EDITED Hh-5. Is MARY, MARTHA’S SISTER, MARY MAGDALENE? The following is a passage of scripture that definitely identifies Mary Martha's sister. John 11:1,2 “Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her SISTER Martha. 2. (It was THIS Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)” Notice here that this is definitely talking about Mary, Martha's sister. This verse makes it perfectly clear that the Mary spoken of here is the sister of Martha and of Lazarus, her brother. This verse goes even a litter further to make absolutely sure that this is no misunderstanding and emphasizes that this was the Lazarus who was sick. Now I want to draw your attention not only to the fact that Mary, Martha's sister ANOINTED the Lord with oil and wiped his feet with her hair but to HOW it was stated. It says, “It was THIS Mary”. This leaves absolutely no doubt that it was Martha's sister Mary, which ANOINTED the Lord with OINTMENT, and wiped his feet with her hair. Let us look at the passage of scripture in John 12:1-8, which tells us of THIS INCIDENT of Mary, Martha's sister ANOINTING the Lord with OINTMENT. John 12:1-8. “Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to BETHANY, where Lazarus had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2. There they made him a supper; and Martha serve: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3. Then took MARY (Which we already know is Martha's sister) a pound of OINTMENT of SPIKENARD, VERY COSTLY, and ANOINTED the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 4. Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the POOR? 6. This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was therein. 7. Then Jesus said, LET HER ALONE: against my burying has she kept this. 8. For the POOR always you have with you; but me you have not always.” I have emphasized several things in this passage of scripture that I want you to notice. First and foremost is the fact that this passage of scripture is speaking of MARY the sister of Martha and Lazarus. I have emphasized the name of the town in which this takes place. For you see, when we compare the verses we are covering with other verses of scripture we can clearly see that the other passages occurred in DIFFERENT places. And thus, they would without a doubt be DIFFERENT women. However, if all these accounts that we will be comparing are found to be in the SAME town then these women may be one and the same woman. One woman, whose name is Mary, we positively already know as being MARY, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. And now we know the name of the town where MARY anointed the Lord is called BETHANY. Moving on with some other clues, we see that MARY ANOINTED the Lord with an OINTMENT. Here we learn that the name of this ointment is called SPIKENARD and that it is VERY COSTLY. One of the disciples of Jesus named Judas Iscariot states the value of this ointment is THREE HUNDRED PENCE. Notice the tone of his voice. He is highly upset that this ointment was used in this fashion and should have been sold and the money given to the POOR. Now, I want to draw your attention to the reaction of Jesus. Our Lord jumps to the DEFENSE of MARY and says, Let her alone. Then Jesus makes this statement, “against the day of my BURYING has she kept this.” One of the meanings of the word translated here as “kept” means to observe. You see when someone “observes” a holiday tradition then another way to express that is to say that they “keep” the rituals or duties of that specific custom or tradition. So in other words, Mary has done this ANOINTING of the Lord with oil for his burying that quite possibly may have just sunk in and the reality of Jesus’ death became all too real to her. This will become more apparent to you in the other passages which we will be looking at shortly. Finally, I want you to notice the wording of this last statement of Jesus, “For the poor ALWAYS you have with you; but me you have NOT ALWAYS.” Now let us go to the gospel of Matthew and closely examine a very similar passage of scripture where the woman is NOT named and make a comparison of the two accounts. Matthew 26:6-13. “Now when Jesus was in BETHANY, in the house of Simon the leper, 7. There came to him a WOMAN having an alabaster box of VERY PRECIOUS OINTMENT, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8. But when his disciples saw it, they had INDIGNATION, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9. For this OINTMENT might have been sold for so much, and given to the POOR. 10. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, WHY TROUBLE YOU THE WOMAN? For she has wrought a good work upon me. 11. For you have the POOR ALWAYS with you, but me you have NOT ALWAYS. 12. For in that she has poured this OINTMENT on my body, she did it for my BURIAL. 13. