Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Virgin Mary
- Chosen by God? Yes.
- Favored by God? Yes.
- Honorable? Yes.
- Virtuous woman of character and integrity? Yes.
- The only woman in the history of the world to give birth as a virgin? Yes.
- Deserving to be celebrated during the Christmas season? Yes.
- Worthy to be held in high esteem? Yes.
- Worthy to be worshipped or prayed to? Nope.
Mary was highly favored by God but was never intended to be a mediator between us and God.
4 REASONS YOU SHOULD NOT PRAY TO MARY
1. THERE IS ONLY ONE MEDIATOR
1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT) says, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
This confirms we don’t need a “go-between.” We don’t need a middle-man (or woman) beyond Christ.
When Jesus died, shed His blood, and was raised from the dead the need to have someone (e.g. high priest) represent us was ripped away just like the curtain that tore from top to bottom.
2. GOD ALONE SHOULD BE WORSHIPPED
Luke 4:8 (NLT) says, Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Praying to Mary and/or any living or deceased saints is an act of worship…which is reserved for God alone.
When Jesus modeled prayer (Matthew 6:7-13) He began with, “Our Father in Heaven.” No where in Scripture is it suggested that we pray to Mary or any other deceased saints.
3. MARY WORSHIPPED JESUS AS GOD
In Acts 1 the disciples and about 120 believers were in an upper room waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit (at Jesus’ command). Guess who was present with them? Mary. What was she doing? Praying.
Acts 1:14 (NLT) says, They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
It’s important to note that the apostles weren’t praying to Mary as a go between. She was joined with them in prayer…to GOD.
4. MARY WAS A SINNER IN NEED OF A SAVIOR
According to Psalm 51:5 we are all born as sinners in need of a Savior, Mary included.
Mary was highly favored, not sinless. There is not one scripture to support that Mary was without sin. JESUS is the only one who never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22) which explains why Mary had to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit.
Extras
- The Bible is about JESUS, after all Jesus is the Living Word (John 1:14). The Old Testament points to JESUS. The New Testament is about Jesus. The authors of the four Gospels saw JESUS as the central figure and only mention Mary in reference to JESUS. The word “Jesus” is mentioned 1,478 times in the New Testament. The word “Mary” is only mentioned 55 times and some of those are in reference to Mary Magdalene. Also, Jesus is referenced in 26 of 27 New Testament books.
- I was discussing this with my friend Mike last night and he simply added, “She can’t hear you.” Good answer. Only God can hear all of our prayers as He is the only one omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.
- Mary was not even recognized in Scripture as a leader in the early Church. Peter is the one who stood up, addressed the crowd, and preached in Acts 1, not Mary.
- JESUS is the only Way, Truth, and Life. No one can come to the Father, except through JESUS.
Let me end by saying this blog post is not to attack one’s belief system or even ridicule it for that matter. My purpose is to educate and communicate what Scripture teaches. After all, we have a responsibility as believers to weigh everything we believe and teach against the inerrant Word of God.
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Catholics do not see Mary as a “mediator between God and man” in the way you seem to be understanding. She is a “mediator” only in the sense that any Christian can be, that is, as an intercessor. No Catholic or any other Christian doubts that Jesus is the One Mediator betwen God and Man in the way that only He Himself could be, that Mary did not worship the Lord, that she herself did not need salvation (“My soul doth magnify the Lord / And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”). Catholics do not “worship” Mary or the saints, and “praying to” Mary and the saints is not an act of worship, but merely a request for their intercession. God bless you, and His grace and peace be with you.
mother mary is our sweet mother . she will help us to grow in jesus. and we pray to you . pray for us
This is a pipe dream because scripture cannot be broken. And just in case you have forgotten, she can’t hear you no matter how fervently you pray. She lacks the capacity to do so. May the Holy Spirit minister to your heart in Jesus mighty name.
Is there something in the bible that says “she can’t hear you”.
Thank you sharing this information! God bless you.
mother mary pray for us.
