There appears to be much interest in Mary Magdalene, especially concerning what kind of person she was. Karen King, a professor of religious studies at a leading university makes her case for Mary Magdalene not being a prostitute. Her surmise is that this was a way of denigrating Mary Magdalene's image in the fourth century by the male dominated Christian Church of that day.

But there is a confusion of Mary's in the New Testament. We do have a Mary Magdalene, a sinner. We have Mary, the sister of Martha, who sat at Jesus' feet and listens to him teach. Martha complains about doing all the practical work. Jesus says here in this passage that Mary has made the better choice because it is the things of the spirit that are the most important.
Then there is the unnamed sinner who washes Jesus' feet with expensive oil and weeps as she does so. Jesus says she is more real because she is a sinner repenting and showing more love to him than is his host, Simon the Pharisee, because Simon does not do these feeling things with Jesus.

So which Mary is the prostitute and repentant sinner? read more...