Bible Study: Mary
Another Newman Bible study I wrote.
Biblical Data:
Luke 1:41-48 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
Discussion: Sometimes Protestants will point to v47 to show that Mary was a sinner in need of a savior, which is contrary to Catholic teaching that Mary, from the moment of conception, had no sin. Have you heard a non-Catholic say this before? How did you react? Are they right? No. Mary needed a savior to save her from contracting Original Sin in the first place. This is called pre-emptive grace. So Mary had no sin, but God still needed to save her. They are not contradictory. Are there any other passages that demonstrate Mary’s sinlessness?
Biblical Data:
Genesis 3:14-15 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
Discussion: Who is the woman in this passage? It is Mary (See Rev 12:1-6, 13-17, Jn 19:26-27). Under whose rule is the woman under? God or Satan? If Mary was a sinner, there would be no enmity between her and Satan. Satan is the god of worldliness, father of lies, etc. (see 2 Cor 4:4, Jn 8:44-47). There can only be enmity between Satan and those who do not sin. So Mary had no sin.
Biblical Data:
Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Ephesians 1:3-8 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us.
Old Words:
Kecharitomene: Used in Luke 1:28 to describe Mary as a favored one. Also used in Ephesians 1:6 to describe the free grace that gives us adoption, redemption, and the forgiveness of sins.
Discussion: There are two important points in this passage concerning the doctrines of Mary. First, does what the angel say to Mary sound familiar? Yes, it is the beginnings of the Hail Mary prayer. So much of the Hail Mary is explicitly biblical. When we recite the Hail Mary, or even the rosary more generally, all we are doing is recalling scripture. How does the angel greet Mary? “Hail, O favored one!” Is this a mere greeting? No. While in our english prayer, we say “full of grace”, the meaning is the same in greek. The word used is “kecharitomene” which means to be full of grace. But not just any grace. A salvific grace, as seen in Ephesians 1. So the angel recognizes that Mary was already saved before the death, birth, or even conception of Jesus. This is why Catholics say she had a preemptive grace. How does Mary respond to the news that she will get pregnant? She wants to know how this is possible since she is a virgin (v34). The implications are big. We know that Mary was married because Joseph considered divorcing her (Mt 1:19) So, Mary wants to know how she will get pregnant even though she was a married virgin. This implies that Mary intended to stay a virgin throughout her marriage. Further, when Jesus gives Mary over to John at the crucifixion, this also implies that Mary had no other children to take care of her (John 19:26). What kind of question was Mary’s? Was it to doubt God’s plan or to understand God’s plan? Compare to Zechariah’s question (Luke 1:11-20). Zechariah doubted God’s plan, while Mary only wanted to better understand God’s plan (Luke 1:45).
What Does The Bible Say About: Mary
Biblical Data:
Luke 1:41-48 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
Discussion: Sometimes Protestants will point to v47 to show that Mary was a sinner in need of a savior, which is contrary to Catholic teaching that Mary, from the moment of conception, had no sin. Have you heard a non-Catholic say this before? How did you react? Are they right? No. Mary needed a savior to save her from contracting Original Sin in the first place. This is called pre-emptive grace. So Mary had no sin, but God still needed to save her. They are not contradictory. Are there any other passages that demonstrate Mary’s sinlessness?
Biblical Data:
Genesis 3:14-15 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
Discussion: Who is the woman in this passage? It is Mary (See Rev 12:1-6, 13-17, Jn 19:26-27). Under whose rule is the woman under? God or Satan? If Mary was a sinner, there would be no enmity between her and Satan. Satan is the god of worldliness, father of lies, etc. (see 2 Cor 4:4, Jn 8:44-47). There can only be enmity between Satan and those who do not sin. So Mary had no sin.
Biblical Data:
Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Ephesians 1:3-8 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us.
Old Words:
Kecharitomene: Used in Luke 1:28 to describe Mary as a favored one. Also used in Ephesians 1:6 to describe the free grace that gives us adoption, redemption, and the forgiveness of sins.
Discussion: There are two important points in this passage concerning the doctrines of Mary. First, does what the angel say to Mary sound familiar? Yes, it is the beginnings of the Hail Mary prayer. So much of the Hail Mary is explicitly biblical. When we recite the Hail Mary, or even the rosary more generally, all we are doing is recalling scripture. How does the angel greet Mary? “Hail, O favored one!” Is this a mere greeting? No. While in our english prayer, we say “full of grace”, the meaning is the same in greek. The word used is “kecharitomene” which means to be full of grace. But not just any grace. A salvific grace, as seen in Ephesians 1. So the angel recognizes that Mary was already saved before the death, birth, or even conception of Jesus. This is why Catholics say she had a preemptive grace. How does Mary respond to the news that she will get pregnant? She wants to know how this is possible since she is a virgin (v34). The implications are big. We know that Mary was married because Joseph considered divorcing her (Mt 1:19) So, Mary wants to know how she will get pregnant even though she was a married virgin. This implies that Mary intended to stay a virgin throughout her marriage. Further, when Jesus gives Mary over to John at the crucifixion, this also implies that Mary had no other children to take care of her (John 19:26). What kind of question was Mary’s? Was it to doubt God’s plan or to understand God’s plan? Compare to Zechariah’s question (Luke 1:11-20). Zechariah doubted God’s plan, while Mary only wanted to better understand God’s plan (Luke 1:45).
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