Did Mary Magdalene Have Jesus’ Child?

Today’s drawing of Mary Magdalene

I had done a few paintings of Mary Magdalene with a child, inspired by the first time I became interested in Mary Magdalene after reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and The Woman with the Alabaster Jar by Margaret Starbird.

Mary Magdalene and Sarah, 11” x 14”, Oil on canvas board, 2005 by Tanya Torres

Mary Magdalene and Sarah is my first painting of Mary Magdalene. It comes out of reading the book The Woman With the Alabaster Jar. Author Margaret Starbird explores different theories about the biblical Mary Magdalene, among them that Mary Magdalene could have had a daughter by Jesus Christ called Sarah, whom gypsies today adore each year as Saint Sarah the Egyptian in the french town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

There are so many theories at this point about Mary Magdalene’s motherhood. Some say she had a daughter, others say she had a son, others say that they had 2 children. Some autors offer research and connections that seem a possibility, like Margaret Starbird with her theory about Saint Sarah. Others express thoughts received in mental transmissions.

If we only refer to the Bible, then Mary Magdalene is not identified as a mother. If we go by the normal flow of life in Mary Magdalene’s society then she probably was married and had children.

I think the greatest gift Mary Magdalene offers to our modern spirituality is her identity as a woman not confined to being a mother or wife, but as a pursuer of wisdom and spirituality. She accompanies Jesus and is present during the pivotal moments of his life. She inquires and, in some writings, provides answers. While it's uncertain if she bore Jesus' child, we know she loved him.