was mary magdalene once called lilith
"Greek Lexicon entry for Koinonos". What she therefore displayed more scandalously, she was now offering to God in a more praiseworthy manner. When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. [179] The widespread artistic representations of Mary Magdalene in tears are the source of the modern English word maudlin,[240][241][242] meaning "sickeningly sentimental or emotional". [254] They have never celebrated her as a penitent. [288] `Abdu'l-Bah also wrote that "her reality is ever shining from the horizon of Christ", "her face is shining and beaming forth on the horizon of the universe forevermore" and that "her candle is, in the assemblage of the world, lighted till eternity". In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. She is demon possessed and it is implied that she has adopted the name of the demon that possesses her. [142][143] The sermon also explicitly identifies Mary Magdalene and the other women as "apostles". I offer my work for free and rely on the generous support of readers like you. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (Luke 8:1-3) and a story about a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50). [53] Ehrman states that the presence of Mary Magdalene and the other women at the cross is probably historical because Christians would have been unlikely to make up that the main witnesses to the crucifixion were women[54] and also because their presence is attested in both the Synoptic Gospels and in the Gospel of John independently. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullness and the completion of completion. It is clear, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts. [298], Furthermore, according to Mark 12:25, Jesus taught that marriage would not exist at all in the coming kingdom of God. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions. Some have point to a heretical document the size of a business card known as " The Gospel of Jesus' Wife" as evidence for this. The Chosen (TV Series 2017- ) Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Lilith. Instead, she has traditionally been honored as a "Myrrhbearer" (; the equivalent of the western Three Marys)[255] and "Equal to the Apostles" (). New Testament apocrypha writings mention Mary Magdalene. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. [186] De Voragine gives the common account of the transfer of Mary Magdalene's relics from her sepulchre in the oratory of Saint Maximin at Aix-en-Provence to the newly founded Vzelay;[193] the transportation of the relics is entered as undertaken in 771 by the founder of the abbey, identified as Gerard, Duke of Burgundy. Below I'll share an outline describing how to do a Viewing Party for The Chosen Episode 1 (I Have Called You by Name). "John Rivera, "Restoring Mary Magdalene" in "Worldwide Religious News", "Pseudo-Rabanus Maurus' Life of Mary Magdalene and her sister Martha Magdalen College Oxford", "Mulieris Dignitatem, John Paul II, 15 August 1988 Apostolic Letter", "St. Mary Magdalene, Disciple of the Lord - Information on the Saint of the Day", "The liturgical memory of Mary Magdalene becomes a feast, like that of the other apostles, 10.06.2016", "J. Frank Henderson, "The Disappearance of the Feast of Mary Magdalene from the Anglican Liturgy" (2004), pp. [68][69][76] They went inside and saw a young man dressed in white, who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and instructed them to tell the male disciples that he would meet them in Galilee. (ex. [323], Maurice Casey rejects the idea of Mary Magdalene as Jesus' wife as nothing more than wild popular sensationalism. Here are seven things we DO know about Mary. [218] Edgar Saltus's historical fiction novel Mary Magdalene: A Chronicle (1891) depicts her as a heroine living in a castle at Magdala, who moves to Rome becoming the "toast of the tetrarchy", telling John the Baptist she will "drink pearls sup on peacock's tongues". You can find episode one, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. Why was Mary Magdalene called Lilith in The Chosen? That is why he loved her more than us. In her first few scenes, people refer to her as Lilith. Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? She was the woman taken into adultery, whom Christ set free lest the Jews stone her, and she was with Him in three places, in the temple, at the well, and in the garden. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them". [225], Nonetheless, despite the Vatican's rejection of it, the view of Mary as a repentant prostitute only grew more prevalent in popular culture. The Chosen, a TV show on the Angel Studios' free streaming service, chronicles the life of Jesus and his many followers. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches generally do not view these writings as part of the Bible. [86], In his book published in 2006, Ehrman states that "it appears virtually certain" that the stories of the empty tomb, regardless of whether or not they are accurate, can definitely be traced back to the historical Mary Magdalene,[87] saying that, in Jewish society, women were regarded as unreliable witnesses and were forbidden from giving testimony in court,[88] so early Christians would have had no motive to make up a story about a woman being the first to discover the empty tomb. [186] On the last day of her life, Maximin, now the bishop of Aix, comes to her and gives her the Eucharist. [307][308] The Da Vinci Code also purports that the figure of the "beloved disciple" to Jesus' right in Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper is Mary Magdalene, disguised as one of the male disciples;[309] art historians maintain that the figure is, in reality, the apostle John, who only appears feminine due to Leonardo's