women Mary Magdalene 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. 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. Mary, mother of James 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. 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