THE STORY

      MARY  MAGDALENE

MARY IN THE FOUR GOSPELS

      SINNER OR SAINT? OR BOTH?

SCROLL DOWN FOR PAINTINGS

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Title:  'Noli me tangere'

Artist:  Duccio di Buoninsegna

Date:  1308-11

Incident shown:  Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus in the garden, after the resurrection. She reaches out to touch him, but he draws back, and tells her not to hold on to him.

Bible reference:  John 20:17

Comment:  'Noli me tangere' -  'Don't touch me'. Or is it 'Don't hang on to me'? Which of these two translations is the better? They mean such different things. The first phrase refers to the mystery of the Resurrection. Jesus in his resurrected form is not in the same human body he was before his death - it is resurrection, not resuscitation. The second version can mean something quite different, and is often the advice given to people suffering the pangs of grief. It's as if the dead person tells the one still living not to live in the past, not to keep hanging onto the way life used to be, but to move ahead with their life, into a new future.

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Title:  Isenheim Altarpiece

Artist:  Matthias Grunewald

Date:  1432

Incident shown:  Mary Magdalene, identified by her long hair, kneels at the foot of the cross. Behind her is Mary, mother of Jesus, and John.

Bible reference:  John 19:25-27

Comment:  This is one of the most extraordinarily realistic paintings of the crucifixion ever done. For a detail of this painting, see the web-page on Crucifixion at BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: CRUCIFIXION. The figure of Jesus dominates the painting, but the lesser figures, especially Mary's, reveal their anguish in this horrific moment.

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Title:  ' Mary Magdalene'

Artist:  Rogier van der Weyden

Date:  circa 1445

Incident shown:  Mary, once repentant of her many sins, sits reading quietly. She now spends her time in quiet reflection. 

Bible reference:  None - see comment below.

Comment:  Notice the small white lidded jar on the floor beside Mary. Throughout the centuries, Mary Magdalene was confused with the woman with the alabaster jar, described in Luke 7:36-50; the story of this other woman comes just before Mary Magdalene in the story sequence - but in fact there is no connection between the two women, other than this proximity in the gospel lay-out. Why then did the idea of Mary the sinner become so popular? One reason is that Mary Magdalene, as a fallen woman, made a dramatic contrast with Mary of Nazareth, the perfect virgin/mother.

Notice that van der Weyden has placed Mary in an idealized medieval setting. See BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: HOUSING for something closer to the reality.

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Artist:  unknown. Please help with information if you can.

Date:  unknown

Incident shown:  None

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  This delicate portrait of Mary Magdalene is made entirely of inlaid wood. This was a remarkable art form which reached its height in northern Italy in the later 15th and early 16th centuries.

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Title:  'Mary Magdalene', detail of head only

Artist:  Donatello

Date:  1455

Incident shown:  In popular legend, Mary Magdalene was portrayed as a repentant sinner who retired to a cave in the desert where she became a penitent hermit. She practised every sort of physical penance and privation, to atone for the sins she supposedly had committed before she was cured by Jesus.

Bible reference:  There is no biblical evidence for this depiction of Mary Magdalene. It derives from popular legend and medieval tradition only.

Comment:  Donatello's Mary has a thin, exhausted face, and matted, filthy hair. Her emaciated body is clad in ragged animal skins. She is barefoot and bare armed. Her repentance is obviously sincere, but her self-abasement would not appeal to the modern mind.

The thumbnail image at right shows the full-length sculpture, currently held in the Duomo Museum, Florence. The statue had become blackened by time, but after the terrible flood in 1966, it was cleaned and restored to its present appearance.

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Artist:  Carlo Crivelli

Date:  1475

Incident shown:  Mary is grouped with other great saints of the medieval Church.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  Mary is here dressed in flamboyant red, a color with all sort of connotations. Sexual passion and license, the allure of the sinful woman, a come-and-get-me color. There is in fact no reason at all to think that Mary had been a prostitute. She had been cured of a severe illness, and Jesus had summoned 'seven demons' from her. But many illnesses, such as epilepsy, where supposedly caused by evil spirits or demons entering the body, and 'seven' simply denoted the severity of her illness. In fact, the nature of the illness is unspecified. Only later, when celibate male scholars wrote about the story, was Mary's illness linked to her sexuality

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Title:  'The Dead Christ '

