I believe the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi texts, particularly in the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Philip, is consistent with the portrayal of her in the New Testament's Gospel of John. In each case she is portrayed as the primary proclaimer of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

A lot of people correctly point out that there is no biblical support for seeing Mary Magdalene as the "repentant whore." And they talk about her great role in the founding of the early church. But what was that role? The New Testament and the Nag Hammadi Library both agree on this -- she gave her life to Jesus as Savior. She was the first to proclaim the message of the Resurrected Lord. Every Easter, Christians celebrate the event that was first proclaimed by Mary Magdalene (John 20:18).

Mary Magdalene was first and foremost a Christian. In the Gospel of Mary Jesus is consistently referred to as Savior and Lord. This means that Mary Magdalene looked to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.

The Nag Hammadi Library makes no mention of her having married Jesus or having had children with him. But her role as primary proclaimer of the gospel is revealed in the Nag Hammadi texts as well as the New Testament, most notably in the Gospel of John (the Fourth Gospel).

I do not view the documents of Nag Hammadi as being of equal value with the New Testament. I simply rely on those texts to show that there were at least some Christians in the earliest days of the Church that saw Mary Magdalene as the Beloved Disciple of Jesus.

Those who invoke the name of Mary Magdalene to try to undermine the message that she gave her life to proclaim are guilty of maligning her legacy. Her legacy is being the first to proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. To follow Mary Magdalene is to follow Jesus. For she points to Him as the Savior of the world.

It is in this light, in this spirit, that I offer my suggestion that, perhaps, she is the anonymous unsung voice of the Beloved Disciple of the Fourth Gospel and, therefore, its primary author.

Ramon K. Jusino
www.BelovedDisciple.org