Mary Magdalene the 13th Apostle
They don’t see in the soul or in the spirit, but the mind/Nous which exists between the two is what sees the vision
LOVE WINS Amen. Amen.
Mary Magdalene stands as a pivotal figure in early Christianity, often overlooked in favor of a male-centric narrative. While not listed among the original twelve apostles, her unwavering devotion, financial support of Jesus’s ministry, presence at the crucifixion, and role as the first witness to the resurrected Jesus earn her the title “Apostle to the Apostles.” In John 20:17, Jesus commissions her to announce his resurrection to the eleven remaining apostles, aligning her with the apostolic mission of spreading the gospel. Some traditions and scholars call her the “13th Apostle,” a title that contrasts sharply with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer associated with the number 13 due to his disloyalty. The church, influenced by patriarchal biases, sidelined Mary Magdalene, elevating Judas’s infamy while diminishing her loyalty, thus obscuring one of Jesus’s most faithful followers.
Biblical Accounts of Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot
Mary Magdalene’s significance shines through in the Gospels. She was healed by Jesus of seven demons (Luke 8:2), became a dedicated follower who supported his ministry financially (Luke 8:1-3), and stood at the cross when others fled (John 19:25). Her pivotal moment comes in John 20:1-18 (NIV):
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” … Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
This commissioning by Jesus underscores her apostolic role as the first to proclaim the resurrection. In stark contrast, Judas Iscariot, one of the original twelve, embodies betrayal as the “13th” figure. In Matthew 26:14-16, he agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, and in John 13:27, Satan enters him, leading to his act of handing Jesus over (Matthew 26:47-50). His betrayal disrupts the divine order of the twelve apostles, with the number 13 appearing elsewhere in the Bible tied to rebellion, such as in Genesis 14:4, where kings rebel in the “thirteenth year,” or Esther 3:12-13, where a decree to destroy the Jews is issued on the 13th day. Mary, as the “true 13th,” represents loyalty and divine truth, unjustly overshadowed by a narrative that favored male apostles and Judas’s betrayal.
The number 31, though less prominent, appears in contexts like Joshua 12:24, which lists 31 kings defeated by Israel, symbolizing divine victory, and Numbers 31, where the Israelites’ war against the Midianites reflects divine judgment. These themes of victory and purification echo the call to reject worldly systems, a call Mary’s story amplifies but the church often ignores.
Misconceptions about Mary Magdalene must also be addressed. Some confuse her with the unnamed “sinner” who anoints Jesus’s feet in Luke 7:37-50 or with Mary of Bethany, who anoints him for burial (John 12:3; Mark 14:8). These are distinct women with different purposes, and conflating them with Mary Magdalene likely stems from efforts to diminish her authority.
The Church’s Failure to Embody Jesus’s Teachings
Jesus condemned the religious leaders of his time as hypocrites, criticizing their outward piety without inner righteousness (Matthew 23:13-36). Modern churches often mirror this hypocrisy, preaching love and justice while entangled in scandals, political agendas, and materialism, walking in worldly ways rather than God’s. Scripture warns that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), yet churches frequently fail to confront evil, prioritizing fleshly concerns over spiritual truth. The marginalization of Mary Magdalene, the true 13th apostle, in favor of Judas’s betrayal narrative exemplifies this failure. Numbers 31’s account of divine judgment against corruption further underscores the need for purification, a call the church has largely ignored, choosing worldly systems over divine truth.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene: Secret Teachings for Today
The Gospel of Mary, a Gnostic text outside the canonical Bible, portrays Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s closest disciple, entrusted with secret teachings the male apostles struggled to grasp. Central to the text is “nous,” often translated as “mind” but better understood as the “eye of the heart”—a spiritual faculty for perceiving divine truth through intuition. In a key exchange, Mary asks Jesus, “Does a person who sees a vision see it with the soul or with the spirit?” He replies that it’s the nous, between the two, that perceives (Mary 7:7). This teaching emphasizes inner vision and the inherent goodness within all, where God is “the Good,” not gendered or separate.
