New Testament letter composed under the guise of a presumably lost letter of the Apostle Paul, the Epistle to the Laodiceans. The books of the New Testament were all or nearly all written by Jewish Christians—that is, Jewish disciples of Christ, who lived in the Roman Empire, and under Roman occupation. Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, is frequently thought of as an exception; scholars are divided as to whether Luke was a Gentile or a Hellenistic Jew. A few scholars identify the author of the Gospel of Mark as probably a Gentile, and similarly for
New Testament people named Mary at least two occasions. "Mary and Martha" are mentioned by name in John 11:1–12:8 and in Luke 10:38–41. Three other passages, one each in Matthew, Mark and Luke, refer to an unnamed person identified by some but by no means all authorities as this Mary, or as Mary Magdalene, or both. Roman Catholic tradition in particular identifies the person in Luke with both Mary of Bethany and Saint Mary Magdalene. John describes two visits by Jesus to Mary and Martha. In , Jesus raises Mary's brother Lazarus from death. Mary, Martha and Lazarus already appear to be very close friends