Some Limitations Regarding Mary, the Mother of Jesus
We are of the “all generations” that call Mary “blessed” when we read the New Testament and see how God highly favored her to be the instrument and vessel through which “unto us a child is born,;” in the flesh of that child (1 Tim. 3:16) the Son is given to rule the world in righteousness (Isaiah 9:6 and context). Thank God for a young woman so willing; a woman who by all safe assumption had before men lived unto the Lord, and could be counted with Anna, Simeon and others as one waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem. Mary was an example of yielded-ness unto the Lord God. Though no other person can ever perform a like function, believers are admonished “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. . . If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:19-21)
Mary was an example to every believer in Jesus Christ of one who, naming God, departed from iniquity, had purged herself, and thus was a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for use by God, and prepared unto every good work.
None of those Scriptures, nor any New Testament Scriptures describe Mary, the mother of Jesus as any more sinless than any other believer. Sinlessness (only God is without sin—1 John 1:8) is not a requirement for service, for if that were the case God would have no servants on this earth. Sinlessness was not a prerequisite for Mary’s service, but yieldedness and love. The only One who has ever loved God with all the heart, soul, and mind was the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. That is the Divine standard for love to God, and so all born in Adam, from our youth, sin against God daily in the failure to maintain that standard; absolutely proving the necessity for a Saviour from sin. The person who meets that standard of love for God gets murdered by a world into which light has come, but in which men love darkness rather than light (John ch. 1).
1. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born in Adam (Romans 5:12ff), and was therefore under condemnation. She required a Savior from that condemnation to reconcile her to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). The Holy Spirit tells us nowhere in Scripture that any person born in Adam would be an exception to that law of sin and death (Romans 8:2), or that God would ever make anyone sinless or justify anyone apart from the shedding of blood as an atonement (Hebrews 9:22)..
2. Mary had an issue of blood that required atonement. She knew it. The priests at the temple knew it. Mary required cleansing and a BLOOD atonement—THIS IS THE LAW FOR HER—that bore either a male or a female. The Holy Spirit testifies no exception for any woman until, of course, this was fulfilled in the Blood-shedding of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, ultimately also required for Mary. We may assume that she took these offerings after each subsequent child to whom she gave birth as well.
Luke 2:23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) (24) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Leviticus 12:7 Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. (8) And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
3. Mary had “no understanding” of Whose business Jesus had come to do (Luke 2:50), although Jesus told her (v. 49).
4. The Holy Spirit gives us no record of Mary ever performing any miracles or appearing to anyone in any unusual manner during our Lord’s earthly ministry, although the miracles that Christ performed which benefited the sick, suffering, possessed, dying, and dead could likewise be carried out by His disciples (Matthew 10: Luke 10; and see John 14:12).
5. The Holy Spirit records for us no place whatsoever where the Lord Jesus Christ directly refers to Mary as His mother in conversation with her. It is “Woman.”
6. Mary (Like 1:46-55) was not greater than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28).
7. Mary either never taught the other children in her own household (those she also bore from the same womb), or if she taught, was never able to convince them of the Missiahship of Jesus Christ (John 7:5).
8. Jesus Christ publicly placed all of His genuine disciples, all who would do the will of his Father, on equal standing with His natural mother. In fact, although the Holy Spirit reveals to us no instance where Jesus Christ directly addressed Mary as, “Mother,” he publicly declared His mother to be “these which hear the word of God, and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
9. Mary had limited power to care for her own state, and at His Crucifixion placed her under the care of John, to treat her as his own mother. (John 19:26, 27).
10. The Holy Spirit does not emphasize Mary, the mother of Jesus, in connection to the Resurrection (that is, the event itself) of Christ. Two other Marys were at the tomb, but not Jesus’ mother. The Holy Spirit does not tell us that the Resurrected Christ saw His mother first, but it was another Mary.
11. After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, as to the record of Scripture, Mary never performed any miracles, manifested any signs, nor appeared to anyone in any miraculous way.
12. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is never mentioned in the Acts (of the Apostles) history after Acts chapter One, where she is spoken of as being in prayer with the disciples, but not in any unusual fashion for the disciples as a Mediatrix. Afterward, she is never mentioned by name to the end of the Scripture record.
13. The Holy Spirit, who had overshadowed Mary so that “that holy thing which [was] born of her [is] called the Son of God,” never instructed the Apostle Paul, who wrote half of the books of the New Testament, and who is in a particular calling the Apostle to the Gentiles, to write about Mary, the mother of Jesus, at all.
14. The Holy Spirit instructed no other writer of New Testament Epistles to write about Mary.
As far as the Scriptures of Truth is concerned, these points represent the emphases and the limits of the emphases of the Author of the Scripture, with regard to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Any other emphases one might wish to draw must come from extra-biblical sources; sources of mere mortals. We shall continue on with the emphases of the Bible, the word of God, and reject any other source that changes the Divine Author’s emphases.
Excellent post.
Judaism states that "the desire of women" was that they be the one to bear Messiah, so there were many willing. Every generation hoped for it. That Mary was chosen in the Plan of Salvation before Creation, makes her the elected one.
6. Mary (Like 1:46-55) was not greater than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28).
7. Mary either never taught the other children in her own household (those she also bore from the same womb), or if she taught, was never able to convince them of the Missiahship of Jesus Christ (John 7:5).
8. Jesus Christ publicly placed all of His genuine disciples, all who would do the will of his Father, on equal standing with His natural mother. In fact, although the Holy Spirit reveals to us no instance where Jesus Christ directly addressed Mary as, “Mother,” he publicly declared His mother to be “these which hear the word of God, and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
11. After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, as to the record of Scripture, Mary never performed any miracles, manifested any signs, nor appeared to anyone in any miraculous way.
14. The Holy Spirit instructed no other writer of New Testament Epistles to write about Mary.
As far as the Scriptures of Truth is concerned, these points represent the emphases and the limits of the emphases of the Author of the Scripture, with regard to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Any other emphases one might wish to draw must come from extra-biblical sources; sources of mere mortals. We shall continue on with the emphases of the Bible, the word of God, and reject any other source that changes the Divine Author’s emphases.
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I found your whole post wonderful and Biblical.
The business about John being greater than all others born of women is denied by the Marian dogma. They brazenly disagree with Scripture on that point. And the weaseling around about it is mind boggling.
Thanks. Great, accurate, Biblical post.
Catholics pronounce that and treat it as an adjective..Mary herself " blessed" as if blessed was a unique feature of her spiritually...Actually the meaning is highly favored
In this verse in question it is a verb, not an adjective
Tense:
Perfect meaning it was an act that did not need to be repeated
Voice: Passive...in other words she had no part of the action..it was done to her
All women call her blessed because they would all consider it a blessing to have such an honor