Mary Magdalene

The name Magdalene means “tower.” The town of Magdala was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, about 8 kilometers southwest of Capernaum and 4.4 kilometers north of modern-day Tiberias, near the current city of Migdal. The city was built on the lakeshore around the first century BC. It was a good fishing port with a thriving fish-curing industry and exported salted fish. Because it was situated on the north-south international highway, with a branch leading to Nazareth, it was undoubtedly the largest city in the Galilee area before the rise of Tiberias. Magdala was a center for Jewish resistance against the Romans in the northern region, but it was later destroyed by the Romans, who slaughtered its inhabitants and razed its port. Though it never regained its former prosperity, it remained a center for Jewish communities. Today, it has declined due to silt accumulation, which has pushed it further from the lake.

In Luke 8, among the women who followed Jesus and the twelve disciples, a woman named Mary Magdalene is mentioned. Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. From then on, this Mary from Magdala followed Jesus and became a faithful disciple, contributing her own possessions to support Jesus and His disciples (Luke 8:2-3). She had a pure faith and a commitment to follow the Lord to the end. When Jesus was taken away to be judged, all the male disciples abandoned Him and fled. But Mary Magdalene continued to follow Jesus, accompanied His mother Mary, and personally witnessed the Lord’s suffering on the cross, His death, and His burial (Mark 15:40-47). Three days later, Jesus was resurrected and appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9).

At that time, women had a low status in Jewish society, and Jewish rabbis refused to teach them. But Jesus accepted them. The four Gospels do not record any women opposing Jesus. While the other disciples abandoned the Lord and fled, these humble, weak women followed Him all the way from Galilee to the foot of the cross. How beautiful is that! Therefore, God chose them to be the first witnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection.

(Edited and compiled based on the Chinese Union Version Bible and Comprehensive Biblical Interpretation)