The Gospel of Mary

The Gospel of Mary is preserved in two Greek fragments of the third century and a fuller, but still incomplete, Coptic manuscript of the ﬁfth. The book itself was composed sometime during the (late?) second century. Even though we do not have the complete text, it was clearly an intriguing Gospel, for here, among other things, Mary (Magdalene) is accorded a high status among the apostles of Jesus. In fact, at the end of the text, the apostle Levi acknowledges to his comrades that Jesus “loved her more than us.” Mary’s special relationship with Jesus is seen above all in the circumstance that he reveals to her alone, in a vision, an explanation of the nature of things hidden from the apostles. The Gospel divides itself into two parts. In the ﬁrst, Jesus, after his resurrection, gives a revelation to all his apostles concerning the nature of sin, speaks a ﬁnal blessing and exhortation, commissions them to preach the gospel, and then leaves. They are saddened by his departure, but Mary consoles them and urges them to reﬂect on what he has said. She is then asked by Peter to tell them what Jesus had told her directly. In the second part, she proceeds to describe the vision that she had been granted. Unfortunately, four pages are lost from the manuscript, and so we know only the beginning and end of her description. But it appears that the vision involved a conversation she had with Jesus, who described how the human soul could ascend past the four ruling powers of the world in order to ﬁnd its eternal rest. This description of the fate of the soul is related to salvation narratives found in other Gnostic texts. The Gospel continues with two of the apostles—Andrew and Peter— challenging Mary’s vision and her claim to have experienced it; it ends, though, with Levi pointing out that she was Jesus’ favorite, and urging them to go forth to preach the gospel as he commanded. They are said to do so, and there the Gospel ends.

Translation of George MacRae and R McL. Wilson, in James Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library in English, 3rd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1988) 524–27; used with permission.

[ . . . ] (pp. 1–6 missing) will matter then be [destroyed] or not?” The Savior said, “All natures, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is resolved into the (roots) of its nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Peter said to him, “Since you have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the world?” The Savior said, “There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called ‘sin.’ That is why the Good came into your midst, to the (essence) of every nature, in order to restore it to its root.” Then he continued and said, “That is why you [become sick] and die, for [ . . . ] of the one who [ . . . He who] understands, let him understand. [Matter gave birth to] a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from (something) contrary to nature. Then there arose a disturbance in the whole body. That is why I said to you, ‘Be of good courage,’ and if you are discouraged (be) encouraged in the presence of the different forms of nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” When the blessed one had said this, he greeted them all, saying, “Peace be with you. Receive my peace to yourselves. Beware that no one lead you astray, saying, ‘Lo here!’ or ‘Lo there!’ For the Son of Man is within you. Follow after him! Those who seek him will ﬁnd him. Go then and preach the gospel of the kingdom. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I appointed for you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it.” When he had said this, he departed. But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, “How shall we go to the gentiles and preach the gospel of the kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare him, how will they spare us?”

NON-CANONICAL GOSPELS

Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, “Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for his grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us into men.” When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the [Savior]. Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember—which you know (but) we do not, nor have we heard them.” Mary answered and said, “What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you.” And she began to speak to them these words: “I,” she said, “I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you today in a vision.’ He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are you, that you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’ I said to him, ‘Lord, now does he who sees the vision see it ⬍through⬎ the soul ⬍or⬎ through the spirit?’ The Savior answered and said. ‘He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind which [is] between the two—that is [what] sees the vision and it is [ . . . ].’ (pp. 11–14 missing) “[ . . . ] it. And desire that, ‘I did not see you descending, but now I see you ascending. Why do you lie, since you belong to me?’ The soul answered and said, ‘I saw you. You did not see me nor recognize me. I served you as a garment, and you did not know me.’ When it had said this, it went away rejoicing greatly. “Again it came to the third power, which is called ignorance. [It (the power)] questioned the soul saying, ‘Where are you going? In wickedness are you bound. But you are bound; do not judge!’ And the soul said, ‘why do you

THE GOSPEL OF MARY

judge me although I have not judged? I was bound though I have not bound. I was not recognized. But I have recognized that the All is being dissolved, both the earthly (things) and the heavenly.’ “When the soul had overcome the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, (which) took seven forms. The ﬁrst form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the ﬁfth is the kingdom of the ﬂesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom of ﬂesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven [powers] of wrath. They ask the soul, ‘Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?’ The soul answered and said, ‘What binds me has been slain, and what surrounds me has been overcome, and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died. In a [world] I was released from a world, [and] in a type from a heavenly type, and (from) the fetter of oblivion which is transient. From this time on will I attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence.’ ” When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her. But Andrew

answered and said to the brethren, “Say what you (wish to) say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas.” Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior: “Did he really speak with a woman without our knowledge (and) not openly? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” Then Mary wept and said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior?” Levi answered and said to Peter, “Peter, you have always been hottempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. This is why he loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect man and acquire him for ourselves as he commanded us, and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.” When [ . . . ] and they began to go forth [to] proclaim and to preach.