Matthew 27:55–56

This is the first mention of Mary Magdalene in Matthew. She will play a leading role in the events of the resurrection, but the gospel gives no details about her. Luke is the only gospel to mention her before the crucifixion, with Luke 8:2 stating that she had 7 demons driven out of her, and was now one of the followers of Jesus.[1] In Roman Catholic Churches a tradition developed equating Magdalene with Mary of Bethany, but most scholars do not feel there is textual evidence to support this.

The second Mary mentioned, also generates much debate. She appears twice more in the resurrection narrative at Matthew 27:61 and 28:1. In those later verses she is referred to as "the other Mary." Which James she is the mother of is the centre of the debate. There have been three men affiliated to Jesus named James mentioned so far in Matthew. James the Great, one of Jesus' primary disciples mentioned regularly in Matthew; James, son of Alphaeus, another disciple mentioned at Matthew 10:3; and James, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned at Matthew 13:55. This Mary is clearly not mother to James the Great, his brother is John, not Joses. The version of this verse at Mark 15:40 makes this explicit, noting that this Mary is the mother of James the Less.

If the James being mentioned here is James, the brother of Jesus that implies that the Mary mentioned here is Mary, the mother of Jesus. (Though such an interpretation is rejected by Catholics and others who support the perpetual virginity of Mary, who understand the word "brother" to mean a less direct relationship). Matthew 13:55 mentions that James has a brother named Joses, and the close parallel between these two verses is the primary evidence for this Mary being Jesus' mother. John 19:25 mentions that Jesus' mother was present at the crucifixion, and thus could be being referred to by Matthew in this verse. Mary, James, and Joses (Joseph) were all very common names in the period, and it is thus quite possible that there was another family sharing these same names.[4] The title of "James the Less" indicates that this James was part of Jesus' disciple group, and France considers it unlikely that James, the brother of Jesus, was a member of the group. France also considers it unlikely that the author of Matthew would use such terminology to describe the mother of Jesus, that she would get more prominence than simply being referred to as "the other Mary."[4]

Most scholars and Christian denominations thus do not believe that the Mary in this verse is the mother of Jesus. If this Mary is not mother of James the Great, or James, brother of Jesus, then she may be the mother of James, son of Alphaeus, or this James may be a new person entirely. In most Christian traditions this James is considered to be the James, son of Alphaeus, and he and James the Less are considered the same person. John 19:25 also mentions that Mary of Clopas was present at these events, so this Mary is often believed to be her.[1]

Zebedee is the father of the Apostles James the Great and John, he appeared earlier in the gospel at Matthew 4:21. Zebedee's wife also appears at Matthew 20:20, but also goes unnamed in that verse. At Mark 15:40 the third woman in the list is Salome. Tradition is that Matthew and Mark are referring to the same person, and thus Zebedee's wife is named Salome. It is also possible that the author of Matthew substituted Salome in the list with a figure better known to him.[1] Unlike Mark and Luke, this third woman is dropped from the rest of the resurrection story, and Matthew only has two women go to the tombs. [5] Gundry feels that the replacement of Salome by the wife of Zebedee explains why Matthew dropped "the less" from the mention of James, as the previous James was now clearly distinguished from James the Great.[6]