Mary Magdalene - the woman who stayed

To be with someone you love in terrible pain—and to stay with them—takes courage. In fact, the pain you endure as a witness can be just as excruciating, just as exhausting. And yet, Mary Magdalene chooses to remain at the nail-pierced feet of Jesus.

Crucifixion was a uniquely brutal form of execution—not just in its physical agony, but in the complete humiliation it inflicted. The condemned were nailed to rough wooden crosses in full public view, entirely naked. Roman soldiers made no effort to spare dignity—no loincloths to cover genitals, no veil of mercy.

Even so, Mary Magdalene stayed. Both Matthew and John record her presence at the cross:

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25). Her presence would have taken political courage—though as a woman, the authorities likely considered her no threat.

But more than that, to watch Jesus writhe in agony, to stand beside those who mocked and belittled him, to hear his final words—this must have required immense emotional and spiritual strength. These women refused to let him die alone.

We know surprisingly little about Mary Magdalene—and much of what we think we know isn’t grounded in scripture. The main source of confusion? Pope Gregory the Great (540–604). He’s the one who lumped Mary Magdalene together with Mary of Bethany and the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus’s feet with perfume—and labelled her a sexual sinner.

Frankly, Mary needs a good libel lawyer. Nowhere in the biblical text is she described as a sex worker.

So what do we know about Mary Magdalene?

Luke tells us that she was one of the women who travelled with Jesus during his ministry in Galilee. Of the many, he names just three—beginning with Mary:

“The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” (Luke 8:2–3)

Being “possessed by demons” might indicate physical illness, mental distress, or some other affliction. Luke doesn’t distinguish between physical and spiritual ailments. He even describes one woman as “crippled by a spirit for eighteen years” (Luke 13:10), and says Jesus “rebuked” the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:39).

The number seven, often symbolic of completeness, may imply the totality of Mary’s suffering. Whatever it was, her condition consumed her—and her healing was life-changing. No wonder she followed.

Interestingly, Mary may not have been from the town of Magdala after all. New Zealander Professor Joan Taylor, a colleague of my daughter at King’s College, London, argues that “Magdalene” is actually a nickname meaning “Tower-ess”—a counterpart to Simon being called Peter, the Rock.

She writes: “Although there have been various ways of understanding her name, no author prior to the sixth century identifies her as coming from a place beside the Sea of Galilee. Several ancient authors actually understood Mary’s nickname to be rooted in her character rather than her provenance.”

This would suggest that Mary, as a close disciple of Jesus, was known for her strength—one of the very few who stayed with him all the way through to death, and beyond.

“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23:55)

And this sets the stage for Mary’s defining moment.

At first light on the third day, she returned to care for Jesus’s body, accompanied by Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other unnamed women—only to find the stone rolled away.

They ran to tell the male disciples. And their reaction?

“But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” (Luke 24:11)

It is John who gives us the most moving account: Mary, apparently alone, lingers at the tomb, weeping. Then comes the tender exchange:

“Jesus asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).” (John 20:15–16)

We last hear of Mary as she announces the resurrection:

“I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18)

And then—silence. Twenty years later, when Paul writes to the Corinthians listing those who encountered the risen Christ, Mary isn’t mentioned. Likely because, as with shepherds at the nativity, women weren’t seen as reliable witnesses in a court of law.

But let’s not forget on this most holy of days: it was Mary who stayed with Jesus to the bitter end—and so it was Mary who stood first at the beginning of resurrection.