Looking Back at the Figure of Mary Magdalene

A while back Rev. Dr. Max Grant and I had the chance to interview Elizabeth Schrader, a scholar whose research is reshaping how we see Mary Magdalene in the gospels. Elizabeth has uncovered evidence that early manuscripts of John may have been altered to downplay Mary’s role. Instead of being a secondary figure, she stands at the center of the resurrection story as the first witness to Christ.

The way we tell her story shapes how we see the church and ourselves. If we let her voice rise again, we rediscover not only Mary Magdalene but also the Christ she proclaimed.