the mother of Jesus, and wife of Joseph. She is called by the Jews
the daughter of Eli; and by the early Christian writers, the daughter of
Joakim and Anna: but Joakim and Eliakim are sometimes interchanged, 2
Chron. xxxvi, 4; and Eli, or Heli, is therefore the abridgment of
Eliakim, Luke iii, 23. She was of the royal race of David, as was also
Joseph her husband; and she was also cousin to Elizabeth, the wife of
Zacharias the priest, Luke i, 5, 36. Mary being espoused to Joseph, the
Angel Gabriel appeared to her, to announce to her that she should be the
mother of the Messiah, Luke i, 26, 27, &c. To confirm his message, and
to show that nothing is impossible to God, he added that her cousin
Elizabeth, who was old, and had been hitherto barren, was then in the
sixth month of her pregnancy. Mary answered, Behold the handmaid of the
Lord, be it unto me according to thy word;” and presently she conceived.
She set out for Hebron, a city in the mountains of Judah, to visit her
cousin Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth heard the voice of Mary, her
child, John the Baptist, leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the
Holy Ghost, and spake with a loud voice, saying, Blessed art thou among
women,” &c. Then Mary praised God, saying, My soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,” &c. Mary continued
with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her own house.
An edict of Cæsar Augustus having decreed, that all subjects of the
empire should go to their own cities, to register their names according
to their families, Joseph and Mary, who were both of the lineage of
David, went to Bethlehem, from whence sprung their family. But while
they were here, the time being fulfilled in which Mary was to be
delivered, she brought forth her first-born son. She wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in the manger of the stable or cavern
whither they had retired, because there was no room in the inn. Angels
made this event known to shepherds, who were in the fields near
Bethlehem, and these came in the night to Joseph and Mary, and saw the
child lying in the manger, and paid him their adoration. The
presentation of Christ in the temple, the flight into Egypt, the
slaughter of the innocents, and other events connected with the birth
and infancy of our Lord, are plainly related in the Gospels.
Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem to the passover; and when
Jesus was twelve years of age, they took him with them. When they were
returning, the youth continued at Jerusalem, without their perceiving
it. Three days after, they found him in the temple, sitting among the
doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. Afterward, he returned
with them to Nazareth, and lived in filial submission to them. But his
mother laid up all these things in her heart, Luke ii, 51, &c. The
Gospel speaks nothing more of the Virgin Mary till the marriage at Cana
of Galilee, at which she was present with her son Jesus. She was at
Jerusalem at the last passover our Saviour celebrated there. There she
saw all that was transacted; followed him to Calvary; and stood at the
foot of his cross with an admirable constancy and courage. Jesus seeing
his mother, and his beloved disciple near, he said to his mother, Woman,
behold thy son; and to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that
hour the disciple took her home to his own house.” No farther
particulars of this favoured woman are mentioned, except that she was a
witness of Christ’s resurrection. A veil is drawn over her character and
history; as though with the design to reprove that wretched idolatry of
which she was made the subject when Christianity became corrupt and
paganized.
2. MARY, the mother of John Mark, a disciple of the Apostles. She had a
house in Jerusalem, whither, it is thought, the Apostles retired after
the ascension of our Lord, and where they received the Holy Ghost. After
the imprisonment of St. Peter, the faithful assembled in this house, and
were praying there when Peter, delivered by the ministry of an angel,
knocked at the door of the house, Acts xii, 12.
3. MARY, of Cleophas. St. Jerom says, she bore the name of Cleophas,
either because of her father, or for some other reason which cannot now
be known. Others believe, with greater probability, that she was wife of
Cleophas, as our version of the New Testament makes her, by supplying
the word _wife_, John xix, 25, and mother of James the less, and of
Simon, brethren of our Lord. These last mentioned authors take Mary
mother of James, and Mary wife of Cleophas, to be the same person,
Matthew xxvii, 56; Mark xv, 40, 41; Luke xxiv, 10; John xix, 25. St.
