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**Mary the Consoler – The Gospel of Mary, Chapter 4–5**
*Welcome to Pleroma Pathways apocalyptic and mystic Christianity where we explore esoteric and apocalyptic texts.*
The Gospel of Mary, a powerful text from the Nag Hammadi library, places Mary Magdalene in a role of spiritual leadership and strength rarely seen in canonical texts. In Chapters 4 and 5, we encounter a profound moment where Mary rises to console and inspire the other disciples after the departure of the Savior. This passage reveals both the inward dimension of the Kingdom and the spiritual maturity to which the disciples are called.
> **(4.33)** “When the Blessed One had said this, He greeted them all, saying, *Peace be with you. Receive my peace unto yourselves.*”
The Gospel opens with the risen Savior offering peace—an inner tranquility not dependent on external circumstances, but an abiding presence. This peace is meant to be received inwardly, indicating a spiritual condition, not merely an absence of conflict.
> **(4.34)** “*Beware that no one lead you astray saying ‘Lo here!’ or ‘Lo there!’ For the Son of Man is within you.*”
This declaration affirms a core Gnostic teaching: that salvation and divine presence are found within. The “Son of Man” is not merely a future eschatological figure, but a spiritual identity imprinted in the faithful. It recalls Luke 17:21: “The Kingdom of God is within you.” Here, Jesus warns against external authorities who claim exclusive access to truth. The inward journey is emphasized.
> **(4.35–36)** “*Follow after Him! Those who seek Him will find Him.*”
This is both a call to discipleship and to inner awakening. To "follow" Him means to walk the same path, to seek Him not in a geographic or physical sense, but within the self—where He already dwells.
> **(4.37–38)** “*Go then and preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it.*”
This radical instruction discourages legalism. Jesus separates Himself from the image of the lawgiver. His message is not about imposing new structures, but awakening to inner freedom. This is echoed in Paul’s statement, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial” (1 Cor. 6:12). The disciples are warned not to create burdens where there are none, but to stay close to the simplicity of His gospel.
> **(4.39)** “*When He said this, He departed.*”
His physical departure marks the moment when spiritual maturity must take root in the disciples. The absence of the Savior becomes the test of inner transformation.
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### **Mary the Consoler (Chapter 5)**
> **(5.1)** “*But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, ‘How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?’*”
This moment of fear and grief is deeply human. The disciples feel the weight of their calling and the threat of rejection. Their anguish reflects the cost of following the Son of Man, and their uncertainty is understandable. This fear, however, is precisely the moment in which Mary steps forward—not just as a disciple, but as a leader and spiritual equal.
> **(5.2–3)** “*Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, ‘Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men.’*”
Mary acts as the true consoler. Like Jesus before her, she greets the disciples with peace, reassurance, and strength. She reminds them of grace, divine protection, and the greatness of the Savior—not in distant theological abstractions but in personal transformation.
> **“For He has prepared us and made us into Men.”**
This phrase, powerful in both Greek and Coptic, uses the generic term "Men" not in the gendered sense but to signify “true Human beings.” This parallels the Gospel of Mary’s vision of full personhood realized in Christ. The Gospel of Thomas makes a related statement about becoming “male,” which there implies becoming spiritual and whole. In contrast, the Gospel of Mary uses “Man” to refer to a restored humanity—both male and female disciples are made “Men,” meaning *Anthropos*, the universal Human.
This also sheds light on Jesus' words in Chapter 4:
> **“For the Son of Man is within you.”**
The Son of Man, the archetypal Human, is not an external Savior to be watched for “here or there,” but a new form of being growing from within. Mary’s consoling words reveal that Jesus has made the disciples into reflections of that Son of Man—they now carry the image and vocation of the true Human.
> **(5.4)** “*When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior.*”
Mary's leadership brings the disciples back to their center. She does not dominate or replace the teaching of the Savior, but calls them to remember and interpret His words. In doing so, she reflects the feminine aspect of Wisdom (Sophia) found in texts such as the *Gospel of Philip*, where Wisdom is said to be “barren” and a “pillar of salt” when misunderstood, yet fruitful when she gives birth through the Holy Spirit.
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### **Conclusion: Mary as Sophia-Wisdom**
In this passage, Mary Magdalene is not just a witness but a guide. She embodies the Spirit of Wisdom—the Consoler, the Advocate—reminding the disciples of who they are and what they carry within. She functions as a spiritual counterpart to the Logos, the Word, echoing the role of Sophia who dwells in silence with the Father in texts like *The Valentinian Exposition*:
> “He dwells alone in silence, and silence is tranquility... His Pair is Silence… And he possessed the All dwelling within him.”
Mary, through her silence and then her word, awakens the disciples to their true selves. This is no mere emotional comfort—it is initiation. She is a model of Gnostic insight and courage, and her role affirms that the Son of Man, the image of the true Human, is within all who follow after Him.
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Chapter 5
1) But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?
2) Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you.
3) But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men.
4) When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior.
1) But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?
Mary now assumes the main position she acts just as the Messiah did before her embracing the Apostles and encouraging them.
2) Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you.
3) But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men.
for He has prepared us and made us into Men
for he has prepared us and made us true Human beings
Men like the English both Greek and Coptic words have a term "man" which can indicate either a male individual or humanity a a whole and a term "male" which can only refer to masculine-gendered person. In the Gospel of Thomas the "term" is male in the Gospel of Mary it is "man" since in the the Gospel of Mary both men and women disciples are made "men" the intent is generic (human beings )
This should be understood in light of Jesus's words that For the Son of Man is within you. his saving work allows us to follow after him the way to the true human existence and to find within ourselves the son of man as our own new self
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