The gospel challenges patriarchal hierarchies. Peter and Andrew doubt Mary’s revelations because she’s a woman, but Levi defends her, saying, “If the Savior considered her to be worthy, who are you to disregard her?” (Mary 10:10). This mirrors the church’s historical dismissal of Mary as the true 13th apostle, favoring Judas’s narrative. The gospel’s message resonates today: in a world of suffering, relying on the heart’s vision over external deceptions is crucial. Mary’s knowledge, gained through direct experience (gnosis), empowers individuals to find truth within, defying institutional bias and worldly traps.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
Below are two translations of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, offering a comprehensive view of her teachings.
Translation by David Curtis (3rd Draft, 2024)
(Pages 1-6 are missing.)
Page 7
[The disciples asked:] “Teach us about the material world. Will it last forever or is everything impermanent?” The Saviour answered: “All that is created, everything that is formed, every natural thing, all exist interdependently in and with each other. Then each will be dissolved again back into its own roots. It is [the way of] nature that everything will eventually decompose back into its own elements. Those who have ears, let them hear.”
Peter said to him: “While you are explaining everything to us, tell us one more thing: What is the sin of the world?” The Saviour answered: “There is no such thing as sin, you only make it appear when you act according to the habits of your adulterated nature: that is how what you call ‘sin’ manifests. This is why the Good has come into your midst, pursuing [the Good] which is in everyone’s true nature, to restore it inward to its root.” Then he continued, saying: “This is what sickens and destroys you: it is your love for the things that deceive you. Those who have ears, let them hear. Whoever can understand, let them understand!”
Page 8
“Attachment to matter gives rise to incomparable suffering, because it goes against your true nature. Then the whole body becomes disturbed. This is why I taught you to find contentment at the level of the heart. When you feel disturbed and out of balance, reclaim wholeness in the presence of all the different forms of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear.”
When the Blessed One had said these things, he embraced them all and took his leave, saying: “Peace be with you! Cultivate my peace within yourselves! Be vigilant, and don’t let anyone lead you astray by saying ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is’, for the Son of Man, the Child of Your True Humanity, already lives within each one of you. This is what you should follow! I tell you, those who seek this within will surely find it. Go then and proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom!”
Page 9
“Do not lay down any rules other than what I have given you. Do not establish more laws like the lawmaker, or else you too will become constrained by them.” Once he had said these things, he departed from them.
The disciples grieved bitterly, shedding many tears and saying: “How are we supposed to go out preaching to the rest of the world, proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare him, then what will become of us?”
Then Mary rose up. She embraced them all, kissing them tenderly and began to speak to her brothers and sisters: “There is no need to remain stuck in sorrow, grief, and doubt! For his Grace will be with you all; it will guide you, comfort you, shelter, and protect you. Rather, let us be thankful and praise his greatness, for he has brought us together and prepared us for this. Through him, we too can become fully human.”
Saying these things, Mary turned their hearts inward toward the Good, and they began to wrestle with the meaning of the Saviour’s words and to discuss his sayings.
Page 10
Then Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we know that you are greatly loved by the Saviour, more than any other woman. Tell us those words of His that you remember, the things which you know and we don’t, the teachings we never heard.”
Mary answered, saying: “What is hidden from you I shall reveal to you. Whatever is unknown to you, and I remember, I will tell you.”
And she began saying these words to them. She said, “Once I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him: ‘Lord, [Rabbouni,] now I see you in this vision.’
He answered me and said: ‘Blessed are you Mary, for you do not waver at the sight of me. How wonderful you are! For this is where the treasure lies – in [that place where heaven and earth meet, where deep understanding arises in the heart and mind], ‘the nous’.”
I asked him this: ‘Now tell me Lord, how does a person see such a vision, is it through the agency of their soul or through The Spirit?’
The Saviour answered: ‘It is neither through the soul nor through The Spirit, but through the understanding which arises between the two, that is how the vision is seen.’”
(Pages 11-14 are missing.)
Page 15
And Craving spoke: “I didn’t see you descending, but now I see you rising up. Who are you fooling? You’re controlled by me!”
The Soul responded: [“My friend, it is you who were mistaken!] I saw you, but you never really saw me or knew me. You mistook the cloak I was wearing for my true self, so you didn’t recognise me.” Having said all this, the Soul went away joyfully.