characteristic fascination with blurring the lines between the sexes, a quality which is found in his other paintings, such as St. John the Baptist (painted c. [255] For centuries, it has been the custom of many Eastern Orthodox Christians to share dyed and painted eggs, particularly on Easter Sunday. [16] Although the Gospel of Mark, reputed by scholars to be the earliest surviving gospel, does not mention Mary Magdalene until Jesus' crucifixion,[22] the Gospel of Luke 8:23[23] provides a brief summary of her role during his ministry:[24]. Click here for my affiliation policy. She had spoken proud things with her mouth, but in kissing the Lord's feet, she now planted her mouth on the Redeemer's feet. [42][43][44] Carla Ricci notes that, in lists of the disciples, Mary Magdalene occupies a similar position among Jesus' female followers as Simon Peter does among the male apostles. [185] The governor spends two years with Peter in Rome[185] and, on his way home, he stops at the same island to discover that, due to Mary Magdalene's miraculous long-distance intercession, his child has survived for two years on his dead mother's breast milk. The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by an evil spirit, Lilith, for some time. [68][69][78] They went inside and saw two young men dressed in white who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Many characters and stories are based on events in the Gospels, but there are also characters and events that the creators made up to tie things together. [234][237] It was also criticized by many Christians, who were offended by the film's use of extracanonical source material. As COVID drags on and winter sets in, if you're looking for a good activity to do online with your youth group, you might want to consider doing a series of The Chosen Viewing Parties like this. [31] The dialogue consists of a conversation between Jesus, Mary and two apostles - Thomas the Apostle and Matthew the Apostle. Explain: The Chosen is a multi-season streaming series that's adapting the four Gospels. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark. [79][80], Mary Magdalene's role in the resurrection narrative is greatly increased in the account from the Gospel of John. In the passage, who is it that says, "I have called you by name"? [233], The 2018 film Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara as the eponymous character, sought to reverse the centuries-old portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a repentant prostitute, while also combating the conspiracy statements of her being Jesus' wife or sexual partner. Home; About; Schedules; News & Events; Contact Us "[129][130] Peter responds, saying, "Did he really speak with a woman in private, without our knowledge? [70] This passage made no mention of Mary Magdalene, the other women, or the story of the empty tomb at all,[71][72] but rather credits Simon Peter with having been the first to see the risen Jesus. Just long enough to make this point: Adaptations often add, change, and leave out details, because what works in a book isn't always the same as what works in television or film. The unchallenged facts about her life establish that Jesus cleansed her of seven demons (Luke 8:2 and Mark 16:9), probably . [13][10] They are not regarded by bible scholars as reliable sources of information about her life. The Hebrew word "lilit" only shows up in Isaiah 34:14, where most modern translations render it as something along the lines of "night bird." [260][261][262], According to Darrell Bock, the title of apostola apostolorum first appears in the 10th century,[152] but Katherine Ludwig Jansen says she found no reference to it earlier than the 12th, by which time it was already commonplace. [88] He also says that the story of Mary Magdalene discovering the empty tomb is independently attested in the Synoptics, the Gospel of John, and in the Gospel of Peter. In all the four canonical gospels, Mary Magdalene was a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus and, in the Synoptic Gospels, she was also present at his burial. [312] Numerous works were written in response to the historical inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code,[313][314] but the novel still exerted massive influence on how members of the general public viewed Mary Magdalene. [67][68][69] The original text of the gospel ends here, without the resurrected Jesus ever actually making an appearance to anyone. [245] Other isolated depictions occur, but, from the thirteenth century, additions to the Virgin Mary and John as the spectators at the Crucifixion become more common, with Mary Magdalene as the most frequently found, either kneeling at the foot of the cross clutching the shaft, sometimes kissing Christ's feet, or standing, usually at the left and behind Mary and John, with her arms stretched upwards towards Christ in a gesture of grief, as in a damaged painting by Cimabue in the upper church at Assisi of c. 1290. The 1552 edition omitted the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, which was restored to the Book of Common Prayer only after some 400 years. For the most part, I just clarified who characters were (see my comment above) and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that was confusing to my youth. The Bible never suggests Mary Magdalene was a. [68][69][78] In Luke's account, Jesus never appears to the women,[68][69][79] but instead makes his first appearance to Cleopas and an unnamed "disciple" on the road to Emmaus. I've condensed the lesson into an easily printable pdf below. Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran denominations. [167] Not only John Chrysostom in the East (Matthew, Homily 88), but also Ambrose (De virginitate 3,14; 4,15) in the West, when speaking of Mary Magdalene after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, far from calling her a harlot, suggest she was a virgin. [172][173] Stories about noble saints were popular during this time period;[172] accordingly, tales of Mary Magdalene's wealth and social status became heavily exaggerated. She is also believed to have been the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Initially Mary doesn't recognize Jesus. [290] Indeed he said that she surpassed all the men of her time,[291] and that "crowns studded with the brilliant jewels of guidance" were upon her head. "[221][222] Elsewhere it said of the Roman liturgy of July 22 that "it will make mention neither of Mary of Bethany nor of the sinful woman of Luke 7:3650, but only of Mary Magdalene, the first person to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection". In the TV series Once Upon a Time, Lilith is the daughter of Maleficent. [185][186] Mary persuades the governor of the city not to offer sacrifices to a pagan god[185] and later persuades him to convert to Christianity after she proves the Christian God's power by successfully praying to Him to make the governor's wife pregnant. Mary answered and said, "What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you". [171], Starting in early High Middle Ages, writers in western Europe began developing elaborate fictional biographies of Mary Magdalene's life, in which they heavily embellished upon the vague details given in the gospels. If you're like me, watching The Chosen is about more than entertainment. [82][75] The Gospel of John therefore portrays Mary Magdalene as the first apostle, the apostle sent to the apostles. [307] There is no historical evidence (from the canonical or apocryphal gospels, other early Christian writings, or any other ancient sources) to support these statements. He has risen, as he said. [112] The Gospel of Philip also contains another passage relating to Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene. was mary magdalene once called lilith Skip to content. [229][226][230] In Superstar, Mary describes her sexual attraction to Jesus in the song "I Don't Know How to Love Him", which shocked many of the play's original viewers. This comes out powerfully in the first Episode like to show you why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen here. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. [295][296] A tibia also kept at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume is the object of an annual procession. [66], The earliest description of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances is a quotation of a pre-Pauline creed preserved by Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 15:38, which was written roughly 20 years before any of the gospels. It's certainly not The Exorcist, but demonic stuff can really freak some people out. Mary Magdalene was a prominent figure in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. [264] The same chapter says she did not delay in exercising the office of apostolate with which he had been honored (apostolatus officio quo honorata fuerat fungi non distulit). Lilith is the name of Mary Magdalene when she first appears in episode one. According to Gospel of Luke,[26] Jesus exorcised "seven demons" from Mary Magdalene. [160] Instead, Augustine praised Mary Magdalene as "unquestionably surpassingly more ardent in her love than these other women who had administered to the Lord". [243], Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross during the Crucifixion appears in an eleventh-century English manuscript "as an expressional device rather than a historical motif", intended as "the expression of an emotional assimilation of the event, that leads the spectator to identify himself with the mourners". She is mentioned several times in the Gospels as a devoted follower of Jesus who was present at his crucifixion and burial. This event, in a sense, crowns all that has been said previously about Christ entrusting divine truths to women as well as men. [318], Ehrman states that the historical sources reveal absolutely nothing about Jesus' sexuality[319] and that there is no evidence whatsoever to support the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married or that they had any kind of sexual or romantic relationship. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. [145] A sermon attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 235) refers to Mary of Bethany and her sister Martha seeking Jesus in the garden like Mary Magdalene in John 20, indicating a conflation between Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene. "[101] The narrator commends Mary stating "she spoke this utterance as a woman who understood everything. [99], The earliest dialogue between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is probably the Dialogue of the Saviour,[31] a badly damaged Gnostic text discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. Yes, Mary Magdalene is ONE of those three followers at all events leading to Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection . [267] Because of Mary Magdalene's position as an apostle, though not one of those who became official witnesses to the resurrection, the Catholic Church honored her by reciting the Gloria on her feast day the only female saint so honored apart from Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the Gospel of Philip's text she is described as Jesus' companion, as the disciple Jesus loved the most and the one Jesus kissed on the mouth,[3] which has led some people to conclude that she and Jesus were in a relationship. [211] A massive number of Baroque paintings and sculptures depict the penitent Magdalene,[211][214] often showing her naked or partially naked, with