Dr. Jennifer McNutt, author of The Mary We Forgot

BOW Team Member, Sharifa Stevens

Who is the Mary that we forgot? Mary Magdalene. Although she was the first apostle or messenger of the Good News, Dr. Jennifer McNutt says that her story is often confused, scandalized, and undervalued by the church. Don't miss Dr. McNutt's lively conversation with Sharifa Stevens about her book, The Mary We Forgot.

In this podcast, Dr. McNutt helps us see Mary's prominence in the Gospels and how she serves as a model of discipleship for both men and women today instead of being the Mary we forgot.

This episode is also available on video.

Resources:

The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today

Jennifer Powell McNutt

McNuttshell Ministries

Timestamps:

00:21 Introducing Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt

01:56 What compelled you write about Mary Magdalene?

06:42 What do we Protestants tend to forget about Mary Magdalene?

09:06 Who is she according to the biblical account?

19:48 A hermeneutic of surprise

23:38 Her story shows God's power.

27:41 Advice for women called to ministry but limited in opportunity

31:57 Who are the people whom we tend to overlook today?

35:05 Why read the book, The Mary We Forgot?

TranscriptSharifa >> Hi, and welcome to another episode of Beyond Ordinary Women. My name is Sharifa Stevens, and I have the distinct honor of welcoming Dr. McNutt to our program today. Let me tell you a little bit about this scholar Jennifer Powell McNutt is the Franklin S. Dyrness Chair of Biblical and Theological Studies and Professor of Theology and History of Christianity at Wheaton College.

She is an award-winning author, a fellow in the Royal Historical Society and an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian tradition. Dr. McNutt serves as a Parish Associate at her church and regularly speaks at universities, seminaries and churches across the country. She and her husband co-founded McNuttshell Ministries, which is fun to say, which serves as a bridge between the Academy and the church.

They live with their three children in Winfield, Illinois. Dr. McNutt is also the author of a book that we are talking about today, which is called The Mary We Forgot. Go out and get it. Dr. McNutt, it’s an honor to be with you today. Thank you for coming.

Dr. McNutt >> Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to meet you and to get connected with your ministry and the good work that you're doing.

Sharifa >> Thank you. Well, why don't we just dive right into it?

So what compelled you to write The Mary We Forgot? And how did that conviction sustain you through the research and writing and in the process through the years—working and children?

Dr. McNutt >> Yes, I think, it's been a long journey with Mary Magdalene. I talk a little bit about that journey in my book—about going to see Jesus Christ Superstar as a teenager and being super confused. And sort of wondering and I think, you know, because of the fact that in my church, we really did include the women of the Bible.

But with Mary Magdalene, it was so very muddled, very confused about who she was and what she means when she is this first witness at the empty tomb and before the risen Christ on that Easter Sunday.

You know, there's so many questions. I think as a woman who was drawn and called to ministry, I have been, you know, wanting to understand the Gospels and women in the Gospels and how they have contributed to Jesus's ministry. And also in the Pauline epistles as well. I think there are other women that I would go to before I would go to Mary Magdalene.

And a lot of that had to do with kind of the back story that, you know, traveled with her everywhere.

Then, you know, later as a scholar, I worked on the history of the Bible and history of the interpretation of the Bible. And I focused on the Reformation. And it was just so interesting to see how the reformers—both the male refor...