The Mary We Forgot

If I were to suddenly ask you to tell me about the biblical Mary, there's a pretty good chance that unless you're a pastor, seminary graduate, or theologian that you'd likely fumble around.

If we're being honest, even if you're a pastor, seminary graduate, or theologian there's a chance you'd fumble around with the question.

You'd struggle to recall specifics (as I do at times). You'd confuse your Marys (and yes, there's more than one). You might just shrug your shoulders and say "I don't know."

Award-winning church historian and theologian Jennifer Powell McNutt unpacks it for us in "The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today," a remarkable effort about a woman whose story is often overlooked, confused, or scandalized by the church.

For some, the very basics of Mary are what's remembered - she was among the last at the cross and the first at the empty tomb?

However, McNutt goes much further to reveal the Mary Magdalene, and yes we're talking about Mary Magdalene here, as a model of discipleship for all Christians today. While lots of men like to forget about and/or minimize the gifts of women, Mary Magdalene is a powerful reminder that to be a Christian is to acknowledge her impact.

McNutt takes readers on a journey through Southern France - a journey tracing the path remembered by some church traditions as where Mary Magdalene spread the gospel. Known as the "apostle to the apostles," Mary teaches us how to embrace Jesus's calling to "go and tell" with faith and courage. At a time in the world when women were, in fact, often considered secondary (not much has changed), McNutt illustrates how God uses, and Jesus embraced, those who were ordinary, imperfect, and unexpected to share the good news.

Starting from the beginning in a way, McNutt helps us clearly distinguish between the various New Testament Marys. She does so in a way that is engaging, passionate, informative, and crystal clear. McNutt approaches "The Mary We Forgot" as both theologian and pastor, an approach that reminds me at times of Moltmann or Volf in the ability to take complexity and make it understandable.

In other words, I learned so much here that I found myself researching further almost immediately after finishing "The Mary We Forgot."

McNutt doesn't avoid the more challenging aspects of Mary. Instead, she embraces them and dives deeply into the myths and truths and scriptural evidence. "The Mary We Forgot" is extensively sourced (over 1/3 of the book) and both accessible yet academically sound. She humanizes Mary so richly so vividly that at times I felt as if I were in the room with her.

Perhaps, most of all, McNutt beautifully illustrates why all of this is important to both church history and the church today. I not only learned, but I was deeply moved by "The Mary We Forgot" and this Mary that I not only had, in some ways, forgotten but, in other ways, I never really knew.

This is the most comprehensive resource I have ever found on Mary Magdalene, and helpfully engaged with Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and even Gnostic perspectives to help guide our understanding of Mary's place in Christian thought.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

This book showed up at the perfect time for me. Like many, I’ve been watching and enjoying “The Chosen”, and wondering what church history has to say about Mary Magdalene. Unfortunately, church history distorted Mary Magdalene’s story by conflating her story with other Marys. And then they conflated the story about Mary (Lazarus’s sister) with the sinful women (Luke 7) anointing Jesus. And then they brought forward the idea that Mary Magdalene had 7 demons because she was a prostitute… because she was called a sinful woman…which only kinda (not really) works if you conflate all those stories. Before we can get into who Mary Magdalene is, Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt has to peel back all the layers of assumptions that have been laid over her story.

The book is a quick read and its writing style is very accessible. A lot of the book is focusing on who Mary Magdalene is not, and that is an interesting overview of church history. It also shows how women in the bible were written about in the medieval period and the reformation by church fathers and mothers. In the last couple chapters Dr. Powell McNutt features her argument for how significant Mary Magdalene is in the gospel. It’s important that we remember her today as not only a faithful disciple of Jesus during his ministry, not as only a woman who witnessed his death on the cross, but as an apostle sent by Jesus to proclaim his resurrection to the other apostles. She is an example of a faithful follower of Jesus for all Christians. And if this is true, what does that mean for our churches today? The author poses the question, if Mary Magdalene came to the church to proclaim the good news, would we listen? It is a question worth pondering.

“The Mary We Forgot” is a good book for history enthusiasts, fans of The Chosen, and people contemplating women’s place in the church. Whether you’ve studied women in the Bible, or are just getting started, you should pick up this book.

Jennifer introduces to us a new genre to explore about Mary Magdalene, which is introducing the real Mary Magdalene as a model of discipleship for all Christians today, men and women. We all know about her role in Jesus ministry is really outstanding. Hopefully we as Christian can model her, too.

Mary Magdalene is my favorite biblical woman to explore. This book was so well researched and written, I loved reading and learning more about who Mary Magdalene truly was and how we can learn from the life she lived. It was the perfect book to pair with my quiet time. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A whole book about Mary Magdalene? Is there really all that much to be said about her?

Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt's answer with her latest, The Mary we Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today is a resounding "yes!" She begins by looking at who Mary is thought to be and how she is seen in culture today—often as little more than a former prostitute who got saved. Because there are so many Marys in Scripture, she also tends to get blurred and blended together with other Marys until she's kind of just a rather two dimensional devoted woman follower of Jesus in the background of various Gospel scenes.

McNutt's contention with this book is that this portrait not only does a disservice to Mary Magdalene, but it also does a disservice to us as readers and receivers of her story. As the subtitle suggests, her position and her witness is actually really significant—a significance we miss when we sideline her and flatten her into "just a former prostitute."

The overall aim of the book is to resuscitate her, to revive her within the scope of our theology and church practice such that she holds again the position of honor as "the Apostle to the Apostles." McNutt does this by first examining what the various biblical texts say about her and then moving into how the church's interpreters handled those passages. She looks into the messy history of how Mary got conflated with other women in the Gospels, and she even recounts a story of her trip to the south of France where apparently Mary Magdalene is held in high esteem. She rounds out the book by reflecting theologically on this resuscitated portrait and what it implies. Calling her "The Apostle to the Apostles" will certainly raise hackles for some, and the final section of the book offers the justification for such a title.