Again, the Soul came into the realm of the third Authority, which goes by the name of Ignorance. This scrutinised the Soul closely and interrogated it, saying: “Where do you think you’re going? You are the slave of malicious habits, trapped and held prisoner by your own wicked inclinations. You lack discrimination, so your judgement is unsound!”
The Soul said: “Why are you so critical of me, even though I have not been judgemental? I have been dominated and have lacked my own agency. I was never recognised for my true self, but now I have recognised this: that everything is impermanent, the whole of creation will be dissolved. All worldly things, all heavenly things, everything passes, everything will be released.”
Page 16
Liberated from the realm of the third Authority, the Soul continued, and came face to face with the fourth, the Authority of Wrath.
This took on seven fearful manifestations. The first was everything obscured; the second was craving; the third, ignorance, the fourth, the longing for oblivion; the fifth, enslavement to the demands of the body, the sixth was foolish worldly wisdom, the seventh, the hot-tempered certainty of anger.
These formed the seven-fold Authority of Wrath, which interrogated the Soul, demanding: “Where do you come from, murderer? and, where do you think you’re going, deserter?”
The Soul responded: “It is what dominated me that has been vanquished, and what was steering me that has been overcome. It’s my craving that has come to an end, and my ignorance that has died.”
Page 17
I have been set free from one world with the aid of another world, from one pattern through the moulding and shaping of a greater pattern. I have been liberated from the chains of forgetfulness which are both temporary and temporal. From this moment on, now and for all seasons, I am released into silent restfulness, where time rests in the eternity of time.”
After saying these things Mary settled into silence: that place of sanctuary to which the Saviour’s words had brought her.
But Andrew responded and said to the brothers and sisters:
“Tell me, what do you think about all that she has been telling us? Say what you will, but I for one don’t believe that the Saviour would have said such things! Certainly, these are unorthodox teachings, it all seems quite different from his way of thinking.”
After some consideration, Peter responded in a similar way. He questioned the brothers about the Saviour: “Did he really speak secretly with a woman and not openly so that we could all hear? Are we just to turn around and listen to her? Did he really choose her and prefer her to us? Surely, he wouldn’t have wanted to show that she is more worthy than we are?”
Page 18-19
Then Mary wept. She said to Peter: “My brother, Peter, what are you thinking? Do you really believe that I made all this up, or that I would tell lies about our Saviour?”
Levi also responded to Peter, saying: “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered from the beginning, and now we see you arguing against this woman as though you were her adversary. Yet if the Saviour deemed her worthy, indeed if he himself has made her worthy, then who are you to despise and reject her? Surely the Saviour’s appraisal of her is completely reliable. That is why he loved her more than us.
Brothers, we should be ashamed of our behaviour. Let us cloak ourselves with True Humanity. We too can follow his instructions and cultivate this in ourselves. Let us do as we were instructed and proclaim the good news the Saviour taught, never laying down any rules or laws beyond what he himself gave. After Levi had said these things, they started going out to teach and to proclaim the gospel…….
(David Curtis notes gratitude to contributors and study groups.)
Translation by Mark M. Mattison
(Pages 1 through 6 are missing.)
An Eternal Perspective
Page 7
“Then will [matter] be [destroyed], or not?”
The Savior said, “Every nature, every form, every creature exists in and with each other, but they’ll dissolve again into their own roots, because the nature of matter dissolves into its nature alone. Anyone who has ears to hear should hear!”
Peter said to him, “Since you’ve explained everything to us, tell us one more thing. What’s the sin of the world?”
The Savior said, “Sin doesn’t exist, but you’re the ones who make sin when you act in accordance with the nature of adultery, which is called ‘sin.’ That’s why the Good came among you, up to the things of every nature in order to restore it within its root.”
Then he continued and said, “That’s why you get sick and die, because [you love 8 what tricks you. Anyone who] can understand should understand!
“Matter [gave birth to] a passion that has no image because it comes from what’s contrary to nature. Then confusion arises in the whole body. That’s why I told you to be content at heart. If you’re discontented, find contentment in the presence of the various images of nature. Anyone who has ears to hear should hear!”