Artist:  Andrea Mantegna

Date:  1480-90

Comment: 'Consider, for a minute, what must be Mangegna's most famous image, of the dead Christ viewed in steep foreshortening, foot to head, laid out on a slab of marble with, crowded into the narrow space at the left, the mourning figures of his mother, St John (the beloved apostle) and a third figure and , to the right, a view towards the back of a barren room - probably the tomb chamber - and the dark opening of a door.
Painted in muted (and much faded) colors of tempera on canvas, the picture, which hangs in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, has an almost overwhelming effect. There are the feet of Christ, with their lovingly described nail wounds, projecting beyond the marble slab into the viewer's space; the hands, also marked by the nails that pierced them on the cross, gently posed on the folds of the linen sheet that covers the lower half of the corpse; the grief-stricken face of the Virgin, who raises a cloth to wipe away the tears that course down her aged cheeks.
All this cannot help but move the susceptible viewer, who finds himself at Christ's feet in the position of Mary Magdalene, who bathed those same feet with her tears. The picture is a tour de force of artistic ingenuity and accomplishment, and it is no wonder that it has had such a lasting effect on so many later artists. 
But what sets Mantegna's painting apart, I think, is the way we see, at the far edge of the marble slab on the right, a beautifully depicted ointment jar (for the preparation of Christ's body) poignantly silhouetted against the empty corner of the chamber with that bleak, dark opening. Emptiness and silence, broken only by the sobbing of the claustrophobically grouped mourning figures.
(Keith Christiansen, The New Republic)

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Title:  ' St. John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene'

Artist:  Filippino Lippi (1457-1504)

Date:  circa 1500

Incident shown:  These two saints of the medieval Church are shown as icons of mortification and penance. Mary is identified by her flowing red hair.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  Though there is no gospel evidence to show that Mary Magdalene was an ascetic, she is here portrayed alongside John the Baptist, who was.  It is surely one of the most depressing paintings, and would hardly recommend the ascetic way of life - with self-mortification and self-imposed privation - to the viewer.

This painting contrasts sharply with the work produced by Fra Filippo Lippi, father of Filippino Lippo. The older man is supposed to have abducted a nun, who became the mother of Filippino - though this cannot have been a youthful passion, since Filippino was born when his father was about fifty years old. For an example of the dramatically different styles of the two men, click on the image below. Interesting that the son's subject seems so much more angst-ridden than the father's....

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Title:  'St Mary Magdalene'

Artist:  Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521)

Date:  1500-10

Incident shown:  A repentant Mary reads from a book. There is no attempt at historical or gospel accuracy.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  Beautiful, serene, intellectual - the Renaissance ideal of womanhood, in fact. The Mary Magdalene of the gospels is nowhere to be seen, replaced by this calm red-headed woman. The implication of the painting is that Mary, now filled with serene love for her Savior, spends her waking hours in meditation. This begs the question: which Mary is this? Mary Magdalene, whom the medieval Church depicted as a repentant sinner? The woman with the alabaster jar, as in Luke 7:36-50? Or Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who loved to sit and listen to Jesus rather than help with the housework? By the 1500's, artists were representing a composite of all three women.

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Title:  ' The Magdalene Reading'

Artist:  Ambrosius Benson (1495 - 1550)

Date:  1525

Incident shown:  Mary, now repentant and reformed, sits quietly reading. Her life of sin is behind her.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  Another painting with the historically inaccurate book and vase. As with many other painting of Mary Magdalene, this one contains a representation of an alabaster vase, suggesting that she is the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume made from nard. The red of her dress and her pouting lips encourage the viewer to think of her as no better than she should be.... 

The painting must have been popular, because Benson painted a variation of it at about the same time (see thumbnail image at right)

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Title:  'Mary Magdalene Approaching the Tomb'

Artist:  Gian Girolamo Savoldo

Date:  1535-40

Incident shown:  Mary and the other women (not shown by the painter) approach the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, at dawn.  They have brought the spices and perfumed ointment with which they will anoint the body of Jesus. But Jesus' body is gone. Mary's grief and confusion overcome her, and she weeps. Then she hears a sound behind her, and turns to look.

