Mary Magdalene was the first of Jesus' followers to encounter the resurrected Christ. Magdalene refers to Mary's hometown, Magdala (or Migdal), a fishing town on the western shore of Lake Galilee. The Gospel of Luke first introduces her as one of several women who traveled with Jesus and his disciples and who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases (Luke 8:2).

The Gospels say that Mary Magdalene is one of the women who watched Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; John 19:25). (The Gospel of Luke also mentions a group of women watching the crucifixion in Luke 23:49, but does not name them.) It is likely that if the women were indeed present at his execution, they stayed at a distance, as the Roman government did not allow sympathizers to witness criminal executions. The Gospels also say that the women witnessed Jesus' burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55). Later, Mary brought spices to the tomb, ostensibly to prepare Jesus' body for burial (Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1). Spices were also used to anoint rulers, and if Mary had traveled with him through the latter part of his ministry, she would have been aware of his predictions that he would rise three days after his death (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 9:22, 43-45; 18:31-34). Some scholars speculate that Mary was preparing to anoint the body of the risen Lord. Mary was among the first to realize his body was missing from the tomb, and was the first person to whom the resurrected Christ appeared (Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:1-9; John 20:11-18), yet she lacked authority among the disciples, and when she shared the news of the resurrection with them, they did not believe her (Mark 16:10-11; Luke 24:9-10).

From the fifth century, the historical church has identified Mary as a sinful yet redeemed prostitute, conflating her with the prostitute who washes Jesus' feet and dries them with her hair in Luke 7:36-50, and with two other women who anoint Jesus with precious oil (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). Though many prostitutes lived in Magdala, recent scholarship indicates that it is unlikely that Mary was among them. She is regularly depicted as a penitent, overtly sexual woman in medieval art, yet contemporary scholars agree that she was not a prostitute, but rather was a woman uniquely positioned in Jesus' inner circle of followers. She is sometimes called the apostle to the apostles because she first told the disciples of Jesus' resurrection.

The idea of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute who was redeemed and loved by Jesus has sparked erotic imaginations throughout the centuries. As early as the 12th century, the Catharists believed she was Jesus' mistress, and in the 16th century, Martin Luther held that Jesus and Mary had a sexual relationship. More recently, movies and novels have posited a romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary, including Jesus Christ Superstar, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ, and The Da Vinci Code.