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel is preached in the whole world, there shall ALSO this, that this woman has done, be told for a MEMORIAL of her.” Now, in this account we are not given the NAME of the woman, but is there enough evidence between the two accounts told to us from two different writers of the New Testament to draws a conclusion that these two accounts are describing the SAME event? If we then conclude that they are in fact the SAME event, then we must also conclude that this unnamed woman here in Matthew chapter 26 is also, in fact, MARY the sister of Martha. Let us begin making the comparison. First, we see that the name of the town is the SAME. In both accounts the name of the town is BETHANY. Next, we see a woman comes to Jesus having some VERY PRECIOUS OINTMENT. Although the wording may be slightly different the message is the same. One account says VERY COSTLY and the other says VERY PRECIOUS. I do not see how any could say that these words, though they are different, mean different things altogether. To me, if something is VERY COSTLY it is also VERY PRECIOUS. I would assume most would agree with this deduction, so we will move on to the next clue. As is common, in each account of the gospels, there is different wording and some writers give MORE DETAIL than the other writers. This does not mean that they are different events, but it only means that these particular details stuck out in their minds as they recorded in the writing of these accounts. I suppose one could form an opinion that each and every one of these accounts is a different event altogether. And their reason being is that each and every word does not match exactly. To me, this reasoning would not be sound. So what do we know for sure about this OINTMENT? We know that it is very costly and very precious. In one account we are told the name of the ointment is called SPIKENARD and the other account the name in not given, but we are told that it was in an ALABASTER BOX. What else do we know? We know that in one account the price or value of the ointment was THREE HUNDRED PENCE. And in the other account, we are only told that it could have been sold for SO MUCH. All this says to me that the writer did not remember the EXACT amount and did not want to misrepresent his version of what he remembers that took place. Now please notice that when his disciple saw this event taking place, they viewed it as a WASTE and were filled with INDIGNATION. The word “indignation” here means anger brought on by something unjust or unworthy. The disciples were angry and thought this act of pouring out this very costly and very precious ointment upon Jesus was a WASTE and should have been sold and the money given to the POOR. Also, notice that in both accounts the response of Jesus was the SAME. First Jesus DEFENDED the woman. In one account he said, Let her alone and in the other account he said, Why trouble you the woman? Now I ask you, does this fact that the words are not exactly the same mean that these two accounts are describing two separate events? To me, the response of Jesus is the SAME. I see no notable difference between these two accounts. To me, they are thus far very similar in every detail. For example, the words Jesus used to respond or answer the disciple's indignation was in one account “For you have the POOR ALWAYS with you, but me you have NOT ALWAYS.” And in the other account, Jesus answered, “For the POOR ALWAYS you have with you, but me you have NOT ALWAYS.” These two responses of Jesus are virtually the SAME exact wording. Both accounts are saying the SAME EXACT thing here in this verse. We will look at one final comparison before we move on to look at yet another account in one of the other gospels. I want you to notice that in defending this woman, who we know for certain in one account, is MARY the sister of Martha, that Jesus makes an unusual statement in the other account. Matthew 26:13. “Wheresoever this gospel is preached in the whole world, there shall also THIS, that this woman, (Who we know as MARY, Martha's sister in the gospel of John) has done, be told for a memorial of her.” This does not seem much at this point, but as we compare the other gospels you will see how they all tie together. Jesus states that she has done THIS THING of ANOINTING his body with this very costly and very precious ointment for his BURIAL or BURYING. Yes, different words, but exactly the SAME meaning. In one account we are told by Jesus that MARY kept or observed this time for his BURYING. In the other account, Jesus said that THIS which this woman has done will be for a MEMORIAL to her. Now, while we are on this particular point, I want to go to the gospel of Luke 10:38-42 and pull out one observation that I made comparing the different accounts of Mary and this unnamed woman to see if she is, in fact, Mary, Martha's sister. Luke 10:38-42. “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village (Which we know is BETHANY because that is where Martha lived): and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things: (Again, we see some anger and Jesus again DEFENDS Mary. But what we do NOT readily see is Mary ANOINTING Jesus. However, we do see another clue in the next verse.) 42. But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall NOT be TAKEN AWAY from her. (Or THIS shall be a MEMORIAL unto her)”