John gives her the name of Mary of Cleophas; and the other evangelists,
the name of Mary, mother of James. Cleophas and Alpheus are the same
person; as James, son of Mary, wife of Cleophas, is the same as James,
son of Alpheus. It is thought she was the sister of the Virgin Mary, and
that she was the mother of James the less, of Joses, of Simon, and of
Judas, who in the Gospel are named the brethren of Jesus Christ, Matt.
xiii, 55; xxvii, 56; Mark vi, 3; that is, his cousin-germans. She was an
early believer in Jesus Christ, and attended him on his journeys, to
minister to him. She was present at the last passover, and at the death
of our Saviour she followed him to Calvary; and during his passion she
was with the mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross. She was also
present at his burial; and on the Friday before had, in union with
others, prepared the perfumes to embalm him, Luke xxiii, 56. But going
to his tomb very early on the Sunday morning, with other women, they
there learned from the mouth of an angel, that he was risen; of which
they carried the news to the Apostles, Luke xxiv, 1–5; Matt. xxviii, 9.
By the way, Jesus appeared to them; and they embraced his feet,
worshipping him. This is all we know with certainty concerning Mary, the
wife of Cleophas.
4. MARY, sister of Lazarus, who has been preposterously confounded with
that female sinner spoken of, Luke vii, 37–39. She lived with her
brother and her sister Martha at Bethany; and Jesus Christ, having a
particular affection for this family, often retired to their house with
his disciples. Six days before the passover, after having raised Lazarus
from the dead, he came to Bethany with his disciples, and was invited to
sup with Simon the leper, John xii, 1, &c; Matthew xxvi, 6, &c; Mark
xiv, 3, &c. Martha attended at the table, and Lazarus was one of the
guests. Upon this occasion, Mary, taking a pound of spikenard, which is
the most precious perfume of its kind, poured it upon the head and feet
of Jesus. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the whole house was
filled with the odour of the perfume. Judas Iscariot murmured at this;
but Jesus justified Mary in what she had done, saying, that by this
action she had prevented his embalmment, and in a manner had declared
his death and burial, which were at hand. From this period the
Scriptures make no mention of either Mary or Martha.
5. MARY MAGDALENE, so called, it is probable, from Magdala, a town of
Galilee, of which she was a native, or where she had resided during the
early part of her life. Out of her, St. Luke tells us, Jesus had cast
seven devils, Luke viii, 2. He informs us, also, in the same place, that
Jesus, in company with his Apostles, preached the Gospel from city to
city; and that there were several women with them, whom he had delivered
from evil spirits, and healed of their infirmities; among whom was this
Mary, whom some, without a shadow of proof, have supposed to be the
sinful woman spoken of, Luke vii, 37–39; as others have as erroneously
imagined her to be Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary Magdalene is
mentioned by the evangelists as being one of those women that followed
our Saviour, to minister to him, according to the custom of the Jews.
She attended him in the last journey he made from Galilee to Jerusalem,
and was at the foot of the cross with the holy virgin, John xix, 25;
Mark xv, 47; after which she returned to Jerusalem, to buy and prepare
with others certain perfumes, that she might embalm him after the
Sabbath was over, which was then about to begin. All the Sabbath day she
remained in the city; and the next day, early in the morning, went to
the sepulchre along with Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, Mark
xvi, 1, 2; Luke xxiv, 1, 2. For other particulars respecting her, see
also Matt. xxviii, 1–5; John xx, 11–17. In Dr. Townley’s Essays, there
is one of considerable research on Mary Magdalene; and his conclusion
is, that it is probable that the woman mentioned by St. Luke, and called
in the English translation a sinner,” had formerly been a Heathen; but
whether subsequently a proselyte to Judaism or not, is uncertain; and
that, having been brought to the knowledge of Christian truth, and
having found mercy from the Redeemer, she pressed into Simon’s house,
and gave the strongest proofs of her gratitude and veneration by
anointing the Saviour’s feet, bedewing them with her tears, and wiping
them with the hairs of her head:--that by a wilful and malicious
misrepresentation, the Jews confounded Mary Magdalene with Mary the
mother of Jesus, and represented her as an infamous character:--and
that, from the blasphemous calumny of the Jews, a stigma of infamy has
been affixed to the name of Mary Magdalene, and caused her to be
regarded in the false light of a penitent prostitute. There is no doubt
but that Mary Magdalene, both in character and circumstances, was a
woman of good reputation.
