by Kimberly David

Created on: June 17, 2008

The Bible goes to great lengths to confirm the divinity of Jesus. Matthew wrote to show that Christ was the Messiah the prophets foretold. John wrote to show that Christ was the divine Son of God. The apostles and early Christians gave their lives to propagating the gospel of the divine Son of God dying for man. Yet the Bible says nothing about the mother of Christ being divine. Surly with such an emphasis on the divinity of Christ, the disciples would have also mentioned if His mother was divine. Mary was simply a woman.

The Bible does speak well of Mary, but it does not call her divine. Mary played a rather important role in the early narrative of Christ. When the angel came to tell her that she would be the mother of the Messiah he called her "highly favored[and] blessed among women." (Luke 1:28) The Lord did choose a godly servant to mother His Son. Later when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she called Mary "the mother of my Lord." (Luke 1:43) This is the last such address we see given to Mary. Mary pondered the events of the nativity in her heart, and Simeon had a word or two for the young mother, but this is the end of such elevated and individual addresses regarding Mary. She was the mother of the Lord, mother of the divine. She was a blessed woman indeed, but a woman only.

The Bible speaks well of Mary, but after Christ's childhood narrative Mary falls into the background. She is still present, but she becomes one of the Mary's that served Him. She is not singled out for recognition. Additionally, when a woman following Christ praised His mother for her work in raising Him, Christ addressed her contribution as less important than those who heard and heeded His words. (Luke 11:27-28) If Mary was truly divine these things would not have taken such a direction. If Mary was God and not simply the mother of God her role in His life would have continued to be highly conspicuous. She was given a special task as the mother of the Savior, but she was not given a divine position with that task.

Mary was a good woman, a follower of Jehovah, and a servant willing to serve her Lord. She was a part of history's greatest moments and she witnessed first hand much of the amazing grace of God. Mary is evidence of what the Lord can do through a yielded servant. She was allowed to bear and raise the Son of God, but she was not deity herself. Mary's submission and reverence for the Lord makes her a godly woman for all of us to respect, but not a woman to worship.

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