Woman living at the time of the New Testament
Mary Magdalene
A woman from Magdala, “from whom seven demons had gone out,” who followed Jesus and, with other women, supported his ministry (Luke 8:1–3). She stood by the cross, and was with the women who saw where Jesus was laid (John 19:25; Mark 15:47). On the morning of the resurrection she came to the tomb and was the first to see the risen Jesus; she did not know him until he said, “Mary,” and then she went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord (John 20:1, 11–18). Scripture does not say that she was a prostitute or the sinful woman of Luke 7; that idea came later.