LECTURE XII. MARY MAGDALENE, THE RESTORED LUNATIC. THE HE most famous woman of the New Testament, the mother of Jesus alone excepted, was Mary Magdalene. Her early home was at Magdala, a little village on the western shore of the Lake of Tiberias. She was called Magdalene (derived from the name of her residence) to distinguish her from the other Marys -Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Mary the mother of Mark, Mary the sister of Martha, and so forth, as Mary was a very common name in those days. She was a wonderful woman, enduring many afflictions, and blessed with peculiar privileges. In this lecture I propose to do three things: (1) Vindicate her name from the opprobrium that has been placed upon it; (2) show what was the true character of her affliction; and (3) speak of her devotion to the Saviour who did so much for her. Her name has come down to us laden with infamy. She has been almost universally regarded as a reclaimed courtesan. The very word Magdalen is used with reference to abandoned women, and Worcester defines "Magdalen" to be "the inmate of a female penitentiary." And yet there is not one word in the Bible that in |