the daughter of Eli; and by the early Christian writers, the daughter of
Joakim and Anna: but Joakim and Eliakim are sometimes interchanged, 2
Chron. xxxvi, 4; and Eli, or Heli, is therefore the abridgment of
Eliakim, Luke iii, 23. She was of the royal race of David, as was also
Joseph her husband; and she was also cousin to Elizabeth, the wife of
Zacharias the priest, Luke i, 5, 36. Mary being espoused to Joseph, the
Angel Gabriel appeared to her, to announce to her that she should be the
mother of the Messiah, Luke i, 26, 27, &c. To confirm his message, and
to show that nothing is impossible to God, he added that her cousin
Elizabeth, who was old, and had been hitherto barren, was then in the
sixth month of her pregnancy. Mary answered, Behold the handmaid of the
Lord, be it unto me according to thy word;” and presently she conceived.
She set out for Hebron, a city in the mountains of Judah, to visit her
cousin Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth heard the voice of Mary, her
child, John the Baptist, leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the
Holy Ghost, and spake with a loud voice, saying, Blessed art thou among
women,” &c. Then Mary praised God, saying, My soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,” &c. Mary continued
with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her own house.
An edict of Cæsar Augustus having decreed, that all subjects of the
empire should go to their own cities, to register their names according
to their families, Joseph and Mary, who were both of the lineage of
David, went to Bethlehem, from whence sprung their family. But while
they were here, the time being fulfilled in which Mary was to be
delivered, she brought forth her first-born son. She wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in the manger of the stable or cavern
whither they had retired, because there was no room in the inn. Angels
made this event known to shepherds, who were in the fields near
Bethlehem, and these came in the night to Joseph and Mary, and saw the
child lying in the manger, and paid him their adoration. The
presentation of Christ in the temple, the flight into Egypt, the
slaughter of the innocents, and other events connected with the birth
and infancy of our Lord, are plainly related in the Gospels.
Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem to the passover; and when
Jesus was twelve years of age, they took him with them. When they were
returning, the youth continued at Jerusalem, without their perceiving
it. Three days after, they found him in the temple, sitting among the
doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. Afterward, he returned
with them to Nazareth, and lived in filial submission to them. But his
mother laid up all these things in her heart, Luke ii, 51, &c. The
Gospel speaks nothing more of the Virgin Mary till the marriage at Cana
of Galilee, at which she was present with her son Jesus. She was at
Jerusalem at the last passover our Saviour celebrated there. There she
saw all that was transacted; followed him to Calvary; and stood at the
foot of his cross with an admirable constancy and courage. Jesus seeing
his mother, and his beloved disciple near, he said to his mother, Woman,
behold thy son; and to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that
hour the disciple took her home to his own house.” No farther
particulars of this favoured woman are mentioned, except that she was a
witness of Christ’s resurrection. A veil is drawn over her character and
history; as though with the design to reprove that wretched idolatry of
which she was made the subject when Christianity became corrupt and
paganized.
2. MARY, the mother of John Mark, a disciple of the Apostles. She had a
house in Jerusalem, whither, it is thought, the Apostles retired after
the ascension of our Lord, and where they received the Holy Ghost. After
the imprisonment of St. Peter, the faithful assembled in this house, and
were praying there when Peter, delivered by the ministry of an angel,
knocked at the door of the house, Acts xii, 12.
3. MARY, of Cleophas. St. Jerom says, she bore the name of Cleophas,
either because of her father, or for some other reason which cannot now
be known. Others believe, with greater probability, that she was wife of
Cleophas, as our version of the New Testament makes her, by supplying
the word _wife_, John xix, 25, and mother of James the less, and of
Simon, brethren of our Lord. These last mentioned authors take Mary
mother of James, and Mary wife of Cleophas, to be the same person,
Matthew xxvii, 56; Mark xv, 40, 41; Luke xxiv, 10; John xix, 25. St.
