Posted on 12/11/2014 2:16:41 PM PST by NYer
In Part 1 (see below) of my defense of the Immaculate Conception, I presented Mary as the “woman” from Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12 who is at enmity with the devil. I would like to turn now to the scriptural evidence that points to Mary as the “Ark of the New Covenant.”
The Ark of the Covenant
Another indication of Mary’s sinlessness can be found in the parallel between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant from the Old Testament:
If that weren’t enough to establish Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant, there is a very interesting word from Luke 1:42 that further confirms this. Notice that when Elizabeth saw Mary for the first time, Elizabeth “exclaimed” with a loud cry. This seems hardly worth noting until you look at the Greek word that Luke decided to use here. ἀναφωνέω (transliterated: anaphōneō), is used only once in the entire New Testament and it’s right here in Luke 1:42. Its presence in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) is likewise sparse, appearing only five times. Why is this important? Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch explain:
[E]very time the expression is used in the Old Testament, it forms part of the stories surrounding the Ark of the Covenant. In particular, it refers to the melodic sounds made by Levitical singers and musicians when they glorify the Lord in song. It thus describes the “exulting” voice of instruments that were played before the Ark as David carried it in procession to Jerusalem (1 Chron 15:28; 16:4-5) and as Solomon transferred the Ark to its final resting place in the Temple (2 Chron 5:13). Alluding to these episodes, Luke connects this same expression with the melodic cry of another Levitical descendant, the aged Elizabeth (Lk 1:5). She too lifts up her voice in liturgical praise, not before the golden chest, but before Mary. (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, “The Gospel of Luke,” pg. 21).
But what does “Mary as Ark” have to do with her sinlessness, her immaculate conception? Don’t forget: the tablets, the manna, and the priestly rod that were contained in the Ark were the holiest of all Jewish relics and represented the very presence of God to the Jewish people. As such, the container or “ark” that held them had to be made of the purest and most perfect materials. The ark itself was considered so holy that no one was allowed to even touch it, lest they die (cf. 2 Samuel 6:7; 1 Chronicles 13:9-10).
Just as the contents of the old covenant ark demanded a perfectly pure container, so does Christ, not as a matter of strict necessity (God could have took on human flesh from any woman) but because His holiness demands and deserves it. By preserving Mary from sin, God has prepared her to be the pure Ark of the New Covenant.
In Part 3, I will examine the salutation of Gabriel and what it means that Mary is “full of grace.”
Pax Christi,
This, the second week of Advent, is quite the Marian celebration. Monday was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Tuesday was the Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego. This Friday is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The heart of the week is the Solemnity. After all, Our Lady of Guadalupe revealed herself to St. Juan Diego as the Immaculate Conception, the woman who crushes the head of the serpent. It is fitting then that we should turn our attention this week to the sinlessness of Mary.
Most people are surprised to find that there is Scriptural evidence that points to Mary as a sinless human being. I would like to provide this evidence. There is really no more fitting tribute to the Immaculate Conception then what the inspired Word itself provides.
Since the evidence is rich and nuanced, a somewhat lengthy presentation of it is in order. As such, I will need to break this up into several parts. This, Part 1, will start in the very beginning with what we see about Mary in the Book of Genesis.
Introduction
First, I must acknowledge that there is no explicit verse that directly settles this issue. At the same time, I don’t think that an explicit verse is necessary to prove that something is scriptural. I think that if a doctrine is implied in Scripture or logically follows from what we find in Scripture, and if there is nothing in Scripture that directly refutes it, then that belief can be considered scriptural.
I think most people agree with me on that point, but it bears repeating, especially when considering the Marian dogmas. When it comes to Catholic beliefs about Mary, people tend to place demands on the evidence they will accept that are more stringent and unyielding than the demands that they place on their own beliefs.
The Devil and the Woman
That said, on to the evidence. The best place to start is at the very beginning, with the words of God to the serpent after it has been exiled from the Garden of Eden:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
This passage is called the Protoevangelium (or “first gospel”) because it is the first time in Scripture where we see the promise of a Savior for mankind. While, literally, the woman in question is Eve, many scholars admit that Mary fulfills this prophecy. After all, it is her seed, Jesus Christ, who will crush the head of the serpent, defeating Satan with His own Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
But, this passage also says something about the woman. It says that God will place “enmity” between her and the serpent. Enmity is a state of animosity and direct opposition. The woman and the serpent are utterly at odds with each other. They are mutual enemies. What’s more, the serpent cannot conquer her, no matter how hard he tries. We see this enmity played out in the Book of Revelation where, again, the woman and the serpent (this time, a full-fledged dragon) are at odds with each other:
“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.” (Revelation 12:13-17)
As much as the devil wants her, he cannot have her. Why? Because the woman has been spared by God. When I see all this play out, I am left to wonder: If the “woman” is in fact Mary, how has enmity been placed between her and Satan? How has Mary been spared by God? Could it be that God preserved her from the stain of original sin? Could it be that she is “the woman” who the devil could not have?
