This is part 2 of a series on Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church maintains that Mary was sinless throughout her life. “But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences.” (The Immaculate conception and assumption © 1996 Catholic Answers, Inc.)
What does Scripture say about this?
Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
Friends, there is no “out” clause there. The word “all” in this reference is translated from the Greek word, pas, which means: “all, all things, every, all men, whosoever, everyone, whole, all manner of, and/or every man.” There is no wiggle room for assumption here. When the Lord said “all,” he meant “all.”
Additionally, Mary confirmed her own sinful nature and need of a Savior as recorded in Luke 1:47. Scripture is clear on this one as well. She says, “. . . my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Why would a sinless woman rejoice in her Savior? Clearly Mary herself made no claim to be sinless- but rather she recognized her need for a Savior!
Hebrews 7:26
“For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens.”
Jesus was the only Person to have ever lived a sinless life. To claim that Mary did as well is to say that Christ is one of the sinless, not THE sinless one. Without Christ’s unique, sin-free life, where does that leave His sacrifice? Where does that leave the promise of salvation?
Was Mary blessed? YES!! Mary was chosen among women to be the vessel who bore the Messiah. The Bible honors Mary as the mother of Jesus and calls her “blessed…among women,” (Luke 1:28) but not above women. What does this mean to us today? Nothing. No offense intended, but Mary’s job is done. She faithfully fulfilled her role in life and now she is with her Son in eternity.
Matthew 12:46-50 tells the story of Jesus speaking to the multitudes. In the middle of His sermon, He is interrupted and informed that His mother and brothers are outside of the building and that they wish to talk with Him. Does He stop speaking and go to them? No. His response was, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Indicating the crowd He was addressing, He continued, “Here are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of the Father in heaven is my brother, my sister and my mother.”
Jesus made it clear to those He was teaching that Mary was no more or less a sinner in need of a Savior than anyone else in that room. Was He being disrespectful? No. He was making a point: We all have the responsibility of doing the will of the Father, no matter how great or small.
Mary was a great and blessed woman, but she was not sinless. She didn’t make that claim herself nor is it implied in the text. The doctrine teaching that didn’t even exist until 1854! See part 1 to see when all of the doctrines of Mary came into existence — you’ll be surprised at how recently several titles have been added!
Look for part 3 tomorrow, entitled “What about praying to Mary and the saints?”
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