Gospel of Mary (Magdalene)

About this text

Mary Magdalene shares a private revelation from Jesus about the soul's ascent. Peter and Andrew debate whether Jesus would have entrusted such teaching to a woman.

Significance

Central to discussions about women's roles in early Christianity and Mary Magdalene's status.

How to Read This Historical Text

Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) is included here as a historical and educational resource, not as Scripture and not as a replacement for the biblical canon. Readers may find it useful for understanding the ideas, debates, devotional language, and literary settings that surrounded Jewish and Christian communities in different periods.

Read this text with context in mind. Notice its era, category, and relationship to canonical passages, then compare its themes with the Bible itself. Some library works preserve valuable historical background, while others represent viewpoints that many Christian traditions rejected. Inclusion in this library does not mean endorsement of every claim or doctrine in the text.

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Key excerpts

"Peter said to Mary: Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women."

"Levi said to Peter: You have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries."

Scripture cross-references

• John 20:17-18 — Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene and sends her to tell the apostles
• Luke 8:1-3 — Women who followed Jesus and supported his ministry

Continue exploring

This text is one of 16 in the Gnostic Texts (Nag Hammadi & Related) category, and one of 62 across the entire library.