A Sullied Reputation

 

Has anyone ever tried to tarnish or succeeded in tarnishing your character?

Many years ago, I fell ill and was away from work for a period of time. I was so sick that I could hardly get out of bed but one afternoon I received a visitor. One of the guys from my office had come to check up on me. How nice of him, right?

So, I forced my weakened self out of bed and into the living room where he was seated on a couch. I sat on a single chair. The visit was brief, as he could clearly see that I could barely hold myself upright. After just a few minutes, he left and I went back to bed.

Recovered, I went back out to work, only to hear that this same guy who had come to see me during my illness had told everyone in the office that he had come into my bedroom, stayed for quite some time talking and we eventually kissed. Why?

I confronted him in the lunchroom in front of several co-workers; he had no choice but to fess up and apologize for lying.

Mary Magdalene never got the opportunity to confront Pope Gregory the Great who gave her a sullied reputation. He tarnished her character and besmirched her good name by identifying her as a woman living a sinful lifestyle.

Since the year 591CE, this lie has followed Mary, clung to her character, as generations of Christians have believed the men of God who, over the years, have perpetuated this misidentification of a great apostle of Jesus Christ.

John 8:3 (ISV) reads, “the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery”

Luke 7:37 (AMP) reads, “Now there was a woman in the city who was [known as] a sinner”

With a footnote that defines “sinner” as “an immoral woman or prostitute”

Then 13 verses later, in Luke 8:1-2 (NLT), we read,

“Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons”

This pope, the great Gregory (how ironic), took the liberty to give a name to two unnamed women mentioned in two separate Gospel accounts. By knitting these two sinners together into one, he succeeded in giving Mary Magdalene a sullied reputation. Why?

Perhaps Pope Gregory was emphasizing one’s utter need to repent by creating this picture of repentance and forgiveness of such a sin-filled sinner. His interpretation or manipulation of Mary’s story took root and grew into a redemption arc that is still preached to this day.

Beloved, there is no need to lie to enhance your story or anyone else’s. Maybe the pope’s intentions were good, but his good intentions sullied a good woman’s image for thousands of years. It is 2026, Pope Gregory said what he said in the year 591, calculate that.

Remember, it is the Holy Spirit of God Who interprets the Word of God (ref. John 16:13), so consult Him before you make any pronouncements concerning His Word. Do not take it upon yourself to come up with your own interpretations or manipulate the Word in any way, as this will have far reaching consequences, like enduring years of a sullied reputation, it just might be your own.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “A Sullied Reputation” ©2026 March 24, 2026