Jesus's Female Friends and Family Quiz

Answer: Mary Magdalene

Okay, so this is going to be long, so please bear with me.

In 2003, the controversial novel "The Da Vinci Code" was released. Its plot included, among other things, Mary Magdalene as the wife of Jesus Christ. According to the novel, they had children as well, and it argued that Magdalene was the "disciple that Jesus loved" instead of John Zebedee.

Traditionally, Christians have regarded John to be the beloved disciple. One argument for the traditional view is that John's Gospel is the only New Testament Gospel to mention the character. The traditional association with John implies that this wasn't a romantic relationship between Jesus and the disciple, but simply a strong friendship.

"The Da Vinci Code", however, isn't the only work to suggest a romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. In the Gnostic Gospel, the Gospel of Mary, the apostle Peter talks to her and says, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of the women."

However, Peter begins to envy Mary because he starts to believe that Jesus not only loves her more than He loves the rest of the women, but that Jesus also loves her more than He loves the male disciples. An angry Peter states, "Did he then speak secretly with a woman, in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" (I took these quotes from Wikipedia's article about the Gospel of Mary.)

The apocryphal Gospel of Philip also seems to suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married or at least that she was His favorite follower. The Gospel of Philip calls Mary Magdalene Jesus's "companion," which could simply mean "friend," but some people interpret it to mean "wife," especially since it also states that Jesus would "kiss her often." Similar to the Gospel of Mary, the male disciples in the Gospel of Philip are irritated by the affection that Jesus gives to to Magdalene. Apparently, they are worried that Jesus will make her leader of the church and then they will have to submit to a woman.

Based on the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John alone, there is no evidence that Magdalene was anything more than a close friend to Jesus. However, it does appear that she was very close to Jesus and that she was loyal to Him. When most of His male disciples betrayed or deserted Jesus, she didn't. For examples, Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied knowing Jesus, Thomas doubted Jesus, but she never did any of those things. Most of the male disciples ran away after Jesus's arrest (see Matthew 26:31), but she, along with His mother and aunt(s), stayed and followed Him to His death. Furthermore, John's Gospel reports that after she had been crying outside the tomb, Mary Magdalene was the first person to witness the resurrected Christ. This was indeed a great honor for her.

Personally, the romantic side of me finds the idea of Jesus and Mary Magdalene being a couple cute and sweet--but the more theological side of me rejects the wife theory for the following reasons:

1) The Bible never mentions that Jesus was married to Magdalene or to anyone for that matter. It mentions that he had a mother, an earthly father (Joseph), brothers, and sisters, so why not mention if He had a wife?
2) Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and God in the flesh. His purpose wasn't to marry or to live an ordinary life; His purpose was to save the world (John 3:16).

On the other hand, Mary Magdalene was only human. The canonical Scriptures don't indicate that she was married or engaged to anybody. Is it possible that she had some sort of crush on the Son of God, her teacher? (See John 20:16). It might sound odd, but I think it is possible. Only God knows. I also think that she might had been a celibate woman who decided to dedicate her life to her Lord, similar to a nun, because the Scriptures don't mention her ever having a husband or children. Of course, these are just my speculations.

It is clear from the New Testament that Mary Magdalene deeply loved Jesus, but then, that love probably stemmed more from extreme gratitude than romantic feelings. According to Luke 8, she had been possessed by not only one or even two demons, but seven demons. Jesus healed her from all of those!

As pastor John MacArthur states, "Mary owed everything to Christ. She knew it too. Her subsequent love for Him reflected the profound depth of her gratitude. And that is how it should be for all who come to true saving knowledge of Jesus Christ" (from his article, "The Real Mary Magdalene").

Answer: Joanna

According to Luke 24:1-10, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and other (unspecified) women brought spices to Jesus's tomb, intending to anoint His body, but noticed that His body wasn't there anymore.

According to Luke 8:1-3, Joanna was one of the women who Jesus healed from "evil spirits and sicknesses" (New American Standard Bible) and she also financially contributed to His ministry.

Her husband was King Herod's steward, and according to BibleGateway.com in their article about Joanna, her foster brother, Manaen, was a teacher in the early church.

Answer: Susanna

According to Luke 8:1-3, Jesus healed Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna from demons or illnesses.

While Luke is clear that Magdalene had seven demons, he is less clear about what exactly the other women were healed from. They could had been demon possessed, mentally ill, or maybe had physical diseases.

The name Susanna means "lily" or "rose" in Hebrew.

Answer: Martha from Bethany

Martha was a sister of Lazarus and they had a sister named Mary as well (there are too many Marys in the New Testament, as far as I'm concerned). They lived together in Bethany.

In Luke 10:38-42, Martha was upset because she wanted Mary to help her in the kitchen (so to speak). Mary was too busy listening to Jesus.

Jesus thus told Martha, "Martha, dear friend, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it-and I won't take it away from her!" (The Living Bible translation).

According to John 11:5, Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, which suggests that they were good friends to Him.

Answer: Unnamed Galilean sinner

In the Middle Ages, approximately the year 591, Pope Gregory I made a speech that would influence Roman Catholicism and Christianity in general for centuries. He suggested that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute before she became a Christian, and that she was the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 who anointed Christ's feet and wiped them with her hair.

In addition, he stated that he felt Mary Magdalene was the same as Mary of Bethany, who, according to John 12:1-8, also anointed Christ's feet and wiped them with her hair. The problem with this theory is that, based on the Bible, there is no proof for it.

Apparently, Pope Gregory took three different women and formed them into one. He also gave Mary Magdalene a reputation that the Bible doesn't actually support--nowhere does the Bible state that she had been a prostitute.

