Reflections from the Canticle of Mary
It's really sad how born again Christians are termed as Mary haters. I don't hate Mary as the Papists falsely accuse me of. Rather, I hate the wrong doctrines of Mary. I was reading through Matthew and Luke (due to the Christmas season) and decided to meditate upon the Canticle of Mary. The annunciation is a very important event. It would be that time when the eternal Son of God would finally be incarnated in His human form.
I find it stupid that some Roman Catholics use Luke 1:47 to justify Mary's immaculate conception. If she were immaculately conceived - she would have never seen the need for a Savior. She had called herself a maiden of low estate. She would never claim herself to be the Queen of Heaven as the Roman Catholics say she would. Rather, she has shown herself to be what she is - a sinner in the need of a Savior. She would have found herself trembling at the presence of the holy. She would have thought that it's no small feat that the eternal Son of God would be in her womb for nine months. She knew her life would be in danger as she could be falsely accused of adultery. Regardless, she did what any good Christian would do - receive the will of God for her. She saw herself for what she is - a sinner saved by grace. Such a beloved sister in Christ would be so good a mother to model!
What was interesting was that two miraculous births were about to happen. Elizabeth was barren and past childbearing. The birth of John the Baptist would be similar to Isaac's miraculous birth. She was a cousin of Mary with a huge age gap. Mary who may have diligently studied the Scriptures never thought she would fulfill Isaiah 7:14. She probably thought it was too much an honor to become the earthly mother of the Messiah. Yet, she probably forgot that her genealogy can be traced back all the way to David through Nathan. David and Bathsheba later had a son named after the prophet Nathan. Joseph was from the line of Solomon. Joseph couldn't be king due to the curse of Jehoiachin. You can consider the birth of the Messiah was going to undo the curse. Joseph would serve as the foster father of the eternal Son of God in the flesh.
Some say that Mary had to be preserved from original sin for Jesus to be sinless. There's a problem with the argument. Mary was a sinner yet do you know that the original sin is actually from the father? Jesus had no earthly father. Joseph was only His foster father. If you think of the genealogy in Matthew 1 - you will realize it's the genealogy based on legality. Notice that sin came through Adam (Romans 5:12-19). God blamed Adam and not Eve for the whole incident in the garden. Although Eve suffered also from the consequence of sin yet Adam was even held more responsible. It was his responsibility to take care of her. He was already her authority before the fall of man! Jesus is God the Son can simply preserve Himself from sin because He was conceived of the Holy Ghost.
What can be certain is that Mary knew that she was carrying the Son of God. In Luke 2:22-24 (and reference to Leviticus 12:2-4) that every woman who gives birth must offer a sin offering. I still find it so puzzling at how Roman Catholics still insist that it doesn't make Mary a sinner. If Mary were to hear it - she would probably protest and say that she isn't born without sin. The necessity of a sin offering was simple - Mary acknowledged that she came short of God's glory. The very doctrine of Mary's immaculate conception was even argued throughout the centuries - that was until Pope Pius IX supposedly ended the controversy in the name of Papal Infallibility. Although Popes haven't claimed to be perfect yet the doctrine that says they're preserved from doctrinal error has been deadly. Have they become above Scriptures themselves? No one is. Peter who they erroneously claim as the first Pope would never declare himself free from error. Peter, in fact, requested that he would hater be crucified downward - how's that in contrast to the Pope who claims to be the Vicar of Christ?
Mary can be seen fully obedient to God's will. She knew that sorrow will hit - it hit her the hardest at the foot of the cross. But she stood still and silent on the cross as an example of following God's will. I remembered reading "Why I Believe" by the late D. James Kennedy saying Mary could've stopped the crucifixion (legally speaking) but chose not to. It would be Kennedy suggesting that Mary kept silent in tears because she was accepting the will of the Father no matter how painful it was. The late Arthur W. Pink in "The Seven Sayings of the Cross" that she stood still. It was out of great reverence for the Lord knowing her place. She accepted Jesus' polite rebuke at the Wedding in Cana. She soon understood in Luke 2:49 that Jesus had to be in His Father's house. Although she said, "Your father and I have sought thee sorrowing." - Joseph was only a stepfather. Jesus was doing the work of His eternal Father. Mary knew she had work to do which went unrecorded yet she enters as the greatest mother recorded in the Bible.
Mary's humility itself makes her a mother to model. Although I never acknowledge Mary as the mother of humanity - I can still say she's a mother to model. I can't think of Mother's Day without thinking of Mary as the best example of what Christian mothers should be. She's not the proud Madonna that Rome wants to make her out as. Instead, she is a faithful follower of the Word of God. In Cana, John 2:5 has her telling people to do what Jesus tells them to do - that was her only command. By doing so, she affirmed that there's only one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) and that she couldn't mediate between us and her Son. She wanted people to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. She also shows that every Christian mother ought to point others to Christ.
Who can truly magnify God? Only the humble! Mary and her cousin Elizabeth are humble at heart. Mary is a woman who has acknowledged her low estate and she's overwhelmed by God's magnificence. Such is Mary who was blessed among women because of her humility. Follow Mary's example and walk the way she did!
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with His arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. 54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed forever.