Beyond the plain fact that she is the mother of the offspring that will crush the head of the serpent, further support for identifying Mary with this “woman” is seen in Elizabeth’s words to Mary in Luke 1:42 and Jesus’ own way of addressing Mary in John’s Gospel. I would like to take each one in turn.
In Luke 1:42, Elizabeth addresses Mary with words once spoken to Jael and Judith in the Old Testament. Compare this verse with Judges 5:24 and Judith 13:18:
“… [A]nd she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'” (Luke 1:42)
“Most blessed of women be Ja’el, the wife of Heber the Ken’ite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” (Judges 5:24)
“And Uzziah said to her, ‘O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies.'” (Judith 13:18)
What’s interesting about Jael and Judith is that both women are declared the most blessed above of all women. Why is this? Because in faith and courage they warded off enemy armies hostile to Israel. How did they do this? By literally dealing a mortal blow to the head of the commander of each army. Jael “put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sis’era a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple” (Judges 5:26). Judith, as we have just seen, was guided by the Lord to “strike the head of the leader of our enemies” (Judith 13:18).
Now, Elizabeth is declaring Mary to be “blessed among women.” Yet how can Mary stand in line with Jael and Judith, of whom similar statements were made, unless she too dealt a crushing blow to the enemy? If Mary is the “woman” from Genesis 3:15, then we know exactly how she did this: by bringing forth the offspring that would bruise the head of the serpent.
Jesus’ own words of address to His mother are important here, too. In John’s gospel, Jesus only refers to Mary as “woman.” At the beginning of His ministry (cf. John 2:4), He says to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me?” (or, more literally, “Woman, what is that to me and to thee?” [DRB] or “Woman, what does that have to do with us?” [NAS]). On the Cross, upon the culmination of His saving work, He addresses her again: “Woman, behold, your son!” (John 19:26). In this, interesting parallels emerge between the “woman” who is the mother of Jesus and the “woman” of Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12:
It is easy then, based on this and on Jesus’ clear identity as the “offspring of woman” who will “bruise the head of the serpent” in His destruction of the works of the devil (cf. 1 John 3:8), that Mary is the “woman” from Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12, of whom the sting of death could not take hold and the poison of the serpent could not infect.
In Part 2, I will present Mary as the “Ark of the New Covenant” and explain how this relates to her sinlessness.
Pax Christi,
Two for one, ping!
WELL DONE!
Some of the most tortured logic I have ever read.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
I second your well-done, cloudie!
Well, our God created the entire universe from things NOT YET SEEN! He created this massive universe including mother earth and your very body out of nothing. There was absolutely nothing, until He commanded it to be created. So of course, he can create a baby, without a sperm!!!!!
God created Adam out of DUST!
When will the Catholics realize they only have their "traditions", not THE truth!
I’ve written about the Ark of the New Covenant before and got zinged by an anti-Catholic. Offered it up.
“10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.
MATTHEW 5:10-12
Very sweet constructive analysis, and a pleasure to read, thanks.
Note that when Jesus says “woman, behold your son” from the cross, He was talking about John, not Himself.
Interesting, I think, in the context of Mary as the Ark of the Covenant, per this analysis.
That's not what the Church of Rome means when it refers to the Immaculate Conception.
Very good!
Precisely. The creation out of nothing, with all things in place for the Son of Man to enter in and save by the Cross, is completely consistent with the Holy Spirit conceiving the Son within the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is one of many wonders enjoined upon we creatures who depend in every way, whether we know it or not, on the Creator through Christ Jesus.
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. - Colossians 1
there is really no need to defend the dogma...it is and always will be considered an infallible truth by the Catholic Church which is, of course, the true seat of Christianity...
that, of course has to with the conception of Christ.....The Immaculate Conception refers to the FACT that Mary was conceived , by her parents, without the stain of original sin....
Wrong, as we can just imagines where this hermeneutic would justify as doctrine(that being what is defended), from the Mormonic fantasy of the planet Kolob to Bingo in Heaven to Mary parting the Red Sea, making an axehead float, calling for a 3.=1/2 year drought, and walking on water. Etc.
While explicit support is not necessary for doctrine, as such may be established by the collective weight of precepts and the principal behind them, if not contradicted, yet the absence of anything in Scripture that directly refutes hardly warrants it, or absolves it as being contrary to Scripture.
If Mary was without sin then what exactly was the reason and/or purpose of Jesus? She would have been the perfect sacrifice (just needed one and there’s only been one)since she was born before Jesus. Sorry, but Jesus was the first and only perfect human as there can only be one Savior and everyone else falls short. You can talk about all the dogma you want to, but unless it’s Scripture then it’s not from God.
1 Peter 1:19 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Romans 3:23 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
James 2:10 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
Jeremiah 23:5 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
5 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Isaiah 11:2-5 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.[a]
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist,
and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
Galatians 1:8 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.
2 John 1:10 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
10 If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting;
Read your Bible it’s amazing the freedom that it contains.
Does that mean that we can look forward to the cessation of these pointless, indefensible threads?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.