Bible Trivia Question: Who was the first apostle?
In all four gospels, Mary Magdalene was a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion, the empty tomb, and Jesus’ resurrection. In John 20, after Mary had come to the tomb early in the morning, Jesus said to her, “Mary,” causing her to suddenly realize he was not the gardener, but her teacher and Lord. He told her to go to her fellow disciples and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary ran to the disciples with the news, declaring “I have seen the Lord!” For this reason, she is known in some Christian traditions as the “apostle to the apostles.” She is mentioned by name twelve times in the canonical gospels, more than most of the apostles and more than any other woman in the gospels, other than Jesus’s family.
El Greco, The Penitent Magdalene
Magdalene is likely a toponymic surname for Mary, meaning that she came from the town of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. There is no evidence that Mary was a “fallen woman,” a misconception that continues to this day. Her portrayal as a prostitute began in 591 when Pope Gregory, in a homily, confused Mary Magdalene with the unnamed “sinful woman” who anointed Jesus’ feet. She became the patron saint of “wayward women” and, in the eighteenth century, moral reformers established Magdalene asylums to help save women from prostitution.
In fact, Mary was one of the women who traveled with Jesus and helped support his ministry “out of their resources,” suggesting that she might have been a woman of means.
I believe Mary Magdalene’s primary significance is as a witness to the living Christ. (In addition to signifying her place of birth, Magdalene is a female name of Latin origin that means watchtower or watchful.) What is the most effective witness we can give of the living Christ’s presence in our own lives? Perhaps by showing and telling how Christ’s love has been realized within us. Can we, like Mary Magdalene, say “I have seen the Lord?”
Improbable Benedictine 
Thank you for clarifying the story of Mary Magdalene. Centuries of misogyny have desecrated her name and reputation. In addition to “tower” Magdalene can also mean “tall.” She was indeed an apostle!
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Carolyn Aichele said it so well. I have been fascinated with Mary Magdalene for a long time.
Now to make clear the misogyny of the early church fathers. I am pretty sure she was much
favored by our Lord. Thank you, Steve.
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