Let us do a little review of this account in Luke. Martha is preparing a meal and she feels that it is not fair that she is doing all the work while her sister Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. Martha then asks Jesus to get her sister Mary to help her. Jesus responds to Martha that she is TROUBLED ABOUT MANY THINGS. Then Jesus goes on to say that ONE THING is NEEDFUL and that Mary has chosen that GOOD PART. Then Jesus makes this statement, “which shall NOT be TAKEN AWAY from her.” To me, this sounds a lot like “THIS shall be a MEMORIAL unto her.” Let me put this is my own words to get you to think. Basically, after studying these different accounts I found them to be so similar in every respect. And I observed that this statement “which shall NOT be TAKEN AWAY from her.” also speaks the same thing. Jesus is saying to her that THIS GOOD thing that Mary has chosen to do will NOT BE TAKEN from her, but will, in fact, become a MEMORIAL to her where this gospel is preached in the entire world. Can you see this? Notice that we are not told specifically what this GOOD PART that Mary had chosen was for certain, but through the years, some have SPECULATED that it was that Mary had chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to him teach. Now, this is certainly true that Mary did sit at Jesus' feet and hear his teaching, but we are NOT TOLD SPECIFICALLY that this is what Jesus was referring to when he said GOOD PART. Anyway, if what I have observed, in fact, that GOOD PART, then this is just another similarity that ties all these accounts together to show without a doubt that they are all speaking of the SAME event. And, therefore, that would make MARY, Martha's sister to be the unnamed woman. Let us continue by looking at the other gospel accounts. Next, we will look at Mark 14:3-9 which gives the account of the unnamed woman that anointed Jesus with OINTMENT and wiped his feet with her hair. Mark 14:3-9. “And being in BETHANY in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an ALABASTER BOX of OINTMENT of SPIKENARD VERY PRECIOUS; and she brake the box and poured it on his head. 4. And there were some that had INDIGNATION within themselves, and said, Why was this WASTE of the ointment made? 5. For it might have been sold for than THREE HUNDRED PENCE, and have been given to the POOR. And they murmured against her. 6. And Jesus said, LET HER ALONE; WHY TROUBLE YOU HER? She has wrought a GOOD WORK on me. 7. For you have the POOR with you ALWAYS, and whensoever you will you may do them good: but me you have NOT ALWAYS. 8. She has done what she could: she is come beforehand to ANOINT my body to the BURYING. 9. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a MEMORIAL of her.” Again, we see that this event of the woman, who in one account we are told is MARY, Martha’s sister, which ANOINTS Jesus with an OINTMENT, occurs in the very SAME place, the town called BETHANY. Next, we learn that she carried this ointment in an ALABASTER BOX according to two of the gospel accounts. Then we learn from two gospels that the ointment is called SPIKENARD and is also VERY PRECIOUS or as the one account says, is VERY COSTLY. So you can see how some gospel accounts give slightly different renderings, but yet they all tie together telling of the SAME event. Again, we see that when she had POURED this very costly and very precious ointment upon the body of Jesus. The gospel of Matthew and Mark tell us that this woman anointed the HEAD of Jesus. But the gospel of Jahn says that she anointed the FEET of Jesus and wiped his feet with her HAIR. She MAY have done BOTH because the gospel of Matthew says that Mary sat at the FEET of Jesus. It MAY be that the oil poured down over his whole body or dripped down onto his feet. Next, we see that SOME were filled with INDIGNATION at the WASTE of such a costly and expensive ointment. In Matthew, Martha is anger that her sister Mary is not helping her serve. Then we learn that two of these three gospel accounts give the EXACT SAME price of the expected value of the ointment of SPIKENARD to be THREE HUNDRED PENCE. So, what are the odds of this, if these are to be viewed as separate and entirely different events altogether? Again, we see Jesus DEFENDING the woman using the SAME words from the two other previous accounts we compared first. In one account Jesus said, LET HER ALONE, and in the second account, Jesus said, WHY TROUBLE YOU HER. And in this third account which was the gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus used BOTH of these phrases to defend the woman, who in the first account we know without a doubt is Mary, the sister of Martha. In the gospel of Mark Jesus says, LET HER ALONE AND WHY TROUBLE YOU HER. In fact, the gospel of Mark comers most every detail. Again, what are the odds of this happening IF these were treated as separate and completely different events? Next, we notice that Jesus said she has wrought or done a GOOD WORK or she has chosen the GOOD PART. Then we again see the same wording with more detail as in the first two accounts. Jesus tells us in short, the POOR you have ALWAYS with you, implying you can do good to them anytime; but me you do NOT have ALWAYS with you. It is the exact same message in all three of these accounts. Again, we find that this woman has ANOINTED the body of Jesus by pouring this ointment upon him for his BURIAL or BURYING. Finally, we see the exact same testimonial for this woman which was to her for a MEMORIAL, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world. Think about what this means as we look and compare the four gospels. We have already looked at the gospel of John, then we went to the gospel of Matthew and then to Luke. And lastly, we compared the first two with the gospel of Mark. Now let us go back and look again at the account of the woman ANOINTING Jesus with OINTMENT in the gospel of Luke. But this time we will read more CONTEXT. In other words, INSTEAD of reading Luke 10:38-42 go back to chapter 7. The context can span several chapters. Turn to back to Luke 7:36-48 which reads, “And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And when he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37. 