Whatever the status of the Magdalene in the Gospels, she is not the only possible candidate for Jesus' wife. There is one other, who figures most prominently in the Fourth Gospel and who may be identified as Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus. She and her family are clearly on very familiar terms with Jesus. They are also wealthy, maintaining a house in a fashionable suburb of Jerusalem large enough to accommodate Jesus and his entire entourge. What is more, the Lazarus episode reveals that this house contains a private tomb--a somewhat flamboyant luxury in Jesus' time, not only a sign of wealth but also a status symbol attesting to aristocratic connections. In biblical Jerusalem, as in any modern city, land was at a premium and only a very few could afford the self-indulgence of a private burial site.
When in the Fourth Gospel Lazarus falls ill, Jesus has left Bethany for a few days and is staying with his disciples on the Jordan. Hearing of what happened, he nevertheless, delays for two days--a rather curious reaction--and then returns to Betany, where Lazarus lies in the tomb. As he approaches, Martha rushes forth to meet him and cries, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." (John 11:21) It is a perplexing assertion, for why should Jesus' physical presence necessarily have prevented the man's death? But the incident is significant because Martha, when she greets Jesus, is alone. One would expect Mary, her sister, to be with her. Mary, however, is sitting in the house--and does not emerge until Jesus explicitly commands her to do so. The point becomes clearer in the "secret" Gospel of Mark, discovered by Professor Morton Smith. In the suppressed account by Mark, it would appear that Mary does not emerge from the house before Jesus instructs her to do so. And she is promptly and angrily rebuked by the disciples, whom Jesus is obliged to silence.
It would be plausible enough for Mary to be sitting in the house when Jesus arrives in Bethany. In accordance with Jewish custom she would be "sitting shivah"--sitting in mourning. But why does she not join Martha and rush to meet Jesus on his return? There is one obvious explanation. By the tenets of Judaic law at the time a woman "sitting shivah" would have been strictly forbidden to emerge from the house except at the express bidding of her husband. In this incident the behavior of Jesus and Mary of Bethany conforms precisely to the traditional comportment of a Jewish husband and wife.
There is additional evidence for a possibe marriage between Jesus and Mary of Bethany. It occurs, more or less as a non sequitur, in the Gospel of Luke:
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he [Jesus] entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
And Jesus answered and said uno her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things;
But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)
From Martha's appeal it would seem apparent that Jesus exercises some sort of authority over Mary. More important still, however, is Jesus' reply. In any other context one would not hesitate to interpret this reply as an allusion to a marriage. In any case it clearly suggests that Mary of Bethany was as avid a disciple as the Magdalene.
There is substantial reason for rearding the Magdalene and the woman who annoints Jesus as one and the same person. Could this person, we wondered, also be one and the same with Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus and Martha? Could these women who in the Gospels, appear in three different contexts in fact be a single person? The medieval Church certainly regarded them as such, and so did popular tradition. Many biblical scholars today concur. There is abundant evidence to support such a conclusion.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, for exampe, all cite the Magdalene as being present at the Crucifixion. None of them cites Mary of Bethany. But if Mary of Bethany was as devoted a disciple as she appears to be, her absence would seem to be, at the least, remiss. Is it credible that she--not to mention her brother, Lazarus--would fail to be a witness at the climatic moment of Jesus' life? Such an omission would be both inexplicable and reprehensible; unless, of course, she was present and cited by the Gospels as such under the name of the Magdalene. If the Magdalene and Mary of Bethany are one and the same, there is no question of the latter's having absent from the Crucifixion.
The Magdalene can be identified with Mary of Bethany. The Magdalene can also be identified with the woman who anoints Jesus. The Fourth Gospel identifies the woman who anoints Jesus with Mary of Bethany. Indeed, the author of the Fourth Gospel is quite explicit on the matter:
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) (John 11:1-2)
And again one chapter later:
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
There they made him a supper; and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. (John 12:1-3)
It is thus clear that Mary of Bethany and the woman who anoints Jesus are the same woman. If not equally clear, it is certainly probable that this woman is also the Magdalene. If Jesus was indeed married, there would thus seem to be only one candidate for his wife--one woman who recurs repeatedly in the Gospels under different names and in different roles.
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Page 335 - 338
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Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln |
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| Mary Magdalene | ||
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 |
| Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| References | Magdalene Links | |
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