Mary Magdalene: Silent Witness
“Mary Magdalene…saw where he was laid.”
(Mark 15:47)
Mary Magdalene might be the most mysterious figures in the New Testament. There is so much we don’t know about her, yet so much has been said.
For centuries, she’s been mistaken for other women in Scripture: the “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7, or the woman caught in adultery in John 8. But neither passage names her. That connection didn’t come from the Bible itself. It traces back to an Easter sermon by Pope Gregory I in 591 AD, where he described her as a repentant prostitute. From there, the idea stuck and culture ran with it. It became so widespread that even the word “Magdalen” entered dictionaries as a synonym for prostitute.But that image says more about history than it does about her. Who is the real Mary Magdalene?
Silent Witness
Scripture gives us fragments. Aside from her encounter with the risen Jesus in John’s Gospel, Mary often appears in passing, listed among other women who followed Him. No detailed biography. Yet, her role in Salvation history is staggering. She is the first witness of the Resurrection. Before the Church forms, before the disciples fully understand what’s happened, Jesus appears to her. Mary Magdalene is the one who carries that news forward. In a world where a woman’s testimony was often dismissed, Mary speaks anyway. Because she has seen something undeniable. That’s why later tradition would call her “the apostle to the apostles.”
Even her name holds mystery.
Many assume “Magdalene” means she was from Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent much of his ministry. That’s possible. But the word Magdala in Aramaic also means “tower” or “fortress.” That opens up another layer. A tower is the first to see what’s coming. It stands watch. It receives the news before anyone else and then shares it. Mary, the first to witness the Resurrection, fits that image perfectly. She is steady, present, and watchful.
Mary is the quiet kind of faithful; the one who doesn’t need the spotlight to remain. She stays when others leave. She watches when others look away. Because she stays, her testimony is whole.
Days of Recreation
I was invited to create a body of work for a counseling center called The Resting Place in Matthews, NC—a place that has deeply helped me. Choosing a direction wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of time praying, sitting with ideas, waiting for something to take shape. Not to be dramatic, but one windy day on a walk, I received this idea to focus on Mary Magdalene’s transformation, seen through the lens of creation. I came to me out of a whirlwind. There aren’t really words to describe how it happened. At the time, I didn’t know how much I would need that idea.
The following month, I lost my job unexpectedly and unjustly. In that season, this project became more than just work. Studying Mary’s story and watching how Jesus brought order out of her chaos became something that steadied me.
Genesis 1 became the framework. The seven days of creation, God forming and filling the world, mirrored what I was seeing in Mary’s life. Jesus wasn’t just rescuing her; He was re-creating her. Much of my time working on this project was figuring out the visual language. Eventually, I turned to one of my favorite Harlem Renaissance artists, Aaron Douglas. I’ve used his style before because I appreciate how he tells stories in a way that feels universal. I didn’t want the art to be about what historically people and things looked like. Something that carries the weight of the story beyond its setting.
The original paintings now live in The Resting Place’s offices in Matthews, NC. But I created this digital version too for anyone who wants to step into the journey, and see what it looks like when God takes chaos and begins again to create.