The Gospel
When the Blessed One said these things, he greeted them all and said, “Peace be with you! Acquire my peace. Be careful not to let anyone mislead you by saying, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ Because the Son of Humanity exists within you. Follow him! Those who seek him will find him.
“Go then and preach the gospel about the kingdom. Don’t 9 lay down any rules beyond what I’ve given you, nor make a law like the lawgiver, lest you be bound by it.” When he said these things, he left.
But they grieved and wept bitterly. They said, “How can we go up to the Gentiles to preach the gospel about the kingdom of the Son of Humanity? If they didn’t spare him, why would they spare us?”
Mary and Jesus
Then Mary arose and greeted them all. She said to her brothers (and sisters), “Don’t weep and grieve or let your hearts be divided, because his grace will be with you all and will protect you. Rather we should praise his greatness because he’s prepared us and made us Humans.”
When Mary said these things, she turned their hearts [toward] the Good and they [started] to debate the words of [the Savior].
10 Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we know the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember – the things which you know that we don’t, and which we haven’t heard.”
In response Mary said, “I’ll tell you what’s hidden from you.” So she started to tell them these words: “I,” she said, “I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you in a vision today.’
“In response he said to me, ‘You’re blessed because you didn’t waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’
“I said to him, ‘Lord, now does the one who sees the vision see it /in\ the soul /or\ in the spirit?’
“In response the Savior said, ‘They don’t see in the soul or in the spirit, but the mind which [exists] between the two is [what] sees the vision [and] it [that …]
(Pages 11 through 14 are missing.)
Overcoming the Powers
15 “And Desire said, ‘I didn’t see you going down, but now I see you’re going up. So why are you lying, since you belong to me?’
“In response the soul said, ‘I saw you, but you didn’t see me or know me. I was to you just a garment, and you didn’t recognize me.’ When it said these things, it left, rejoicing greatly.
“Again, it came to the third power, which is called ‘Ignorance.’ [It] interrogated the soul and [said], ‘Where are you going? In wickedness you’re bound. Since you’re bound, don’t judge!’
“[And] the soul said, ‘Why do you judge me, since I haven’t judged? I was bound, even though I haven’t bound. They didn’t recognize me, but I’ve recognized that everything will dissolve – both the things of the [earth] 16 and the things of [heaven].’
“When the soul had overcome the third power, it went up and saw the fourth power, which took seven forms:
The first form is Darkness;
The second, Desire;
The third, Ignorance;
The fourth, Zeal for Death;
The fifth, the Kingdom of the Flesh;
The sixth, the Foolish ‘Wisdom’ of Flesh;
The seventh, the ‘Wisdom’ of Anger.
“These are the seven powers of Wrath.
“They ask the soul, ‘Where do you come from, you murderer, and where are you going, conqueror of space?’
“In response the soul said, ‘What binds me has been killed, what surrounds me has been overcome, my desire is gone, and ignorance has died. In a [world] I was released 17 from a world, [and] in a type from a type which is above, and from the chain of forgetfulness which exists only for a time. From now on I’ll receive the rest of the time of the season of the age in silence.’”
Conflict over Authority
When Mary said these things, she fell silent because the Savior had spoken with her up to this point.
In response Andrew said to the brothers (and sisters), ‘Say what you will about what she’s said, I myself don’t believe that the Savior said these things, because these teachings seem like different ideas.”
In response Peter spoke out with the same concerns. He asked them concerning the Savior: “He didn’t speak with a woman without our knowledge and not publicly with us, did he? Will we turn around and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?”
18 Then Mary wept and said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what are you thinking? Do you really think that I thought this up by myself in my heart, or that I’m lying about the Savior?”
In response Levi said to Peter, “Peter, you’ve always been angry. Now I see you debating with this woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you then to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That’s why he loved her more than us.
“Rather we should be ashamed, clothe ourselves with perfect Humanity, acquire it for ourselves as he instructed us, and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.”
When 19 [Levi said these things], they started to go out to teach and to preach.
The Gospel According to Mary
(Notes: “Be content at heart” may mean “be obedient.” “Son of Humanity” means “human.” For similar ascent narratives, see related texts.)