a strong emphasis on her erotic beauty. [185] The wife dies in childbirth and the governor leaves her on an island with the still-living infant at her breast. [257] The Gospel reading in the Tridentine Mass was Luke 7:3650[258] (the sinful woman anointing the feet of Jesus), while in the present version of the Roman Rite of Mass it is John 20:12, 1118[259] (meeting of Mary Magdalene with Jesus after his resurrection). [178], In western Europe, elaborate and conflicting legends began to develop, which said that Mary Magdalene had travelled to southern France and died there. [67], According to Matthew 28:110, Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" went to the tomb. [157] Augustine of Hippo (354 430) entertained the possibility that Mary of Bethany and the unnamed sinner from Luke might be the same person,[159] but did not associate Mary Magdalene with either of them. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness. After sharing that information, you can ask: What stuck out to you about Mary Magdalene's depiction in The Chosen? Surely the savior knows her well. Bible movies & shows like The Chosen provide us with fresh eyes to see the significance of the Bible and the beauty of the Gospel. She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. [216] They were usually located away in wild areas away from the rest of the property[217] and their exteriors were designed to suggest vulnerability.[217]. "[104] Simon Peter, annoyed at Mary's dominance of the conversation, tells Jesus, "My master, we cannot endure this woman who gets in our way and does not let any of us speak, though she talks all the time. [10] The text is not attributed to her and its author is anonymous. 1. [47] Luke 23:55 mentions "the women who had followed him from Galilee", but does not list any of their names. "[104] Jesus assures her, "Any of those filled with the spirit of light will come forward to interpret what I say: no one will be able to oppose them."[104]. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was raped. They are the first to hear 'He is not here. If the savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? [133][136][135][137] Epiphanius says that the Greater Questions of Mary contained an episode in which, during a post-resurrection appearance, Jesus took Mary to the top of a mountain, where he pulled a woman out of his side and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. I found that my youth struggled to sort out the different characters, so you might want to do a quick slide show of the key characters using the character images I've included throughout this post. [183], The most famous account of Mary Magdalene's legendary life comes from The Golden Legend, a collection of medieval saints stories compiled in around the year 1260 by the Italian writer and Dominican friar Jacobus de Voragine (c. 1230 1298). [223] According to historian Michael Haag, these changes were a quiet admission from the Vatican that the Church's previous teaching of Mary Magdalene as a repentant whore had been wrong. [249], Noli me tangere (c. 1440-1442), fresco by Fra Angelico, Mary Magdalene Reading (c. 15001510) by Piero di Cosimo, Mary Magdalene (early 1500s) by Ambrosius Benson, Magdalena Penitente (early 1500s) by Giampietrino, Mary Magdalene (1615) by Juan Bautista Mano, Penitent Magdalene (c. 15761578) by El Greco, Mary Magdalene (16151616 or 16201625) by Artemisia Gentileschi, St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (c. 16191620) by Peter Paul Rubens, Magdalene with the Smoking Flame (c. 1640) by Georges de La Tour, Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene (between 1640 and 1650) by Pietro da Cortona, The Magdalene (before 1792) by George Romney, Mary Magdalene (18581860) by Frederick Sandys, Sarah Bernhardt as Maria Magdalena (1887) by Alfred Stevens, Christ and Mary Magdalene (1890) by Albert Edelfelt in a Finnish locale, The Eastern Orthodox Church has never identified Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany or the "sinful woman" who anoints Jesus in Luke 7:3650[254] and has always taught that Mary was a virtuous woman her entire life, even before her conversion. All the four gospels identified her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women which includes Jesus' mother, as the first to witness the empty tomb,[1] and, either alone or as a member of a group, as the first to witness Jesus' resurrection.[2]. [274] The Mass and Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) remain the same as they were, except that a specific preface was added to the Mass to refer to her explicitly as the "Apostle to the Apostles". The movie, which came out in the U.K. on March 16, tells the story of Mary Magdalene (Rooney Mara), detailing her fraught existence in Magdala as a single woman determined not to marry, before she . [215] Estates of nobles and royalty in southern Germany were equipped with so-called "Magdalene cells", small, modest hermitages that functioned as both chapels and dwellings, where the nobility could retreat to find religious solace. [122] In addition to this Coptic translation, two brief third-century fragments of the gospel in the original Greek (P. Rylands 463 and P. Oxyrhynchus 3525) have also been discovered, which were published in 1938 and 1983 respectively.[121][119]. [94] He does conclude later, however, that Mary Magdalene must have been one of the people who had an experience in which she thought she saw the risen Jesus,[95] citing her prominence in the gospel resurrection narratives and her absence everywhere else in the gospels as evidence.