I hope everyone is
having a great Holy Week so far. I’m amazed at the depth of faith and love our
people are showing for one another.
Much has been said about the deity of Mary, the mother of
Jesus. What is the truth of all of this?
Mary was the mother of Jesus, a virgin when she bore the
son of God who would take away the sins of the world. I have respect for Mary
for her obedience to God in spite of what the religious people of the time
would think towards her. Out of all the disciples, only she, John, Mary
Magdalene, and other women remained faithful to Jesus at the time of his death.
This is the Mary that I know, respect and honor.
However, to me, the deity of Mary as a sinless, present
intercessor, raised to the highest honor equal to Jesus, virgin till death as
pictured in the rosary where you would repeat her “qualities and authority” is still
questionable. The Mary that I honor is a woman who was steadfast in her faith
to God, a good mother, and a faithful endurer of all that Jesus, her beloved
son, had to suffer. But she is a woman of God, not a deity.
Who is the Mary that is being worshiped today? Is she the
Mary of the Bible?
The rosary tells us Mary
is:
1.
Sinless
In the Magnificat, the song of
Mary when the angel of the Lord told her she was going to be with child, Mary
glorified the Lord as her Savior (Matthew 1:47).
She was basically confessing her
need for a Savior.
Jesus on the other hand was
clearly sinless from the beginning. The angel of the Lord said to Mary. “The Holy Spirit
will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the
holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Matthew
1:35)
2.
Ascended
to Heaven
No accounts (in the Bible) were written that
Mary ascended to heaven and did not experience death.
Luke 24:50-53 takes account of
Jesus’ ascension. “When he led them out to the
vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was
blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven...”
3.
The
Mother of the Church
“And he (Jesus)
is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the
firstborn among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
(Colossians 1:18)
Jesus was man but he is a higher
being. He is a deity. He was, or rather, is the beginning. The position of head
of the church was assigned to him.
“All things have been committed to me by my Father.”
(Matthew 11:27)
Jesus said when he was
crucified, “John behold your mother, woman behold your son.” Jesus was telling
John to take care of his mother since he was leaving. He did not give the
church to Mary for He entrusted that task to his disciples—Simon Peter, John,
and the rest—all of whom were recorded to have died.
“Jesus said (to Peter), ‘Feed my sheep.’
(John 21:17)
Jesus to his disciples: “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
“While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and
brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Your
mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’
He replied to him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ Pointing
to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’” (Matthew 12:46-50)
The Lord was saying that women
who do the will of God will be his sister and mother in honor. I think he was referring not blood honor but the honor of being known by Jesus.
4.
Virgin
till death
The Bible is clear that after
Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had other sons, that Jesus referred to as his
brothers (Matthew 1:25).
5.
Mediator/Intercessor
“For there is one God and one mediator between God
and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5)
“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
“All things have been committed
to me by my Father...no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew
11:27)
Jesus’ assignment (aside from saving us) was to show the Father. Why would he be tasked to show the mother
if His assignment was to reveal the Father?
Although, Jesus did reveal another
person as an intercessor. It was the Holy Spirit.
“In the same way, the
Spirit helps us our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26)
The Holy Spirit is with us in
our intercession. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray.
Point two, Jesus Himself lives
to intercede for us. Will The Son not be heard because of His closeness to the
Father? Did not Jesus say that everything has already been given to Him? Should
we not ask Him a portion of this everything? Will Jesus’ prayers to God as the son of God who was so close to
God come out void so we have to pray to another to be heard? J
“Therefore he is able
to save completely those who come to God through him, because he
always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
Our intercessor is Jesus and the
Holy Spirit.
My first point is Mary is a woman to be respected. She is
a woman of faith. She is a woman of God. But she is not to be pictured in the
regard – of her ascension, rulership at the throne, intercession, blamelessness,
righteousness and perfection – that were clear representations for Jesus
Christ, especially when not everything is true for Mary.
Everything you loved about “Mary” are clear representations of Jesus
Christ.
Second point. Mary’s, Jesus’ and the disciples’
assignments from God were very distinct. Mary was to be the mother of the
Savior, someone who will take care of the child as he is growing up, probably
teach him, and love him as her very own son. Jesus’ assignment was to be the Savior,
the substitute, the living Christ (Messiah) of the world. The disciples’
assignment was to bring the good news of Jesus Christ and to feed the Church.
God had used each of the three
mightily and in no way do we dishonor anyone for the contribution that was
assigned to them. All of them in spite of their limitations (except for Jesus)
fulfilled their task.
For me, Mary is not to be the source of
all of these worship. The person I read about in the rosary is not the real
Mary of the Bible. We could have been worshiping something else – our idea and picture of a
holy mother in Mary.
Were
they not all, including Mary, justified and sanctified by faith in God? Should not the glory go to God who gave them the faith and obedience to begin with?
Were they not all made holy
because of their faith?
Let us continue to enjoy this
Holy Week! Amazing! I am blessed by the commemoration this Holy Week brings.
God bless you all! J
A song about Mary's life that I heard in church before
Faith Hill: A Baby Changes Everything
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