Mary is an intercessor, and not worshiped. She is asked to pray with and for us, the same way we would ask our friends or family to pray with an for us. We consider saints to be in a unique relationship with God and their prayers are very effective. Like Mary, the saints all provide examples to people in various walks of life and are recognized for a reason. Mary literally contained God incarnate– Jesus– inside of her for 9 months, gave birth to him, and raised him so she is a very special person. The Bible also isn’t the end-all, be-all source of Christianity and Christian tradition.
Mary Help of Christians pray for us!
Hi Artur, I’m so grateful for Mary and the role she played in the Christmas story…and our story. I’m also glad that we don’t have to go to anyone other than Jesus…and He is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. Bless you!
Hail Mary!
Hi Chuck! Just curious what you tell people who ask you to pray for them (? Sorry, just ask Jesus yourself.) or if someone says they will pray for you (? Don’t bother, I’ll just pray to Jesus myself.). Do you think Jesus would be offended that someone would ask his Mom to take a prayer request to Him? Check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church to see what the church really teaches about Mary, the Bible, and Apostolic Tradition. Also, you might like to study the Early Church Fathers (beginning BEFORE the New Testament was written) to see what they believed and whether it’s closer to Catholic Church dogmas or the East Peoria Rock Church opinions. I appreciate your disclaimer that your purpose is to educate what the Scripture teaches, but I’m wondering what your credentials are as opposed those of the people who wrote the Scriptures. Make sure of your facts before you inadvertently bear false witness against your neighbor. May God bless you and enlighten you regarding HIS TRUTH.
P.S. Don’t mistake the Catholic Church’s official teachings or morals based on the opinions or behaviors of sinners (all of us except Jesus and Mary*) that belong to the Catholic Church. * read more at http://www.catholic.com/tract/immaculate-conception-and-assumption
Why must you ask someone who cannot hear you to pray with you? Someone who is no longer on Earth breathing. She worshipped Jesus as a GOD. When someone asks you to pray for them- you should say, speak to the Lord yourself. Let the Lord hear your words as he knows and feels what you feel. I don’t wish for someone to pray for me because it is my relationship with God that will get me to heaven and be with my Father. I choose to strengthen my relationship is what I would say. Mary is in fact a sinner, and dare you say she is not- you are making a grave mistake to your duty of being a Christian over all. Mary was never perfect as Jesus was. How must you say that a perfect being other than God himself walked on Earth? Please rethink who you are asking to pray with and what you believe.
Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
Where do you get that from?
Definitely not from the Bible!
What is wrong with what he says?
It is heart breaking to read the responses from people brainwashed by the Catholic Church. READ your own bible, and let the Holy Spirit guide you to the truth. Let no one on this earth tell you what the bible says, read the bible and KNOW what it instructs for yourself without a shadow of a doubt. When your own Pope said people need to pray or God will flood the earth again? You might want to cross check things with the bible, just saying…….
You said “…Pope said …God will flood the earth again” What is your source for that claim? I am not a Catholic but some of the Catholic doctrines concern me. But we need to be careful. For example Catholics who understand their doctrine do not claim to Pray to Mary but rather to ask her to pray for us. When we log false indictments our credibility goes away. We must make accurate claims. Such as Mathew 16:18
New Living Translation
“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
And correctly pointing out that the word used for rock with Peters name is petros (which is masculine) means a little rock or a small stone and the work used for “upon this rock” is Petra (which is feminine) and refers to a huge immovable rock. These are the words Jesus spoke and the distinction is intentional and telling.
You can ask a person next to you to pray for you, but you can’t ask Mary to pray for you because she is dead and can’t hear you. Only God is omnipresent, not Mary. She can’t hear you. Do Christians become God when they die? And how can Mary make promises, if you pray to her? Only God predicts the future. And only Jesus is our Mediator.
And only God is sinless. If you give God’s attributes to Mary, then you have created an idol. Even though praying to Mary seems so good and virtuous, it is really Satan’s twisting of the truth. The Old Testament Jews also worshiped the Queen of Heaven and we know what happened to them, they were thrown out of the Promised Land.
I believe the bible is the holy infallible word of God. Doesn’t the bible say when we die we get a new body like unto that of the resurrected Jesus? You do not have to believe Mary a god to believe she could be omnipresent. Where in the bible does it say only God is omnipresent.
Catholics who understand their doctrine do not ask Mary to do anything for them other than to pray for them.