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Add to FavoritesAccording to the writings found in the Holy Bible, Mary was indeed the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. The New Testament gospels, particularly the first two chapters of Luke tell of this miracle.
Jesus is both human and divine. He was born free from the original sin passed by Adam to all human beings. It is true that being born of Mary made Jesus very man. However, because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit he was born without the sin nature and is the Son of God.
Because hope came to this world through Mary's son Jesus, Mary is praised by all generations as the young girl who found favor with God. Through Mary God brought about Jesus who in turn gave salvation from eternal death to whosoever will. Even the name of Jesus in Greek means "the Lord saves."
Many may doubt that Jesus was born of a virgin. The virgin birth is a miracle and cannot be explained by mere humans. Consider that the apostle Luke, author of the Gospel of Luke, was a physician. He definitely knew how babies were conceived. Yet he recorded the virgin birth as fact. Luke's methodical writings were from eyewitness accounts. It is held by tradition that he personally talked to Mary and recorded the account exactly the way she told her story.
This Mary was a young girl living in Nazareth, a small town of no significance at that time. It certainly was not like Jerusalem, the great city of David.
The people of her day would not see Mary as worthy for God's service. But God did choose this ordinary girl for the biggest request ever demanded of anyone.
As an unmarried, pregnant girl, Mary knew all too well that she could face ridicule and rejection from her family, her fiance and the entire community. As an outcast she could face death by stoning. If the community spared her, she would remain unmarried and would probably become a beggar in the streets. She knew they would think she was out of her mind when she told them that she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nonetheless, she chose to risk all and told the Angel Gabriel, "I'm the Lord's servant," and "May it be to me as you have said." She knew God asked her to serve Him, and she obeyed.
The people of Nazareth were not the only ones to doubt Mary. Matthew 1:18-21 relates that Joseph, her fiance, also doubted her. In fact, he planned to secretly break up with her. However, God's angel told him that Mary was telling the truth. The angel also told Joseph to name the baby "Jesus" because he would save his people from sin. This baby was the very Jesus who as a man went about doing his Father's work. He was also the same one who was later rejected and crucified.
The Gospel of Luke also reports that the Holy Spirit told Elizabeth, Mary's relative, that Mary's child was to be the Savior. Elizabeth gave evidence to this when she greeted Mary and called her "blessed among women" and "Mother of my Lord."
Remember, for Jesus to be sinless he could not be given birth by any woman. Therefore, by Mary conceiving by the power of the Holy Spirit, the line to original sin was bypassed. Jesus was thus born sinless. That is what set Jesus apart from humanity.
He was tempted as all have been, but he never sinned. You could say that Jesus "walked the talk." He is the only one who lived his own teachings. Had Jesus not been born of a virgin he would have been just another ordinary man. He would not have had the power to cleanse us from our sins and give us hope of eternal life.
There are some who insist the account is ludicrous and say that Mary was just a woman. They also say that God could just as easily have chosen any of today's women to be the mother of Jesus. It is foolishness to think this way. If God had wanted one of today's Christians instead of Mary, He would have placed her in that time period. Since they are living in this time frame, their argument is false.
Perhaps they do not fully understand the doctrine of predestination. God's purpose for us is in this time. Our very existence is sufficient proof. This does not mean that God cannot use people today. People should not limit Him. God can and will use anyone to do His will right here on earth - if he or she trusts in Him and is willing to obey and serve Him.
Prayerfully study the Holy Bible. Rejoice and be glad that Mary, mother of Jesus, was selfless and accepted with humility God's will for her. For this she will always be called "blessed."
__________ _________________
Lif e Application Bible, New international Version. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1995. Wheaton, Illinois, 60189.
Learn more about this author, J. Janie Lipsmeyer.
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No
Unlike many other mothers throughout history Mary wasn't the mother of Jesus as those mothers shared in the conception of their children while Mary didn't. [Note: The concept "shared in the conception" has nothing to do with a woman's consent to partake in the act that provides the opportunity for the combination of sperm and egg it simply refers to that equal part in conception with the use of that woman's egg.] Instead God created life in Mary's womb just as God created the universe out of nothing. Yes Mary carried Jesus to term and gave birth to him but that is the only role she played in the pregnancy. Within the writing of Scripture it is hard to show that God did exactly that but at the same time how can a virgin get pregnant while still remaining a virgin? Back around the time of Jesus there was no artificial conception so it could only be a miracle that could produce a baby from a virgin.
One good reason to believe that God might have done something miraculous such as creating life in Mary's womb instead of going about it the normal human way is that God needed a perfect sinless being to be that perfect sacrifice for all of mankind. Just as in the realm of theology it is accepted that the effects of sin that first started with Adam is passed on through every man's sperm just as genetic diseases are passed on to future generations those effects of sin could just as easily be passed on through a woman's eggs just as simply as Eve shared in sin and its effects which she in turn could pass onto future generations. Those effects of sin have kept every person throughout history from being that perfect individual God as wanted every person to be which only Jesus would be on Earth.
Another reason to believe the idea of God creating life in Mary's womb is that Jesus was going to be called the Son of God meaning that he would have the same authority and abilities of God on Earth meaning he would need to have a direct connection to God to have those things. Though Adam is called the son of God in Luke 3:38 we saw how Adam and the generations after him did in their relationship with God. Unlike Zeus God doesn't lust after women and break the rules that he established for Israel by partaking in fornication with a virgin girl. The only other way that Jesus could be conceived and be what God needed him to be is do something miraculous such as creating Jesus' body with the use of Mary's egg.
Though Mary didn't share in the conception of Jesus like many other mothers have shared in the conception of their children it doesn't mean that she didn't have the earthly mother authority over Jesus as he was growing that every other mother has over her children whether she gave birth to those children or not. (Please forgive me if I seem to be forgetting an examples where it might be that a male figure is the sole parent raising the children or it is some other kind of caretaker whether directly related or not but it doesn't fit so well in this article at this time.) When Jesus was eight days old Mary and Joseph took Jesus to be circumcised just as every other mother of her time and nationality would do. When Jesus was twelve years old and he scared Mary by staying behind in Jerusalem when she and Joseph left to return home Jesus still obeyed when Mary ordered him to return home with them. Either way while Mary did have that earthly mother authority over Jesus she didn't have the authority to say that she was Jesus' mother in the sense that shared in the conception of Jesus.
Learn more about this author, Jeremy Schaber.
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