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. 38. And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and ANOINTED him with the OINTMENT. 39. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man if he were a prophet, would have known what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto you. And he said, Master say on. 41. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owned five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love most? 43. Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, You have rightly judged. 44. And he turned to the woman, and said, unto Simon, See you this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me not water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45. You gave me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46. My head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has ANOINTED my FEET with OINTMENT. (So then, we can now conclude that Mary anoint BOTH the head AND the FEET of Jesus) 47. Wherefore I say unto you, Her sins, which are MANY, are forgiven; for (Or BECAUSE) she has LOVED MUCH: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. 48. And he said unto her, Your sins are forgiven.” We learn from this account that the name of the head of the house is SIMON where Jesus is invited to sit and eat a meal. Again, we see a woman with an ALABASTER BOX with OINTMENT come and ANOINT the feet of Jesus. We again see this woman wipe the feet of Jesus with her hair. However, this time we learn that the reason she came to Jesus was to seek forgiveness of her sins. We find that she wept and washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wipe his feet fry with her hair. She may also have perceived or come to the realization that Jesus was about to lay down his life and would no longer be among them. Whatever the reason, she wept sorely before the feet of Jesus showing her LOVE for him by kissing his feet. She not only anointed the feet of Jesus with the very precious OIL from the alabaster box, but she ALOS anointed the feet of Jesus with the PRECIOUS TEARS from her HEART. Again, we see Jesus DEFENDING the woman, but this time the writer goes into the aspect of her being a SINNER. Jesus makes the point to say that she had MANY SINS. But Jesus goes on to say that because of her LOVE her sins are forgiven her and the reason for her heart of abundant thanksgivings and gratitude is because she is forgiven much. Somehow, I believe that Mary knew that Jesus was going to die for her sins. And that thought overwhelmed her with tears of gratitude. Let us continue in Luke 8:1,2, the very next chapter and read. Luke 8:1,2. “And it came to pass AFTERWARD, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing glad tidings of the kingdom of God: the TWELVE were WITH HIM, 2. AND certain WOMEN, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, (Then one of those CERTAIN women is specifically pointed out) MARY called MAGDALENE, out of whom went seven devils.” This WOMAN, whose name was MARY, called MAGDALENE was WITH Jesus right AFTER or AFTERWARDS, he healed women of evils spirits or DEVILS and infirmities. And in MARY, called Magdalene, there were seven devils that Jesus cast out of her. I find it interesting that it was AFTERWARDS or right after telling us of this event of this unnamed woman who ANOINTED Jesus with OINTMENT from an ALABASTER BOX and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair, that we are told of this woman named MARY who is called Magdalene. Some Bible commentaries say she is from Magdala and, therefore, she is called Mary Magdalene, which means Mary from Magdala. I agree that this is a logical assumption, but the fact that this particular Mary who may be ORIGINALLY from Magdala does not mean that she cannot be one and the same Mary, as Mary, Martha's sister who we KNOW for a fact ANOINTED Jesus with ointment and wipe his feet with her hair. Surely it cannot be denied that Mary Magdalene greatly LOVED the Lord and possessed a heart filled with gratitude and thanksgiving. Mary Magdalene was truly thankful for MUCH as Jesus described of the woman named MARY who was the sister of Martha. We know that Mary, Martha’s sister, ANOINTED Jesus with OINTMENT from an ALABASTER BOX and wiped his feet with her hair. Think about this for a moment. How many different women named Mary ANOINTED the feet of Jesus with OINTMENT from an ALABASTER BOX and WIPED his feet with her HAIR? For me, there are far too many similarities to say that Mary, called Magdalene, and Mary, the sister of Martha are entirely two different Mary’s without a doubt. There just is no scriptural evidence to support this view that they CANNOT possibly be the same Mary. However, on the other hand, there is at least evidence to indicate that they may very possibly be one and the same. But then again, there is NOT enough conclusive evidence to say absolutely for sure either way. Now, if I had to make a choice, then I would lean to the side that says that these two Mary’s are one and the same Mary, called Magdalene, simply because there is more evidence to support such a conclusion. Consider how much Mary Magdalene LOVED the Lord and even after his death went to the grave before dawn. And how she wept when she saw the tomb empty, thinking someone stole the body of Jesus who she came to ANOINT. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene FIRST, and then spoke these words, TOUCH ME NOT; for I have not ascended to my Father. One could come up with all sorts of thoughts on what Jesus meant by these words, but one thought that came to me was how Jesus might have remembered how she had ceased not to kiss his feet and weep over him a few days ago before his death and how she ANOINTED his body for the BURYING. But not wanting to be delayed to ASCEND to his Father, Jesus told her, TOUCH ME NOT, because I must ascend to my Father first, but I will return, so go and tell my brethren that I have risen from the dead. Whatever the reason that Jesus told Mary Magdalene to NOT TOUCH him, it seemed that Jesus did not have time, at the moment, for a long reunion. It was important that he ASCEND to his God and Father first. Then consider how much Jesus LOVED MARY, Martha's sister, her brother Lazarus and also Martha. And how much MARY would rather be WITH the Lord than to help her sister Martha. Mary, Martha's sister, loved the Lord greatly as well as Mary called Magdalene loved the Lord greatly. Again, this does not prove without a doubt that they are the SAME Mary, but this additional does, in fact, support that they are more the SAME as opposed to proving they are different women altogether. So then, from what we have studied thus far, we can only conclude with absolute certainty that there are no less than THREE different Mary’s. But again, there MAY POSSIBLY be as many as six different Mary’s, IF SO BE, that one concludes that Mary Magdalene is not the same Mary as Martha’s sister. Thanks for reading. Grow in knowledge and the love of our Lord. May God bless you richly as you search for the truth of his word. Below are my notes for this study for all the women named Mary in the New Testament of the Bible. Your brother in our Lord in Christ Jesus, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT
The following are my study notes showing every scripture where the name Mary is found in the Bible. I separated them into categories that definitely identified certain Mary’s, such as Mary the mother of Jesus.
MARY WHO? One of the reasons that I did this study is that I was the question, “Is Mary, Martha's sister one and the same as Mary Magdalene?” But after doing this study, I find that it is a good PRACTICE to teach other Christians HOW to study the Bible for themselves. It will also make a good SERMON to show how our tears are PRECIOUS to Jesus when they truly come from our heart filled with GRATITUDE for what Jesus has done for us. The word “Mary” is found 54 times in the Bible. Here is a complete list. The name “Mary is found in 6 different books of the Bible, all in the New Testament. Matthew 1:16,18,20 / 2:11 / 13:55 / 27:56,56,61,61 / 28:1,1 Mark 6:3 / 15:40,40,47,47 /16:1,1,9 Luke 1:27,30,34,38,39,41,46,56 / 2:5,16,19,34 / 8:2 /10:39,42 / 24:10,10 John 11:1,2,19,20,28,31,32,45 / 12:3 /19:25,25 /20:1,11,16,18 Acts 1:14 /12:12 Romans 16:6
MARY WHO? The following is a list of all the verses of scripture that positively, without a doubt, refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, where the name “Mary” is found alone. That is to say, without another woman named Mary along with her. We will look at these verses next. There are 5 verses referring to Mary, the mother of Jesus, found in Mathew, 1 found in Mark, and 12 found in the gospel of Luke, for a total of 18. Matthew 1:16 “And Jacob beget Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 2:11 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Mathew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not this his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Jose, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters are they not all with us...?” Mark 6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” Luke 1:27 “To the virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgins name was Mary.” Luke 1:30 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:34 “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:39 “And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;” Luke 1:41 “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.” Luke 1:46 “And Mary said, my soul does magnify the Lord.” Luke 1:56 “And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.” Luke 2:5 “To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.” Luke 2:16 “And they came with haste and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” Luke 2:19 “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:34 “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.” MARY WHO? Here is a list of scripture references where the name “Mary” is found in the same verse with one or more other women that ALSO have the same name “Mary”. There are 7 such references found in the Bible. Matthew 27:56 “Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.” Matthew 28:1 “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.” Mark 15:40 “There were also women looking afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Jose, and Salome;” Mark 15:47 “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jose beheld where he was laid.” Mark 16:1 “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.” Luke 24:10 “It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.” John 19:25 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, (who we know is called Mary), and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.”
