Gospel in Art: Some women were with Him, who provided out of their means

Noli Me Tangere, by Jacob van Oostsanen, 1507. Oil on Panel © Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 September 2025
Luke 8:1-3

At that time: Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

Reflection on the painting

Today's Gospel reading continues directly from yesterday's. After attending the meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee, Jesus sets out again, preaching as He goes from town to town and village to village.

Luke gives us a striking detail about those who travelled with Him: not only the Twelve apostles, but also women such as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others.

This is remarkable, because at the time rabbis generally refused to teach women, and religious authority was an entirely male sphere. That Jesus instructed women as disciples was nothing short of revolutionary at the time. In recording this, Luke affirms the indispensable role of all people (men, women, children, the sick, infirm, etc...) in the earliest Christian community.

Our painting, created in 1507 by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, portrays Mary Magdalene, one of the women named in today's Gospel, at her encounter with the Risen Christ. Depicted as the gardener with spade in hand, Christ gently reaches toward her in the moment He utters the words, "Do not touch me" (noli me tangere), because He has not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). The second half of this verse is carefully inscribed in Latin along the hem of Christ's garment: nondum enim ascendi ad patrem. Mary is shown with her traditional attribute, a small ointment jar. Many Old Master paintings mistakenly show Mary Magdalene with an ointment jar, linking her to the woman who anointed Jesus' feet. But in the Gospels, it was a different Mary (Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus) who poured ointment on Jesus (John 12:1-3). Over time, Western tradition blurred these figures together: the anonymous "sinful woman" of Luke 7, Mary of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene all became merged. This led artists to give Magdalene the jar of ointment as her attribute, even though Scripture itself never identifies her with that act. It's a powerful symbol, but historically inaccurate-a reflection more of medieval devotion than of the Gospel text.

In the background of the painting we see further Resurrection scenes: the women approaching the empty tomb, Christ appearing to the three Marys, and the meeting on the road to Emmaus.

Luke alone gives us this glimpse of the women who journeyed with Jesus. His detail allows us to imagine the earliest Church: a community on the move, proclaiming the Good News from place to place, pulling together whatever resources they had for the sake of their mission. It is a picture of shared discipleship... a community walking side by side in service to Christ.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-8-1-3-2025/