Bible reference:  John 20:11-16

Comment: Here's the interesting thing. It is very early in the morning, and at the left of the picture dawn is breaking over the horizon. But a much stronger light seems to be coming from behind Mary's left shoulder, lighting up her whole body. Her cloak is shimmering - Savoldo suggests the light behind her is stronger than even the light of the sun - and of course the viewer knows that this light is Jesus, resurrected.

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Artist:  Caravaggio

Date:  1597

Incident shown:  Caravaggio has managed to capture the image of a woman who has come to the end of the road, and is too tired to look into her future. This is the moment, he suggests, when she is ready to respond to Jesus' message of redemption - and will do so. Jesus is about to enter this scene.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  Mary Magdalene is sumptuously dressed, but the discarded jewelry and her slumped figure tell the viewer that she has reached a turning point in her life. Caravaggio portrays her as a rich courtesan, albeit emotionally exhausted, not a common prostitute. In fact, the real Mary Magdalene was neither. She was not the sinner described in Luke 7:36-50, and when Luke does describe an actual prostitute in 15:30, he uses a different word, not 'sinner'.

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Title:  ' The Dead Christ Mourned - the Three Maries'

Artist:  Annibale Carracci

Date:  1603

Incident shown:  The scene at the foot of the cross, where the women lament over Jesus' dead body. He lies across the knees of his mother Mary. Mary Magdalene, identified by her luxuriant hair and red dress, raises her arms in a piteous gesture.

Bible reference:  Mark 15:40, John 19:25

Comment:  The moment when Jesus is taken down from the cross is not described in any of the gospels, but it is a popular subject in art - think of Michelangelo's 'Pietá', where it reached perhaps its highest point. None of the gospels have all of this group present at the crucifixion - only John's gospel, for example, has Mary the mother of Jesus present. The other gospels do not include her in the group of women there.

For information about burial customs at the time, and how women cared for the bodies of family members who died, see WOMEN IN THE BIBLE: MAJOR EVENTS

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Artist:  Georges de La Tour

Date:  late 1630's

Incident shown:  Mary surveys the mirror, symbol of her former vanity and preoccupation with worldly things. It casts a large shadow. Her beauty remains, but she has clearly become aware of the fact that there is more to life than earthly pleasure. Now, in the stillness of night, she reflects on past events, and on her own transformation through the encounter she has had with Jesus.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  The skull in Mary's lap reminds here that Death is inevitable for all creatures, and will come to her as well. It suggests that she should think about the hereafter as well as the present.
George de la Tour excelled in the use of light and shadow, and the meditative mood  that night brings to all creatures.

There is another version of this scene painted by George de la Tour (see thumbnail image at right). In this, the sexual undertone is more explicit - Mary's legs and shoulder are bared, as if she has just finished servicing a client. But the mood of introspection and regret are the same.

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Artist:  Antonio Canova

Date:  1809

Incident shown:  Mary alone in the desert, repenting her past sins. 

Bible reference:  None

Comment:   In the legends that grew up after her death, Mary repented after meeting Christ and then spent many years in the desert, where she lamented her past sins. In keeping with this tradition, Canova shows her dressed in the clothing of a hermit. The skull beside her is a reminder of death, which must come to all. The figure of Mary once held a cross, symbol of the Crucifixion.  She is clearly grief-stricken and helpless.

The polished marble of the Magdalene's body and the shining surface of the skull contrast with the roughly worked rock of the base.

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Title:  ' The First Meeting of Christ and Mary Magdalene'

Artist:  Henryk Siemiradzki

Date:  1873

Incident shown:  The first meeting of Jesus and Mary Magdalene

Bible reference:  Luke 8:1-3

Comment:  Mary Magdalene's sumptuous clothing and lavish jewelry contrast sharply with the simplicity and dignity of Jesus. His gaze is direct, while she tries to hide herself in the shade. Behind him stand his disciples, straining to see how he will react. Behind her, on the other hand, are a band of reprobates who jeer at this provincial preacher. On the left of the picture, the simple countryside; on the right, ornate Roman architecture. This is a picture of contrasts, essentially a dramatic tableau showing this pivotal moment in Mary's life.

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Title:  'Mary Magdalene In The Cave'

Artist:  Jules Joseph Lefebvre

Date:  1876 

Incident shown:  Mary Magdalene in the cave in France to which legend has her retire after the death of Jesus.