MARY WHO? Here are the verses that definitely refer to Mary, the sister of Martha and the sister of Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead. Luke 10:39 “And she had a sister called Mary, which sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.” Luke 10:42 “But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” John 11:1 “Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.” John 11:2 “(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)” John 11:19 “And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.” John 11:20 “Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still at the house.” John 11:28 “And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calls for you.” John 11:31 “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 is going unto the grave to weep there.” John 11:32 “ Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:45 “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.” John 12:3 “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very precious, and anointed his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.”
MARY WHO? Here is a list of all the other places where the name “Mary” appears that may be referring to other women named Mary. Or some may refer to one of the Mary’s, which we already can clearly identify. Acts 12:12 “And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.” This may be another Mary. Or this may be Mary the mother of Jesus because of John 19:25 where Jesus commits his mothers care into the hands of one of his disciples. Romans 16:6 “Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us.” This may be another Mary. But just as easily, she may be any one of the Mary’s we already know about and have identified. Now the following list may be other women named Mary. But I personally believe that they are referring to Mary the Mother of Jesus because of Matthew 13:55, which says, “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Jose, and Simon, and Judas?” Mary, the mother of Jesus, had other children. She had at least four sons and possibly five. Simon and Salome may be one and the same or they may be different brothers of Jesus. And yet a third possibility is that this is a different Mary, who is the mother of Salome and also has sons named James, James the less, and Joses. But again, I think this is highly unlikely. Yous see, the Roman Catholic Church NEEDS this Mary to NOT be the mother of Jesus because they teach that Mary REMAINED a VIRGIN her whole life. It may just be another spelling of Simon, much like Noe is the same as Noah. The name Salome means peaceful prosperous one, and Simon means he has heard or obedient one, so with this in mind, it appears that they are different people. This verse is a matter of INTERPRETATION. I personally believe that Mary had more children after Jesus. So I do not NEED for this Mary to be a different Mary from the mother of Jesus as the Roman Catholic Church. The different spelling may be a correct assumption. I simply do not know for sure at this point. Jesus may have had just four brothers, or Salome may be a fifth brother, but this does not limit Jesus to having even more brothers who may not be named. Let us move on to the next verse. Matthew 27:56 ...Mary the mother of James and Joses… Matthew 27:61 ...the other Mary… Matthew 28:1 ...the other Mary… Mark 15:40 ...Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome… Mark 15:47 ...Mary the mother of Joses… Mark 16:1 ...Mary the mother of James, and Salome… Luke 24:10 ...Mary the Mother of James… MARY WHO? So then, we have for sure: Mary the Mother of Jesus. Mary, the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and also the wife of Cleophas. Mary Magdalene or Mary called Magdalene. We know that without a doubt that these THREE Mary’s are different women and definitely not the same woman. We also know of a Mary, which is Martha's sister. Now the question still remains, “Is she a different Mary than the three Marys that we positively know about?” Or could she be one of these three women named Mary? Again, the question has been raised as to whether or not Mary, Martha's sister is one and the same as Mary Magdalene? Let us examine the evidence from the Bible alone comparing scripture with scripture to base our conclusion. Your brother in the Lord Jesus Christ; Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT
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