I find it stupid that some Roman Catholics use Luke 1:47 to justify Mary's immaculate conception. If she were immaculately conceived - she would have never seen the need for a Savior. She had called herself a maiden of low estate. She would never claim herself to be the Queen of Heaven as the Roman Catholics say she would. Rather, she has shown herself to be what she is - a sinner in the need of a Savior. She would have found herself trembling at the presence of the holy. She would have thought that it's no small feat that the eternal Son of God would be in her womb for nine months. She knew her life would be in danger as she could be falsely accused of adultery. Regardless, she did what any good Christian would do - receive the will of God for her. She saw herself for what she is - a sinner saved by grace. Such a beloved sister in Christ would be so good a mother to model!
What was interesting was that two miraculous births were about to happen. Elizabeth was barren and past childbearing. The birth of John the Baptist would be similar to Isaac's miraculous birth. She was a cousin of Mary with a huge age gap. Mary who may have diligently studied the Scriptures never thought she would fulfill Isaiah 7:14. She probably thought it was too much an honor to become the earthly mother of the Messiah. Yet, she probably forgot that her genealogy can be traced back all the way to David through Nathan. David and Bathsheba later had a son named after the prophet Nathan. Joseph was from the line of Solomon. Joseph couldn't be king due to the curse of Jehoiachin. You can consider the birth of the Messiah was going to undo the curse. Joseph would serve as the foster father of the eternal Son of God in the flesh.
Some say that Mary had to be preserved from original sin for Jesus to be sinless. There's a problem with the argument. Mary was a sinner yet do you know that the original sin is actually from the father? Jesus had no earthly father. Joseph was only His foster father. If you think of the genealogy in Matthew 1 - you will realize it's the genealogy based on legality. Notice that sin came through Adam (Romans 5:12-19). God blamed Adam and not Eve for the whole incident in the garden. Although Eve suffered also from the consequence of sin yet Adam was even held more responsible. It was his responsibility to take care of her. He was already her authority before the fall of man! Jesus is God the Son can simply preserve Himself from sin because He was conceived of the Holy Ghost.
What can be certain is that Mary knew that she was carrying the Son of God. In Luke 2:22-24 (and reference to Leviticus 12:2-4) that every woman who gives birth must offer a sin offering. I still find it so puzzling at how Roman Catholics still insist that it doesn't make Mary a sinner. If Mary were to hear it - she would probably protest and say that she isn't born without sin. The necessity of a sin offering was simple - Mary acknowledged that she came short of God's glory. The very doctrine of Mary's immaculate conception was even argued throughout the centuries - that was until Pope Pius IX supposedly ended the controversy in the name of Papal Infallibility. Although Popes haven't claimed to be perfect yet the doctrine that says they're preserved from doctrinal error has been deadly. Have they become above Scriptures themselves? No one is. Peter who they erroneously claim as the first Pope would never declare himself free from error. Peter, in fact, requested that he would hater be crucified downward - how's that in contrast to the Pope who claims to be the Vicar of Christ?
Mary can be seen fully obedient to God's will. She knew that sorrow will hit - it hit her the hardest at the foot of the cross. But she stood still and silent on the cross as an example of following God's will. I remembered reading "Why I Believe" by the late D. James Kennedy saying Mary could've stopped the crucifixion (legally speaking) but chose not to. It would be Kennedy suggesting that Mary kept silent in tears because she was accepting the will of the Father no matter how painful it was. The late Arthur W. Pink in "The Seven Sayings of the Cross" that she stood still. It was out of great reverence for the Lord knowing her place. She accepted Jesus' polite rebuke at the Wedding in Cana. She soon understood in Luke 2:49 that Jesus had to be in His Father's house. Although she said, "Your father and I have sought thee sorrowing." - Joseph was only a stepfather. Jesus was doing the work of His eternal Father. Mary knew she had work to do which went unrecorded yet she enters as the greatest mother recorded in the Bible.
Mary's humility itself makes her a mother to model. Although I never acknowledge Mary as the mother of humanity - I can still say she's a mother to model. I can't think of Mother's Day without thinking of Mary as the best example of what Christian mothers should be. She's not the proud Madonna that Rome wants to make her out as. Instead, she is a faithful follower of the Word of God. In Cana, John 2:5 has her telling people to do what Jesus tells them to do - that was her only command. By doing so, she affirmed that there's only one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) and that she couldn't mediate between us and her Son. She wanted people to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. She also shows that every Christian mother ought to point others to Christ.
Who can truly magnify God? Only the humble! Mary and her cousin Elizabeth are humble at heart. Mary is a woman who has acknowledged her low estate and she's overwhelmed by God's magnificence. Such is Mary who was blessed among women because of her humility. Follow Mary's example and walk the way she did!
See also:
- Did Jesus Declare Mary the Mother of Humanity in John 19:26-27?
- Does Devotion to Mary Bring a Person Closer to Christ?
- Learning from Mary's Faithfulness to God's Cause at the Foot of the Cross
- Mariolatry Debunked
- Praying to Mary is Always Wrong
- Roman Catholics Are Putting Too Much Importance on Mary
- So Catholics Don't Worship Mary? Not According to Roman Catholic "Saint" Alphonsus Liguori!
- The Categorical Error of Comparing Mary to Her Ancestor Bathsheba
- The Irony Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Condemns Himself With His Quote About Mary the Mother of Jesus
- The Subtle Deception of Mary Worship Examined
- Using Luke 11:27-28 to Defend Marian Devotion Debunked
- Using Luke 1:47 to Defend the Doctrine Mary is Sinless?
- Was Mary the Earthly Mother of Jesus Born Without Sin?