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  This is really just a 19th century excuse to ogle a nude woman. Call me old fashioned, but pictures like this, beautiful as they are, cannot be taken seriously as images of the 1st century AD Jewish woman who supported Jesus of Nazareth's ministry financially, and was his main female disciple.

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Title:  'Mary Magdalene in the house of Simon the Pharisee'

Artist:  Jean Beraud

Date:  1891

Incident shown:  The story of the woman with the alabaster jar is transported into 19th century France.

Bible reference:  Luke 7:36-50

Comment:  This interesting and technically accomplished painting pulls the event in Luke 7:36-50 into the then-modern world. Only the figure of Jesus is timeless. All the others, including the startled maid at far right, are in modern dress.  The painting was controversial when it first appeared, because people rightly suspected that Beraud was trying to make them uncomfortable by confronting them with their own failings, their own hypocrisy. Many of the well-heeled men in the painting would have had mistresses. Now they were confronted with reality, with raw human suffering, and they did not particularly like it.

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Title:  ' Christ and the Two Marys' - the full title is 'The Risen Christ with the Two Marys in the Garden Of Joseph of Aramathea'

Artist:  William Holman Hunt (1827-1910)

Date:  1897

Incident shown:  The two Marys - but which two? in the garden where the tomb was. Jesus has thrown off the swathe of tapes that bound him in death, and stands triumphantly tall. His resurrected body is surrounded by a halo of light, signaling that his body, though still showing wounds from the crucifixion (see his left side) is transformed into an unearthly presence.

Bible reference:  Luke 24:1-12

Comment:  Hunt began this painting when he was a young man, but abandoned it when he decided he was not a believer in Christ. Later in life he experienced a conversion, and developed a personal belief in Jesus. This painting comes directly out of this experience. It suggests themes of illumination and conversion, and our encounter with the divine - in this case, between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The theme of light also links it with Hunt's most famous religious painting, 'The Light of the World'.

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Artist:  Gauguin

Date:  1899

Incident shown:  The women gather at the foot of the cross. One is predominately in blue, the traditional color of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Bible reference:  John 19:25-27

Comment:  Gauguin has given this traditional scene of the crucifixion a whole new twist. The figure of Jesus is bathed in radiant yellow gold, reminiscent of the gold of Greek and Russian icons. This gold has suffused Nature itself, all around him - even the trees are turned into vibrant orange. The three Marys, now Breton women in their traditional clothing, are quiet, almost meditative - the horror of so many traditional depictions of the crucifixion is absent from this painting. 

 Gauguin used Breton women again in another religious painting, The Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) 1888. Gauguin seems to suggest that the women, on their way home from Sunday Mass, were having an inner struggle like Jacob's, where he wrestled all night with the angel of God.

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Title:  'Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene at the Empty Tomb'

Artist:  unknown

Date:  unknown

Incident shown:  Mary has been bent, huddled, distraught at the disappearance of Jesus' body. Then she hears her name spoken, and turns, looking upward to Jesus standing behind her.

Bible reference:  John 20:17

Comment:  This poignant image captures the moment of Mary's incomprehension, as she hears her name spoken by someone she knows is dead. After all, she has been present at the crucifixion of Jesus, seen his sagging body removed from the cross, and then been the one who laid out his corpse in the tomb. She has no doubt that Jesus is dead. But now, inexplicably, she recognizes his voice. 

This image is noticeably closer to pictures of Mary in modern films - see BIBLE TOP TEN FILMS

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Artist:  unknown

Date:  modern

Incident shown:  Mary Magdalene with the alabaster jar

Bible reference:  None

Comment:  This modern-day icon is in All Saints Orthodox Church in Manhattan, Kansas. It glows with color, giving a good idea of the jewel-like quality of Russian and Greek icons when they were first produced. The lines are simple, restrained, steeped in tradition.

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Artist: Macha  Chmakoff

Date:  circa 1990's

Incident shown:  It is Good Friday, and the women stand silently at the foot of the cross.

Bible reference:  John 19:25-27

Comment: Macha Chmakoff's image of the women at the foot of the cross has a timeless dream-like quality. The women's figures are shadowy and wrapped in silence, yet each of them has an individual quality, as if each was a personality in her own right. They, not the cross, dominate the scene. Contrast this with the women in the following painting by He Qi. Both paintings are modern, painted at roughly the same time, yet they could not be more different.

