You probably learned that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute whom Jesus forgave. She’s the repentant sinner who washed his feet with tears and dried them with her hair.
There’s just one problem: that’s not what the texts say.
The Bible never identifies Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. That association came later, in a 6th-century sermon by Pope Gregory the Great, who conflated several different women in the Gospels into a single figure.
The Gnostic texts tell a very different story. In these ancient writings, Mary Magdalene emerges as the most spiritually advanced disciple, the one who understood Jesus best, the one who received his deepest teachings.
And that made some of the male disciples very uncomfortable.
The Companion of the Savior
The Gospel of Philip contains a passage that still provokes debate:
“The companion of the Savior is Mary Magdalene. He loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often.”
The word translated “companion” is koinōnos in Greek, which can mean partner, consort, or spiritual companion. The word translated “kiss” is standard for kisses, though the text where it specifies where he kissed her is damaged.
Some scholars interpret this literally. Others argue that in the Gnostic context, kissing represents the transmission of spiritual teaching. The Gospel of Philip elsewhere explains: “It is from being promised to the heavenly place that man receives nourishment. For this reason, one kisses another, for they are nourished from the mouth. And if the Word came forth from there, he would be nourished from the mouth and become perfect.”
Either way, the passage indicates something the Gospel authors found important: Mary Magdalene had a relationship with Jesus that exceeded what the other disciples had. She was closer. She received more.
The One Who Understood
The Pistis Sophia, a lengthy dialogue between the risen Christ and his disciples, makes Mary Magdalene’s superiority even clearer.
Throughout the text, Jesus poses questions and the disciples offer interpretations. Mary Magdalene speaks more than any other disciple. She asks the best questions. She provides the most perceptive answers. Jesus repeatedly praises her understanding.
At one point, after she gives an interpretation, Jesus says: “Excellent, Mary, you blessed one, whom I will complete in all the mysteries of the height.”
When Peter complains about how much Mary speaks, Jesus responds by affirming that anyone who is moved by the spirit to speak should speak. The spirit, not gender, determines who has authority to teach.
The Gospel of Mary
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, discovered in 1896, presents Mary as the primary teacher of the disciples after Jesus’s departure. The risen Christ appears to her in a vision and gives her teachings he did not give the others.
When Mary shares these teachings with the other disciples, two reactions emerge:
Andrew questions whether Jesus would really have given such strange teachings.
Peter questions whether Jesus would have given important teachings privately to a woman rather than to the male disciples.
Mary weeps. Levi defends her:
“Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against this woman as if she were an adversary. If the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.”
The text doesn’t just present Mary as a teacher. It presents her as the continuation of Jesus’s teaching ministry after his departure. And it shows male disciples struggling to accept that.
What This Conflict Reveals
The tension between Mary and Peter in these texts isn’t just about personalities. It’s about what qualifies someone for spiritual authority.
Peter’s implicit argument: Authority comes from institutional position. I am the rock on which the church is built. I was given the keys. My proximity to power makes me the leader.
Mary’s implicit claim: Authority comes from spiritual understanding. I received teachings. I understood them. I can transmit them. My gnosis makes me a teacher.
The Gnostic communities that preserved these texts sided with Mary. For them, spiritual knowledge mattered more than institutional position. The one who understood most deeply had the most to offer, regardless of gender.
This doesn’t mean the historical Peter and Mary actually had this conflict. The texts may be dramatizing tensions within early Christianity using familiar characters. But the drama reveals real disagreements about who had the right to teach, to lead, to speak for Christ.
The Erasure
Mary Magdalene’s prominence in these texts posed a problem for the institutional church that was emerging.
If Mary Magdalene was Jesus’s closest disciple, why was she marginalized in the canonical Gospels?
If she received special teachings, why wasn’t her gospel included in the Bible?
If women could be spiritual authorities, what did that mean for male church leadership?
The solution was elegant: Make Mary Magdalene a prostitute. Transform the exemplary disciple into a cautionary tale. Reduce the spiritual companion to a reformed sinner who symbolizes repentance rather than authority.
Pope Gregory’s sermon in 591 CE completed this transformation. He merged Mary Magdalene with the unnamed sinful woman who anoints Jesus and with Mary of Bethany, creating a composite figure whose primary identity became “former prostitute.”
This version of Mary dominated Western Christianity for over a thousand years. Only in 1969 did the Catholic Church officially separate these figures again.
What Was Lost
When Mary Magdalene was reduced to a reformed prostitute, several things were lost:
A model of female spiritual authority. The Gnostic Mary showed that women could receive the highest teachings and transmit them to others. That example was suppressed.
A challenge to institutional hierarchy. The Gnostic Mary suggested that gnosis, not office, qualifies someone to teach. That challenge was silenced.
A different understanding of Jesus’s relationships. Whatever the “companion of the Savior” language meant, it suggested Jesus had relationships of deep intimacy that the canonical Gospels don’t emphasize.
Half the story. If Mary Magdalene really was the most understanding disciple, her perspective on Jesus’s teachings would have been invaluable. Instead, we have Peter’s church, built on Peter’s authority, preserving Peter’s version of events.
What This Means for You
The recovery of Mary Magdalene’s role in the Gnostic texts isn’t just historical curiosity. It raises questions for seekers today:
Who has authority to teach?
Is it the one with the institutional position, the ordination, the credentials? Or is it the one who has actually understood, who has received gnosis, who can transmit wisdom regardless of external qualifications?
The Gnostic answer is clear: Spiritual authority comes from spiritual attainment. Peter’s objections were overcome because Mary’s understanding was genuine.
What do we lose when we marginalize perspectives?
Mary Magdalene’s marginalization meant losing a witness, a teaching, a voice. What other voices have been silenced? What teachings have been suppressed? What witnesses have been dismissed because they came from the wrong kind of person?
Is the one who understands honored in your community?
Wherever you practice, notice: Is spiritual authority granted based on understanding or on other criteria? Are there people who clearly have gnosis but aren’t given platforms to share it? Are there Peters who dismiss Marys because of who they are rather than what they know?
The Ongoing Recovery
In the centuries since the Nag Hammadi discovery, Mary Magdalene has been undergoing rehabilitation. Scholars now treat the Gnostic texts seriously. Popular culture has rediscovered her as a figure of significance. The church that once called her a prostitute now calls her “apostle to the apostles.”
But the deeper recovery isn’t about reputation. It’s about what her story teaches.
Spiritual authority comes from understanding, not from position.
Those who truly know can teach, regardless of who they are.
The ones closest to the source may not be the ones with institutional power.
And Peter’s objections, however passionately held, were wrong.
For Those Who Are Dismissed
A word to those who have spiritual understanding but lack the credentials that others respect:
Mary Magdalene was dismissed too. Peter questioned whether Jesus would really have given important teachings to someone like her. Andrew wondered if her insights could be authentic.
She wept.
But Levi defended her. And the communities that preserved these texts understood: She was the one who knew. Regardless of what Peter thought.
If you have received something, if you understand something, if gnosis has come to you but the Peters around you doubt it: you are not the first.
The Savior made her worthy. Who are they to reject her?
And who are they to reject you?
The Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Philip are available in translation in The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (Marvin Meyer, ed.). For scholarly analysis of Mary Magdalene in these texts, see the work of Karen King, Elaine Pagels, and Ann Graham Brock.