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T he Gospel of Mary is a gospel written in the name of Mary of Magdala, a follower of Jesus according to a number of early Christian texts and his dear companion according to the Gospel of Philip. In the Gospel of Mary she is said to be loved by Jesus more than the other followers, but Peter and Andrew wonder whether she can be taken seriously as a female teacher of revelatory wisdom. This dispute between Mary and the male followers of Jesus reflects the argument between gnostics and representatives of the emerging orthodox church about whether women can teach in church and whether private revelatory teachings can have the same authority as the official teachings of the priests and bishops.

After six missing pages, the Gospel of Mary introduces Jesus speaking about sin, and Jesus proclaims that sin is not an ethical problem but rather a cosmological problem, as Karen L. King puts it. 1 Sin is the material mixing improperly with the spiritual. Thereafter Mary recounts a vision of the soul’s ascent beyond four cosmic powers (perhaps the four elements), in a passage that unfortunately is largely missing from the manuscript. After a hostile encounter between Mary and the male followers of Jesus, Levi intercedes, inviting all the followers of Jesus to put on the perfect person and go out to preach, without establishing any additional rules or laws. And, the Gospel of Mary concludes, that is what they did .

The Gospel of Mary was composed in Greek, probably in the second century. Two fragments of the text have survived in Greek. The rest of the surviving text is preserved in Coptic in the Berlin Gnostic Codex.

The savior said, “All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with one another and will be resolved into their own roots. The nature of matter is resolved into its nature alone. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.”

Peter said to him, “Since you have explained everything to us, tell us also, what is the sin of the world?”

The savior said, “There is no sin, but you create sin when you mingle as in adultery, which is called sin. 3 That is why the good came to be with you, to enter the essence of each nature, and to restore it to its root.” He continued, “That is why you become sick and die, for you love what deceives you. 4 Whoever understands should understand.

“Matter gave birth to a passion that has nothing like it and came from what is contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in the whole body. That is why I said to you, ‘Be of good courage,’ 5 and if you are discouraged, still take courage in the diverse forms of nature. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.”

When the blessed one said these things, he greeted all of them, saying, “Peace be with you. 6 Receive my peace. Be careful that no one leads you astray with ‘Come over here!’ or ‘Go there!’ The human child is within you. 7 Follow him! Those who seek him will find him. Go then and preach the gospel of the kingdom. Do not follow any other words than these that I have commanded, and do not establish laws, as the lawgiver did, so that you will not be bound by them.”

When he said this, he left.

The students were grieved. They wept profoundly, saying, “How can we go to the gentiles and preach the gospel of the kingdom of the human child? If they did not spare him, will we be spared?”

Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brothers, “Do not weep and do not grieve or be irresolute, for his grace will be fully with you and will protect you. Rather, let us praise his greatness. He prepared us and made us truly human.”

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 other women. Tell us the words of the savior that you remember, which you know and we do not. We have not heard them.”

Mary answered, saying, “What is hidden from you I will reveal to you.”

She began to speak these words, saying, “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, ‘Blessings on you, since you did not waver at the sight of me. Where the mind is, there is the treasure.’ 8

“I said to him, ‘Lord, how does a person see a vision, through the soul or through the spirit?’

“The savior answered, saying, ‘A person sees neither through the soul nor the spirit. The mind, which lives between the two, sees the vision. . . .’ ”

“The soul answered and said, ‘I saw you, but you did not see me or know me. You perceived the garment I was wearing, 10 but you did not recognize me.’

“After the soul said this, she left, rejoicing greatly.

“The soul approached the third power, called ignorance. The power questioned the soul, saying, ‘Where are you going? You are bound by wickedness, you are bound, so do not pass judgment.’

“The soul said, ‘Why do you pass judgment on me, though I have not passed judgment? I was bound, but I have not bound. I was not recognized, but I have recognized that all is to be dissolved, both what is earthly and what is heavenly.’

“When the soul overcame the third power, she ascended and saw the fourth power. It took seven forms:

“The powers asked the soul, ‘Where are you coming from, slayer of humans, and where are you going, conqueror of space?’

“The soul answered and said, ‘What binds me is slain, what surrounds me is destroyed, my desire is gone, ignorance is dead. In a world I was freed through another world, and in an image I was freed through a heavenly image. This is the fetter of forgetfulness that exists in the world of time. From now on I shall rest, through time, age, and aeon, in silence.’”

When Mary said this, she fell silent, since the savior had spoken to her of all these things. But Andrew answered, saying to the brothers, “Say what you think about what she said. I do not believe that the savior said this. These teachings are of strange ideas.”

Peter also opposed her about all this. He asked the others about the savior, “Did he really speak to a woman secretly, without our knowledge, and not openly? Are we to turn and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” 11

Then Mary wept and said to Peter, “My brother, Peter, what do you think? Do you think I concocted this in my heart or I am lying about the savior?”

Levi answered, saying to Peter, “Peter, you are always angry. Now I see you contending against this woman as if against an adversary. If the savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the savior knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us. We should be ashamed and put on the perfect person 12 and be with him as he commanded us, and we should preach the gospel, without making any rule or law other than what the savior said.”