MARY AND THE BIBLE Part 1
The subject of Mary should not even be an issue, but it is a
division in the body of Christ. Many, if not the majority of
Protestants, believe there is excessive or undue devotion to Mary
by Catholics. I would argue that Jesus beat us to it by giving her
special respect and honor.
Many devout saints (canonized by the Catholic Church) dozens,
if not hundreds, have experienced the apparition of Mary to them.
According to accepted principles of typology, Mary is clearly
the "New Eve". Note the following parallel of typology between Eve
and Mary.
Consider the NEW EVE: The first Eve was the 2nd human being
created by God. As Adam's wife she is the mother of the human race.
Genetically we all came from her. Mary is the perfect mother of
Jesus and also the spiritual mother of the human race. I say this
because the master plan of God to redeem and save the human race
was impossible Without Mary.
Jesus is the bridge between humanity and divinity which
required Him to have a human nature. The role of mother Mary was to
nurture, protect and develop to maturity the Son of God, who was
acknowledged to have given up (yielded) His divine nature and
became man, (Phil.2:6-8), and to operate as a human being.
Eve was the biologic mother of the human race. Mary as
the mother of the Savior was the spiritual mother of the human
race. Eve was appeared to by an angel (Satan) and was disobedient.
Mary was appeared to by an angel (Gabriel) and was obedient to God.
God resided in the Arc in the Old Testament. Jesus, son of God,
resided inside Mary's womb both as God and man.
Mary surely was the most perfect human mother possible. After
all, God could create whatever he wanted, could he not? Jesus did
indeed lay aside His divine nature to be that of a man, suffer and
die as a human, for our redemption/salvation.
Jesus had to be dependent upon Mary for His formative years.
She not only provided Him with physical flesh but also enabled his
development of human mind, will and emotions (soul) into a mature
adult.
For Jesus this required motherly love, nurture and protection in
order for Jesus to be fully whole as a human. It is hard to imagine
how God would do tlus with a sinful mother or without a mother at
all. If Jesus was fully human he cherished and loved his mother!
Indeed the Catholic Church has always held Mary to be
conceived without sin. (Immaculate Conception) By the time the
Bible was fully accepted (approx. 400 AD) as canon, i.e. the Holy
Spirit inspired word of God, Mary was already established by
tradition as a"sinless" virgin.
MARY AND THE BIBLE Part 2
According to Rev.Tim Staples* the doctrine of Mary predated the
doctrine of the Trinity in the Church. The Immaculate Conception
was declared as official doctrine of the Catholic Church in 1854
by Pope Pius IX stating:
"The Most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the 1st moment of her
conception, by singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue
of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune
from all stain of original sin."
This doctrine was further confirmed by Mary's final apparition
to Bernadette of Lourdes. After repeated requests by the priest
pastor who wanted to know who she was, Mary finally said "I am the
Immaculate Conception". As I recall this date was 1857 which
confirmed what Pope Pius IX promulgated in 1854.
Bear in mind that since the Marian apparitions, Bernadette was
exhumed, and to this day, remains uncorrupted (in public display
without rot or decay). In the subsequent years since that time,
Lourdes continues to be a source of numerous scientifically
documented miracles. (No valid scientific explanation for healings,
etc.) Surely Bernadette was a saint.
That Mary was singularly (uniquely) created is evident in the
scriptures. "Hail, 0 favored one (endued with grace), the Lord is
with you! Blessed-favored of God-are you before all other women!"
(Amp. Lk.l :28-direct quote) This verse taken from the Amplified
Bible most accurately conveys the original language's meaning.
The Greek word "hail" used here refers to a special greeting
usually reserved for royalty. "Full of grace" is used only for 2
people in the Bible--Jesus and Mary (Jn1:14 & Lk.l :28
respectively) "Blessed are you before all women" clearly singles
out Mary, unique among all women.
It is noteworthy that both the angel and Aunt Elizabeth defer
to this young virgin as being honored and respected above
themselves. In the other appearances of angels in the Bible, the
person receiving the apparition is awestruck and pays respect to
the angel. In this case the angel pays respect and honor (as to a
queen) to Mary.
Elizabeth, the older (to be respected in that culture) says
"who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me". (Lk.1:43)
and the baby-John the Baptist) leapt in Elizabeth's womb at the
presence of Mary, pregnant with Jesus.
*Rev. Tim Staples was raised a Baptist, Ordained an Assembly of God
Minister (was very anti-Catholic) then became a Catholic Apologist and
Bible teacher.
MARY AND THE BIBLE Part 3
Arc of the Covenant: It is noteworthy that Mary clearly
illustrates the fulfillment of the "arc of the covenant"--according
to standards of Biblical typology. In the Old Testament the arc of
the covenant was the powerful and sacred embodiment/abode of God,
no mere man was allowed to even touch the arc.
Mary, in a more perfect way became the temple and embodiment of
Jesus, the Savior of mankind. She obviously was endued with great
power when we realize in the 12th Chapter of Revelation, her role as
mother of Jesus and arch enemy of Satan who tried to kill her and Jesus.
Mary Queen Mother: In the Old Testament the "queen mother" was
established as a position of respect and as an advisor by King
Solomon (the Bible indicates he was, and would be, the wisest of
humans)
The office of Queen Mother has continued in some monarchies
to this day.
Mary is arguably the Queen Mother of the church. In
John 2:3-8, we read that Jesus a grown man, deferred to His (Queen)
mother instead of his own inclinations.
The angel Gabriel referred to her as "royalty", her aunt
Elizabeth addressed her with respect as the "mother of my Lord", and
she takes on the appearance of special position and power.
In the 12th Chapter of Revelation she is the queen with a
crown of 12 stars that gives birth to the Savior of the world and
evades Satan. (Rev. 12:1-5)
Ultimately Mary is the fulfillment of the prophesy found in
Gen. 3: 15(NAB): "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers, he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
There is great historical evidence that Mary is very powerful
in defeating arch-enemy, Satan. The Catholic Church has honored
her as Queen of Heaven because of scripture and the multiple
apparitions.
She is known to wear a crown and crush the head of the
serpent (Satan). Rev. 12:1 & Gen3:15; plus, this appearance was seen
by saints in apparitions. The view of many theologians is that she's
the fulfillment of Queen Mother as was first mentioned in the Old
Testament.
Footnote: The foregoing information is a distillation of the
teachings presented by
Dr. Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, and Jesse
Romero. Dr. Hahn was a Presbyterian Seminary Professor, staunch
anti-Catholic who converted to Catholicism.
Tim Staples was raised an Evangelical Baptist, ordained an
Assembly of God Minister and Bible teacher who likewise converted
from anti-catholicism to become a Catholic evangelist/teacher.
Jesse Romero was a former police officer who heard God's call
and is now teaching Apologetics and the Bible in the Catholic
Church.
For a more comprehensive treatment of the subject of Mary, go
to the web site of
http://www.stjoe.com and you will find more
comprehensive teachings through the tapes and books of these authors
and teachers. Scott Hahn also has a web site found at:
http://www.salvationhistory.com.
