpse of the wedding ring!
Returning to the Gospel of Mary, we are told that Jesus often preferred to walk and talk with her to the exclusion of the other disciples and that he frequently kissed her on her …?… Here there is a word missing in the manuscript. We could guess and fill in words like cheek or lips. Missing words are not all that unusual in ancient manuscripts. They naturally tend to deteriorate along the edges with an effect quite similar to tearing a strip from the edge of the page of a book.
The gospel goes on to record that the disciples ask Jesus "Why do you love her more than all of us?" His reply is rather enigmatic "Why do I not love you like her?" Perhaps in answering their question with another question, Jesus is pointing out to them that although he loves them as disciples, he loves her in a different way. Once again much is implied but little is specified.
In 2012 the discovery of a small fragment of a previosly unknown gospel was announced. It has been named the “Gospel of Jesus' Wife.” A partial sentence on this fragment has Jesus say "Jesus said to them, 'my wife' …." The fragment written in the Coptic language of Egypt is thought to be a translation of a Greek text from the second century.
In addition to these ancient records, we can also turn to some not so ancient traditions. There is a strong tradition in the south of France that Mary Magdalene was the first Christian missionary to that region. This is attested to in a stained glass window in the Cathedral of Marseilles that depicts Mary consecrating a bishop! From the fifth through to the eighth centuries this same region of southern France was ruled by the Merovignian dynasty of kings. This unique and most interesting family claimed an incredible family tree. To begin with, they claimed descent from the Tribe of Benjamin which was almost annihilated by the other Jewish tribes. But, more to the point of this investigation, they also claimed lineal blood descent from Jesus through the children of Mary Magdalene. This claim was never disputed by the Church at the time. The descendants of the Merovignian family still reside in France and continue their claim.
While we are talking family here, let me interject another aside. The first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were all circumcised Jews and most, if not all, claimed a blood relationship to Jesus through his brothers and sisters. The Acts of the Apostles makes it quite clear that the first bishop of Jerusalem and the first head of the early church was James the brother of Jesus and not Peter as we are frequently encouraged to believe.
