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Although in the earlier
study concerning Mary Magdalene (and Judas) we looked at
“revisionist” views of their role in the lifetime of
Christ, we said little about the relationship given us
in Philip`s gospel, of Mary M. and Jesus. It does seem
as if the traditional view of Mary M is not correct,
judging from the evidence presented in some of the
non-canonical writings. Indeed possibly the earliest
indication that Jesus was close (if not closest) to one
of his most fervent disciples, namely Mary M, is
presented to us in the gospel of Philip. It might
therefore be instructive now to look at this gospel.
The gospel itself is dated to about 200-300
AD but its attribution is doubtful – but probably not by
Philip! It is one of the New Testament apocrypha, part
of the Nag Hammadi library collection. It is not a
gospel in the accepted sense but seems to be a number of
Gnostic teachings. (Gnostic: a sect not approved by the
official Church). One of the interesting aspects of
Philip`s gospel is the theme of marriage which runs
through the document – a state which may (or may not)
have been endorsed by Jesus, depending on individual
interpretation. But without doubt, the feature that most
intrigues the reader is the reference to the seemingly
close (physical) relationship of Jesus with Mary
Magdalene. Indeed the (modern) inference of the above is
first seen in this gospel where is the line “And the
companion of the saviour was Mary Magdalene, who Christ
loved more than all the disciples, and he used to kiss
her often on the cheek. “ It has to be said here that
“cheek” is a modern interpolation as the document has a
lacuna here – of all places!!. Be that as it may , the
other disciples were offended by this show of affection
and reputedly said to Jesus, “Why do you love her more
than all of us?” This passage has led to the speculation
that Jesus and Mary M. were married (and thus carried
the blood line via the Holy Grail as suggested in Dan
Brown`s novel, The Da Vinci Code.)
There are of course other differences from the accepted
canonical gospels which a reading would indicate, such
as its interpretation of Jesus` mission and acts on
earth.
It is often said however that Mary M enjoyed
a special relationship with Jesus because she was more
percipient than the other disciples and understood more
the true mission of Jesus on earth – and who he really
was. But the fact is we do not know for sure. Partly
because of this, Mary M had always a bad press at least
from the Catholic Church. It was Pope Gregory in 591 AD
who branded her as a whore. It was not until 1969 that
the Catholic Church revoked this verdict, but the slur
has stuck.
Undoubtedly a reading of this gospel does
throw up several divergences from the major gospels – it
is not hard to see why the document did not gain favour
with the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church, for example
the suggestion that Jesus had pledged his life “from the
very day the world came into being” (quote from the
Philip gospel). There is also the suggestion that Jesus
might be a reincarnation of Abraham or other OT
individuals – indeed lived before Abraham (as in John
8.58, “before Abraham was, I am” – but as we are aware
there are other interpretations of this statement!
We are faced with the perpetual dilemma when
reading documents from Old and New Testament times.
There is the received truth in the “Canon” (the Bible)
or the “truth” – and reliability of the very many other
non-canonical writings.
Present day examination (and research) reveals much
which was not known earlier about biblical times and the
life of Jesus. We are, it may be claimed, more open
minded than hithertofore and ,it may be, more inclined
to believe the tenor of the non-canonicals.. ..it all
seems to come down to individual faith and belief –
usually coloured by a denominational creed - or
upbringing.
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