The historical figure known as Mary Magdalene has long been the subject of rumors and accusations. She has been accused of being a prostitute and rumored to be the wife of Jesus. Some believe her to be one of the apostles and that the figure seated next to Jesus in da Vinci's The Last Supper, is actually Mary. Once again, controversy surrounds her when it comes to the Gnostic Scriptures.
Gnostic Gospel of Mary
Divided into two parts, the first part of the gospel tells of the conversation between Jesus and his disciples. In this conversation Jesus talks about sin and how it is a cosmological category, versus a moral one. He also describes the nature of matter by stating, "All natures, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is resolved into the (roots) of its nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
At the end of the conversation, Jesus instructs his disciples to go and preach the gospel of the kingdom. Upon leaving, the disciples begin weeping and grieving. Mary does her best to comfort them and they begin to talk about what Jesus said to them.
Saint Mary Magdalene
In the second part of the gospel, Mary tells the disciples of a vision she had of the Lord, along with private information he told her, but kept from the other disciples. As four pages of text are missing, only a small amount of information is known about the personal conversation between Mary and Jesus.
What is known is about Jesus' revelation about the rise of the soul past the four powers. According to James M. Robinson, general editor of the book The Nag Hammadi Library, "The four powers are most probably to be identified as essential expressions of the four material elements."
When Mary is finished, she is first confronted by Andrew who believes her information contains strange ideas. Next to doubt her is Peter, who doesn't believe that Jesus would speak to her without sharing the knowledge with the rest of the disciples.
Levi comes to her rescue and comments on Peter's temper and how he views women like adversaries. He states, "But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us." Levi then encourages them to go out and preach and this is where the gospel ends.
Was Mary lying about what Jesus told her or was there merely jealousy among some of the disciples? What other pieces of wisdom does Jesus share with her? Without the missing pieces of this gospel, that information may be lost forever. A constant subject of controversy, the woman closest to Jesus continues to remain a mystery.
Source:
The Nag Hammadi Library, General Editor James M. Robinson, (HarperSanFrancisco,) 1990
Janis Masyk-Jackson - I'm here to seek out the truth about some of life's mysteries. There is nothing new about New Age beliefs. These are beliefs that have ...
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