Was Mary A Prostitute?

Many have claimed to have heard that Mary of Magdalene was a prostitute who became one of Christ's disciples. In this article, lets us explore this idea so we can come to a better understanding of the truth. 

To begin with I will state that this idea does NOT come from the scriptures. There are no passages found in the gospel that state that Mary of Magdalene was a prostitute. 

“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”

Mark 16:9

“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,”

Luke 8:1-2

We are not given a definition of what these devils were. But based upon other example that can be found in scripture these can range to be anything from seizures, chronic illness, depression, bipolar disorder, etc. It would not be typical to say that a prostitute was a prostitute because she had a devil. So I think it's safe to say that this passage means that Christ healed her of a serious mental disorder or some kind of illness and I feel it very safe to say that this passage does not suggest that she was unvirtuous. 

“And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.”

Luke 7:36-40

Now in this passage, we are not told who this woman was, nor what her sins were. For some reason, we seem to associate the word sin with sexual immortality. But in the context the scriptures use the word, sin does not necessarily mean what we think it means. In fact this passages does give some clues. Christ was visiting a Pharisee. The Pharisees were historically know among Christians and even many Jews to be self righteous. So sin may have only been sin from the Pharisees perspective. In fact, Christ says "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee."  This tells us that this mans point of view was in error. The Saviour then tells a story about forgiveness. See Luke 7:41-50. 

Now some might associate that because this woman washed the Lord's feet with her tears and that Mary anointed the Lord's feet with oil that this woman is Mary. But the scriptures do not say so, nor imply so. So to assume that this woman is Mary is a stretch, and is pure speculatation, and to assume this woman was a prostitute is also speculation. 

“Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

They say unto him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?"

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?"  She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."”

John 8:1-11

Again in this passage, no name is given as to who this woman is. In fact, when Christ addresses her, He calls her woman. This seems to indicate that He does not know her personally. Again to suggest this woman is Mary of Magdalene is a stretch at best, and there is enough evidence contained within the text itself to tell us this woman is NOT Mary. 

Next let's look at Mary's name as given in Scripture. She us referred to as Mary of Magdalene, or Mary Magdalene, or Miriam of Magdala. So what is the Magdalene part, why is it important?  In the time these things were written, Magdalene was a known term. It is used because it indicated what family she was descended from. Magdala refers to a town along the Sea of Galilee, of which Mary's family were prominent members, perhaps even leaders. In Hebrew Magdala also has a meaning of "tower", so poetically Magdala means exalted. Mary was descended through a powerful family, descended from the bloodline of David (House of Bethul) and at the time of Christ it was a well known and well respected family line. The scriptures do in fact support this view.  For example:

“And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.”...“The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.”...“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,”...“Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!  And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?”...“Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.”

John 11:19, 31, 33, 36-37, 45-46

From these versus one can readily see that Mary's family was quite respected among Jewish society. When Mary's brother died the entire community came to weep with them. These people were not there to see Jesus, they did not believe in Jesus. They came to mourn for the family of Lazarus and to comfort them in their time of loss. 

So now that we have established that Mary's family was of some importance, we can reason out another principle. If Mary was a prostitute, as the Catholics claimed, she would have been disowned from such a notable Jewish family. It would not have been typical for a promiscuous daughter to tarnish the good name of such a respected family. So based in the fact that she was still allowed to carry on the name Mary of Magdalene, this tells us today that she was an honorable and well respected individual in the Jewish community, not a harlot.