The Thirteenth Disciple: The Life of Mary Magdalene

by Gordon Thomas

"She was the vivacious, high-priced hooker who fell for Jesus. And Jesus love her in return." The Thirteenth Disciple is the first full-length biography for thirteen centuries of the woman who loved Jesus. The closest of Jesus' followers, the name of Mary Magdalene conjures images of a woman both passionate and devoted, both sinner and saint. Speculation, often wild and lurid, about the exact nature of her relationship with Jesus has filled volumes. Detailed research and informed speculation offer a vivid and compelling account of her life. Thomas brings all his writing skill and investigative experience to bear on the gospel narratives, and the archaeology and anthropology of first-century Palestine, in creating this compelling and vivid narrative.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Gordon Thomas (born 1933) is a Welsh author who has written more than fifty books.
Thomas was born in Wales, in a cemetery keeper's cottage where his grandmother lived. He had his first story published at nine years old in a Boy's Own Paper competition. With his father in the RAF, he traveled widely and was educated at the Cairo High School, the Maritz Brothers (in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) and, lastly, at Bedford Modern School. His first book, completed at the age of seventeen, is the story of a British spy in Russia during World War II, titled Descent Into Danger. He refused the offer of a job at a university in order to accompany a traveling fair for a year: he used those experiences for his novel, Bed of Nails. Since then his books have been published worldwide. He has been a foreign correspondent beginning with the Suez Crisis and ending with the first Gulf War. He was a BBC writer/producer for three flagship BBC programmes: Man Alive, Tomorrow's World and Horizon.

He is a regular contributor to Facta, the respected monthly Japanese news magazine, and he lectures widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also provides expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programs.His book Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors became a major documentary for Channel Four that he wrote and narrated: The Spy Machine. It followed three years of research during which he was given unprecedented access to Mossad’s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by Open Media and Israfilm.

Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors has so far been published in 16 languages. A source for this book was Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli intelligence agent, and legendary Israeli spy Rafi Eitan. According to Charles Foster in Contemporary Review: "Writers who know their place are few and far between: fortunately Mr Thomas is one of them. By keeping to his place as a tremendous storyteller without a preacher's pretensions, he has put his book amongst the important chronicles of the state of Israel."

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, not impressed. Author spent more time retelling the Gospels, with a nod to MM thrown in every now and then.

[CsMariann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nagyon gyenge. Mária Magdolnáról kellett volna szólnia, de ebből semmi nem valósult meg. Nem regény, mert nincsenek párbeszédek, sem rendes történetmesélés. Történelmi ismeretterjesztőnek meg sekélyes. Mint egy kicsit bővebb Wikipédia szócikk.
Nagy csalódás. És bosszúság, egyszer még félre is dobtam, csak nagy nehezen vettem rá magam, hogy végigolvassam, hátha... De nem.

[Becky Reed]

A most learned presentation of ideas regarding the importance of Mary Magdalene in the Scriptures, The Thirteenth Disciple, offers an erudite approach to be enjoyed from the comfort of one’s armchair. Gordon Thomas espouses the concept that Mary Magdalene as the thirteenth disciple brings intuition and a depth of spirituality into Christianity that cannot be found within the patriarchal church – both in those times and today. Mary Magdalene represents the ultimate change in status from the wanton who becomes a saint.

Whether she exists in one person or as some believe her to be, an amalgam of unrelated episodes dealing with women in earlier Judaic tradition, the Christ persona treats her with respect and His attitude toward women comes across in accepting them as persons in their own right, to be treated as equals and allowed a place at His side. As the fallen woman, Christ first revealed Himself to her following the crucifixion. This highlighted the importance that repentance came not only from renouncing sin, but by turning to God. Her life serves as a parable of the best of Christian reality.

Thomas brings the characters within the last days of Christ in physical form to life in this most interesting thesis about the role of faith in life, choice, and working toward a future – despite social reluctance to accept the role of women. He fleshes out the presence of Mary Magdalene with astute evaluations derived from knowledge of the time period. With the life span being approximately 40 years, Mary Magdalene must have been a relatively young prostitute. Her complexion would most probably have been olive in color with brown eyes as she came from Galilee. The wealth attributed to her also implies that she must have been attractive to be successful in her work arena. Her personality reveals a woman with a strong will, determination, possessed of considerable insight, and yielding an indomitable faith.

The work reminds us that forgiveness is the ultimate loving and that Mary Magdalene taught the disciples of Christ the meaning of faith. Patriarchy does not have God on its side as evidenced in the New Testament which promulgates salvation though love and redemption. It is clear that this major player of the period has great importance today. Within the Christian faith, women have been subtly denigrated for almost two thousand years. And yet, Christ chose a woman, this woman, whose salvation epitomized the deepest tenets of Christianity. “She provides every woman a chance to liberate herself from the constraints man continues to impose on the feminine role in Christian worship. The woman of Magdala could have asked for no more, or wished for no less.”