John gives her the name of Mary of Cleophas; and the other evangelists,
the name of Mary, mother of James. Cleophas and Alpheus are the same
person; as James, son of Mary, wife of Cleophas, is the same as James,
son of Alpheus. It is thought she was the sister of the Virgin Mary, and
that she was the mother of James the less, of Joses, of Simon, and of
Judas, who in the Gospel are named the brethren of Jesus Christ, Matt.
xiii, 55; xxvii, 56; Mark vi, 3; that is, his cousin-germans. She was an
early believer in Jesus Christ, and attended him on his journeys, to
minister to him. She was present at the last passover, and at the death
of our Saviour she followed him to Calvary; and during his passion she
was with the mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross. She was also
present at his burial; and on the Friday before had, in union with
others, prepared the perfumes to embalm him, Luke xxiii, 56. But going
to his tomb very early on the Sunday morning, with other women, they
there learned from the mouth of an angel, that he was risen; of which
they carried the news to the Apostles, Luke xxiv, 1–5; Matt. xxviii, 9.
By the way, Jesus appeared to them; and they embraced his feet,
worshipping him. This is all we know with certainty concerning Mary, the
wife of Cleophas.
4. MARY, sister of Lazarus, who has been preposterously confounded with
that female sinner spoken of, Luke vii, 37–39. She lived with her
brother and her sister Martha at Bethany; and Jesus Christ, having a
particular affection for this family, often retired to their house with
his disciples. Six days before the passover, after having raised Lazarus
from the dead, he came to Bethany with his disciples, and was invited to
sup with Simon the leper, John xii, 1, &c; Matthew xxvi, 6, &c; Mark
xiv, 3, &c. Martha attended at the table, and Lazarus was one of the
guests. Upon this occasion, Mary, taking a pound of spikenard, which is
the most precious perfume of its kind, poured it upon the head and feet
of Jesus. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the whole house was
filled with the odour of the perfume. Judas Iscariot murmured at this;
but Jesus justified Mary in what she had done, saying, that by this
action she had prevented his embalmment, and in a manner had declared
his death and burial, which were at hand. From this period the
Scriptures make no mention of either Mary or Martha.
5. MARY MAGDALENE, so called, it is probable, from Magdala, a town of
Galilee, of which she was a native, or where she had resided during the
early part of her life. Out of her, St. Luke tells us, Jesus had cast
seven devils, Luke viii, 2. He informs us, also, in the same place, that
Jesus, in company with his Apostles, preached the Gospel from city to
city; and that there were several women with them, whom he had delivered
from evil spirits, and healed of their infirmities; among whom was this
Mary, whom some, without a shadow of proof, have supposed to be the
sinful woman spoken of, Luke vii, 37–39; as others have as erroneously
imagined her to be Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary Magdalene is
mentioned by the evangelists as being one of those women that followed
our Saviour, to minister to him, according to the custom of the Jews.
She attended him in the last journey he made from Galilee to Jerusalem,
and was at the foot of the cross with the holy virgin, John xix, 25;
Mark xv, 47; after which she returned to Jerusalem, to buy and prepare
with others certain perfumes, that she might embalm him after the
Sabbath was over, which was then about to begin. All the Sabbath day she
remained in the city; and the next day, early in the morning, went to
the sepulchre along with Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, Mark
xvi, 1, 2; Luke xxiv, 1, 2. For other particulars respecting her, see
also Matt. xxviii, 1–5; John xx, 11–17. In Dr. Townley’s Essays, there
is one of considerable research on Mary Magdalene; and his conclusion
is, that it is probable that the woman mentioned by St. Luke, and called
in the English translation a sinner,” had formerly been a Heathen; but
whether subsequently a proselyte to Judaism or not, is uncertain; and
that, having been brought to the knowledge of Christian truth, and
having found mercy from the Redeemer, she pressed into Simon’s house,
and gave the strongest proofs of her gratitude and veneration by
anointing the Saviour’s feet, bedewing them with her tears, and wiping
them with the hairs of her head:--that by a wilful and malicious
misrepresentation, the Jews confounded Mary Magdalene with Mary the
mother of Jesus, and represented her as an infamous character:--and
that, from the blasphemous calumny of the Jews, a stigma of infamy has
been affixed to the name of Mary Magdalene, and caused her to be
regarded in the false light of a penitent prostitute. There is no doubt
but that Mary Magdalene, both in character and circumstances, was a
woman of good reputation.