The book sometimes felt a bit meandering to me—it was interesting to hear about her veneration in southern France but not particularly integral to the book's argument—but overall I'm glad I read it!

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of a fair, unbiased review.

"The Mary We Forgot" by Jennifer Powell McNutt 

5🌟/5🌟

I enjoyed this book about Mary Magdalene. Like many others, I've been challenged to read and learn about the early followers of Jesus because of the show "The Chosen." Seeing women follow Jesus on screen made me more interested to learn what it may have been like to be an early follower of Jesus, especially as a woman. 

So, when I saw this book about Mary Magdalene, I knew it would be a must-read for me. Thinking of Mary Magdalene as "an apostle to the apostles" helped me see how often the church historically undervalues the ministry of women and how that often carries into church ministry today. The gospels are filled with stories of faithful women following Jesus and serving him. Too often, the faithful witness of women has been diminished, ignored, or misrepresented in the church. Realizing Mary was "as apostle to the apostles" has been liberating for me. Of course, Jesus would pick women to be the first to proclaim his resurrection to the other disciples! It's just the sort of thing Jesus would do! Jesus values women and includes them in all aspects of his ministry.

I was aware that Mary Magdalene has been confused with other women in the four gospels throughout church history. Learning about extra-biblical sources that discuss the life of Mary and her ministry, be it artwork, fables, or writings was interesting. 

My favorite pearl from this book is learning Magdalene may have been a nickname or pun because the word Magdala means 'the tower' in Aramaic. The idea that Mary was given the name Magdala as an "honorific" because of her strong, towering faith is extremely inspiring to me.

I absolutely loved chapter 8, "The First Apostle Chosen by Christ" where Jennifer writes, "In an era of dechurching and faith deconstruction, Mary Magdalene can serve as a model of steady faith in Christ, even when our churches fail us and hurt us. By focusing on following Christ, she was able to invest in the community of believers during times of crisis and hardship. She was a tower of strength after all, which signals her importance in the group. Her strong faith is a central part of her legacy and, if remembered, could be an inspiration for our churches today as a model of faithful discipleship."

My one small complaint, in the book the author says The Chosen's portrayal of Mary Magdalene is associated with prostitution. This isn't accurate. In the show's portrayal, it is implied she is a victim of sexual assault, not prostitution. Specifically, in "The Chosen" Mary is demon possessed and a victim of sexual assault in Season 1, Episode 1. In Season 2, Episode 6, it is portrayed that Mary struggled with alcohol abuse and gambling.

The Mary We Forgot is an intriguing book that unwraps the many "Mary's" of the bible and sheds light to who Mary Magdalene really was during this time. Honored with being labeled "The Apostle to the Apostles", the Mary who faithfully followed after Christ has a very deep and inviting story. She is known to follow His command to "Go and Tell" and in her example, we can see how we, as Christians, need to follow suit. This book is heavily resourced, and you can recognize that Dr. McNutt spent a lot of time thoroughly researching the various "Mary's" in the bible, and clarifying the amazing qualities found within Mary Magdalene. The information in this book is astounding and I learned a lot. I am grateful for the attention to detail put into the content, and when we read a question posed by the author, "if Mary Magdalene came to the church to proclaim the good news, would we listen?", it really gives us a chance to reflect on our own views, beliefs, and convictions as followers of Christ. A very thought provoking and wonderful read to challenge us in our walk of obedience with God. Will we Go and Tell? Thank you for NetGalley and Brazos Press for the Advanced Review copy of this amazing book!

The MARY WE FORGOT by Jennifer Powell McNutt is another solid offering from Brazos Press, of the Baker Publishing Group. The question the author investigates is who is the Mary Magdalene of Scripture and a confusing tradition and what can she mean for us today. The book is an interesting mix of solid research, some pertinent personal experience, and a kerygmatic plea for women’s voices to be heard equally with men’s voices in the church.

First, the solid research. McNutt brings academic rigor to searching through various Biblical Marys and their depiction in Western and East Orthodox, Byzantine traditions and far flung localities. I’ve wondered myself if Mary Magdalene was Lazarus’ sister, Jesus’ lover, or a fallen woman. The bottom line for McNutt is no, none of the above. She was, however, healed from demons; she helped support Jesus’ ministry financially; and most importantly, she was the first to discover his empty tomb.

Second, the personal experience. McNutt is a warm, convincing presence in the book. I especially enjoyed her explorations in France to discover sites where Mary Magdalene’s memory is preserved. I also visited Vézelay Abbey and tried unsuccessfully to explain to my traveling companions just who this saint was. McNutt clears up why, as the evangelist to France, she is so revered there.

Third, the kerygmatic plea for women’s voices. Much of the book is in service to the idea that Mary Magdalene received the teachings of Jesus directly and was commissioned to pass on to the other apostles the startling news of the empty tomb. Throughout his ministry, Jesus surrounded himself with both men and women. Therefore, and I will quote: “When the church sees women as Jesus saw women, it will begin to embrace the colaboring of women in the church.” That we are still arguing this obvious point is disheartening to me, so much so that I almost held it against the book. But no, McNutt is providing a service in carefully constructing her argument, and that the argument needs to be made should not be held against her!

With its extensive notes section, the book would satisfy both academic and serious lay readers, provided they have a vested interest in Christianity. In other words, for the right reader, it is a great resource, but I think the general reader would wonder at all the twists and turns of a convoluted history. And for the reader who assumes women’s voices are needed in church leadership, this book might sometimes be disheartening, or infuriating.

With thanks to NetGalley and Brazos Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.