[95]. Rather, let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us truly human. ", "Patricia Kasten, "A great saint with a big case of mistaken identity". [168] Starting in around the eighth century, Christian sources record mention of a church in Magdala purported to have been built on the site of Mary Magdalene's house, where Jesus exorcized her of the seven demons. [67][68][69] Instead, the women ran away and told no one, because they were too afraid. The first part of the gospel deals with Jesus' parting words to his followers after a post-resurrection appearance. 1065/701132).[178]. The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. [1][148][150] As early as the third century, the Church Father Tertullian (c. 160 225) references the touch of "the woman which was a sinner" in effort to prove that Jesus "was not a phantom, but really a solid body. [185][186] The governor and his wife sail for Rome to meet the apostle Peter in person,[185] but their ship is struck by a storm, which causes the wife to go into labor. I am glad and blythe that St Jerome should say so". Why do you think the creators added them? These teachings are strange ideas. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. [281] The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America honors Mary Magdalene on July 22 as an Apostle, albeit as a Lesser Festival. TV Shows. [16][19][20] Mary was, by far, the most common Jewish given name for girls and women during the first century,[16][c][21] so it was necessary for the authors of the gospels to call her Magdalene in order to distinguish her from the other women named Mary who followed Jesus. Mary's mention in saying 114, however, has generated considerable controversy:[109]. "[156] Ambrose (c. 340 397), by contrast, not only rejected the conflation of Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anointing sinner,[157] but even proposed that the authentic Mary Magdalene herself was, in fact, two separate people:[157][158] one woman named Mary Magdalene who discovered the empty tomb and a different Mary Magdalene who saw the risen Christ. After Jesus heals her evil spirit, she resumes calling herself "Mary," her birth name . [86] This "very forced" ending contradicts the last verse of the original gospel, stating that the women "told no one". [282] Presbyterians honor her as the "apostle to the apostles"[283] and, in the book Methodist Theology, Kenneth Wilson describes her as, "in effect", one of the "first missionaries". Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. [104] Of the 64 questions, 39 are presented by a woman who is referred to as Mary or Mary Magdalene. [114][115][f] This tradition is still practiced in many Christian congregations today and is known as the "kiss of peace". '[269] They are the first to embrace his feet. In subsequent religious legend, Mary's story became conflated with that of Mary of Egypt, a repentant prostitute who then lived as a hermit. Enough said.). [276], Modern Protestants honor her as a disciple and friend of Jesus. Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? [296], Her left hand relic is kept in the Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). The Bible never mentions "the Red Quarter." [161] The notion of Mary Magdalene specifically being a former prostitute or loose woman dates to a narrative in an influential homily by Pope Gregory I ("Gregory the Great") in around 591,[153][162][149] in which he not only identifies Magdalene with the anonymous sinner with the perfume in Luke's gospel and with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus,[149] but also, for the first time, explicitly identifies her sins as ones of a sexual nature:[149]. [207] Luther, whose views on sexuality were much more liberal than those of his fellow reformers,[208] reportedly once joked to a group of friends that "even pious Christ himself" had committed adultery three times: once with Mary Magdalene, once with the Samaritan woman at the well, and once with the adulteress he had let off so easily. [136][137] Then, upon ejaculating, Jesus drank his own semen and told Mary, "Thus we must do, that we may live. I also suggest setting expectations for the first episode. The specific demon is not named in Scripture. [55] Maurice Casey concurs that the presence of Mary Magdalene and the other women at the crucifixion of Jesus may be recorded as an historical fact. [203], In the middle of the fourteenth century, a Dominican friar wrote a biography of Mary Magdalene in which he described her brutally mutilating herself after giving up prostitution,[197] clawing at her legs until they bled, tearing out clumps of her hair, and beating her face with her fists and her breasts with stones. Now I see you arguing against this woman like an adversary. [277] Anglican Christians refer to her as a saint and may follow her example of repentance;[278][279] While some interpret the Thirty-Nine Articles as forbidding them to call upon her for intercession,[280] other Anglicans, citing the Episcopal burial service, say they can ask the saint to pray for them. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field.' Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. There are a few Bible passages that I thought were helpful to discuss the first episode of The Chosen. [44], That women played such an active and important role in Jesus' ministry was not entirely radical or even unique;[39][41] inscriptions from a synagogue in Aphrodisias in Asia Minor from around the same time period reveal that many of the major donors to the synagogue were women. [107] In saying 21, Mary herself asks Jesus the perfectly innocuous question, "Whom are your disciples like? [107] Many of these sayings are similar to ones in the canonical gospels,[108] but others are completely unlike anything found in the New Testament. [67][69][77] Casey argues that the reason for this abrupt ending may be because the Gospel of Mark is an unfinished first draft.