The only thing we know about about Magdalene's life prior to her becoming a Christian is that she had seven demons in her (Luke 8) and people don't even agree on what that means. Some believe that she had real demons inside her, while others suggest that she had mental illnesses--that she was insane! Either way, there is no evidence that her demons were related to anything sexual.

The sinful woman in Luke 7:35-50 is nameless. As Liz Curtis Higgs states in her book "Unveiling Mary Magdalene," even the town is nameless. While the story takes place in Galilee, the exact town isn't certain, which is interesting because Luke 7:37 implies that the woman lived in the town. If this was Mary Magdalene, also known as Mary of Magdala, then I would think that Luke would at least reference Magdala as the town, especially since Luke mentions Mary Magdalene right in the next chapter, chapter 8.

In addition, according to Luke 7:50, after Jesus forgave the sinner, He told her to "Go in peace," almost as if He never planned to see her again. But He saw Magdalene quite a bit in His ministry!

So, how does Mary of Bethany fit into all of this? Well, in John's Gospel, there is an account in which Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus's feet and wipes them with her hair, but there are many differences between the stories as well, which has led some scholars to conclude that they actually tell two separate events.

The differences include that, first of all, John definitely lists the town as Bethany, and instead of describing the anointer as a sinful woman, he names her as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Also, the host of the event in Luke is Simon the Pharisee, while the host in John seems to be Martha.

In both Gospels, Jesus is criticized for allowing the anointing, but in Luke, Simon the Pharisee criticizes Him for allowing an unclean, sinful woman to touch Him. In John, Judas Iscariot, Jesus's own disciple who would later betray Him, criticizes because he thinks that Mary spent too much money on the perfume.

Honestly, the anointing stories in Luke's and John's Gospels are very different, plus Mary of Bethany is portrayed as a respected friend of Jesus, not really the town's whore (can I use that word?) so it seems unlikely that Mary of Bethany, let alone Mary Magdalene, could be the same as the nameless sinner in Luke's Gospel.

It is worth noting that, according to Wikipedia, the Roman Catholic Church no longer affirms the idea that she was a prostitute. Also, in 1969, they changed their calendar to not identify Mary Magdalene with any other New Testament women. Nonetheless, the notions have remained pretty popular in Western cultures.

(Works consulted: "Unveiling Mary Magdalene: Discover the Truth about a Not-So-Bad Girl of the Bible" by Liz Curtis Higgs and Wikipedia's articles titled "New Testament People Named Mary", "Mary of Bethany", and "Mary Magdalene".)

Answer: Elizabeth

Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother. In Luke 1:39-45, Mary, the mother of Jesus, visited her relative, Elizabeth. The exact relationship isn't clear, so they could be cousins, or aunt and niece, or perhaps even sisters. However, Elizabeth was very old, much older than Mary probably was, so it isn't likely that they were sisters.

While Elizabeth acknowledged that Mary was favored, Elizabeth was pretty favored herself. Elizabeth had been a barren, elderly woman until the Lord gave her a child. Not only did she have a child, but he was destined to be the forerunner of Jesus and to " . . . make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17, New American Standard Bible).

Answer: Mary, the wife of Clopas

Here are how the four Gospels record the ladies present at Jesus's death, from the New American Standard translation.

Matthew 27:55-56: "Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee."

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."

Luke's Gospel doesn't go into details about the women witnessing the horrific event, but later mentions that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and others brought spices to His tomb.

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."

Interestingly, John is the only Gospel that explicitly mentions Jesus's mother and her sister. However, many scholars conclude that Mary, the mother of James and Joseph and Mary, the wife of Clopas are the same woman. Some also believe that she was His mother's sister and therefore His aunt. Others argue that Salome was her sister instead.

James the Lesser was one of Jesus's disciples. If his mother was Jesus's aunt, as some believe, then he was Jesus's own cousin.

Answer: Salome

The following verses are from the New American Standard Bible.

Matthew 27:55-56: "Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee."

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."

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."

Many scholars agree that Salome was the mother of Zebedee's sons. While some believe that Mary of Clopas was Jesus's aunt, others believe that Salome was His aunt. According to a medieval Catholic legend, *both* Salome and Mary of Clopas were the Virgin Mary's sisters, so both were considered His aunts.

Both James the Greater and John, possible cousins of Jesus, were His disciples as well. In fact, John has been credited for writing his Gospel, the New Testament books of 1, 2, and 3 John, and the book of Revelation.

Answer: Mary from Bethany

According to Luke 10:39, she was a female disciple who loved to learn from Jesus.

According to John 11:44-45, many Jewish people believed in Jesus after witnessing how He brought her brother, Lazarus, back from the dead. And according to John 12, Mary anointed Jesus's feet while He was visiting her hometown of Bethany. She probably did this as a way to say thank you to Jesus for resurrecting her brother.

While the Gospels don't mention Mary from Bethany by title as one of the women who watched Jesus's death, she possibly was one, as they state that there were many women there. Martha was possibly there, too.

Answer: Mary, Jesus's mother

Christians believe that Mary supernaturally became the mother of Jesus, who they also believe to be the Son of God and the Messiah that the Hebrew Bible prophesied about. While the Bible doesn't give her age when she gave birth to Him, most Christians believe that she was very young; a teenager in modern terms.

Luke 1:26-31 beautifully states,
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.'" (New American Standard Bible)

According to Luke 2:41-52, she lost her son and was amazed to finally find Him in the Jewish temple. According to John 19:26, she saw Him take His last breath. There were many women weeping for Him, but simply due to a mother's love, she must had been the one who cried the most.