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Title:  'Women Arriving at the Tomb'

Artist:  He Qi

Date:  1999

Incident shown: The women who were Jesus' closest friends now gather at the tomb to anoint his body with spices and carry out the rituals required for burial of the dead. But the tomb is empty. (See information on ancient burial customs at 
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS

Bible reference:  Luke 24:1-12

Comment: He Qi is able to infuse even this somber moment with color and energy. The women's gaze focuses on the tomb, from which a white lily springs. Jesus is not there. They are perplexed - notice the different hand gestures of each one, so aptly expressing their emotions. They are modestly dressed but flamboyantly female, even in this poignant moment. Notice also the butterfly behind them - is it a symbol of the risen Jesus?

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EXTRA WEBSITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions

'He's alive!' - Mary Magdalene's story BIBLE PEOPLE: MARY MAGDALENE

Mary Magdalene in modern films - BIBLE TOP TEN FILMS

Some good, some awful - paintings - BIBLE PAINTINGS: THE RESURRECTION

Jerusalem at the time of Mary Magdalene - BIBLE LANDS: JERUSALEM

Small, privitive but comfortable - Mary's house - BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: HOUSING

Archaeological evidence of crucifixion - BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: CRUCIFIXION

Tombs and catacombs at the time - BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS

Caring for the body of a dead person -  WOMEN IN THE BIBLE: MAJOR EVENTS 

MARY MAGDALENE'S STORY

SINNER OR SAINT - OR BOTH?

But she did have a serious illness – just what it was we do not know. People believed some illnesses like schizophrenia or epilepsy were caused by evil spirits entering the body, and she was thought to have seven of them living in her body. That meant she was very ill indeed.

But at some point in her life, Mary met an itinerant miracle worker called Jesus, and he cured her. She was bowled over by him, and became a faithful supporter. She led a group of women who traveled with Jesus, and who supported him financially. She led the women’s group, Peter led the men’s.

When things went badly wrong at Passover time in Jerusalem, she stood by Jesus. She was close to him during his life. She would be close to him when he faced death. The men disciples fled – there was every possibility they might be next. But Mary stood as near to the cross as she could, watching every dreadful action, hearing every scream. No one can imagine what it was like.

When he was finally dead, silent at last, they took him down from the cross. Then she faced the task that every Jewish woman had to do sooner or later – preparing the body of someone she loved for burial. 

Mary collapsed on the ground. Everything was wrong. Then someone spoke to her, said her name, and she recognized the voice. It was Jesus. She was mute with shock. She made as if to grab hold of him, but he pulled back. 'Don’t hold on to me', he said. 'Just tell the others.'

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It all had to be done quickly – the Sabbath was about to begin. This meant that ointments and spices could not be bought. The women would have to come back after the Sabbath and complete the task.  

At the earliest opportunity, they returned to the tomb where his body had been placed. There was no one there. The soldiers were nowhere to be seen, and the place seemed deserted. Jesus’ body was gone. Where was it? A young man at the tomb said that Jesus was gone – but gone where?

Mary collapsed on the ground. Everything was wrong. Then someone spoke to her, said her name, and she recognized the voice. It was Jesus. She was mute with shock. She made as if to grab hold of him, but he pulled back. Don’t hold on to me, he said. Just tell the others.

She ran back to the house where the men were hidden. He’s alive, she shouted. He’s alive.

MARY MAGDALENE 
IN THE GOSPELS

MARY IN LUKE'S GOSPEL

Luke 8:1-3
1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 
2  and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;
3  Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

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Luke 23:49
But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
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Luke 23:55-56
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

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MARY IN MARK'S GOSPEL

Mark 15:40-41
40  There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹  These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

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Mark 16:1-11
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 
³They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 
⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 
⁶But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ 
⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

(The Shorter Ending of Mark) And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

(The Longer Ending of Mark) 9  Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. ¹¹But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

John 19:25
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

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John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 
²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ ³Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 
⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 
⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes. 
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; ¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 
¹⁴When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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.’ ¹⁶Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,^* ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 
¹⁷Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

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MARY IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL

Matthew 27:55-56

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 
Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

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Matthew 27:61

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

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Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 
³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 
⁵But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ 
⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 
¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

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Bible Art: Paintings and Artworks from the Old and New Testament - Bible Study Resource
Mary Magdalene, disciple of Jesus, first witness to the Resurrection, Apostle to the Apostles