MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS

JOHN 19:2

A. "NOW THERE STOOD BY THE CROSS OF JESUS HIS MOTHER AND HIS MOTHER'S SISTER, MARY, THE WIFE OF CEOPHAS, AND MARY MAGDALENE"
  1. No other female has been honored as has Mary, the wife of Joseph:
    1. Said the angel, "Hail, thou that are highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women" - Luke 1:28
    2. The name Mary, so we are told, has been given seventy different interpretations for various reasons
  2. Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ is without any doubt a most worthy subject for our prayerful consideration:
B. LET US CONSIDER, BRIEFLY
  1. The family connections of Mary:
    1. She was of the tribe of Judah, and the line of David - Matt. 1:16
    2. She became the wife of Joseph, the son of Heli - Luke 3:23
    3. According to the record, Mary was a humble village woman who lived in a small place so insignificant as to lead Nathanael to say, "Can there be any good thing come out of Nazareth" - John 1:46
  2. Events that immortalized the memory of Mary:
    1. She, of all women, was chosen to bear the Son of man, the Redeemer of the world - Matt. 1:18-23
    2. She was a virgin, never knew any man to fulfill the prophecy about the birth of the Son of man - Is. 7:14
    3. She conceived of the Holy Ghost and that is why the angel said about Jesus, "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" - Luke 1:35
    4. She had other children with Joseph after Christ was born - though the church of Rome attempts to deny this truth - compare Matt. 12:47 with chapter 13:55-56; Mark 6:3
    5. She was our Lord's first human teacher, thus God chose a mother to train His Son for His earthly mission - Luke 2:46:52
C. SOME HIGH POINTS IN THE LIFE OF MARY
  1. God's choosing a woman to bring the Redeemer into the world:
    1. Brings honor and glory to motherhood
    2. Ever after the fall, a downgrading of the woman seemed evident in the practice of the nations; a woman was more or less a chattle - the property of man, and not an equal with man
    3. The women suffered much under this degrading by men until God intervened by choosing a woman to bear His only begotten Son
  2. It is most significant:
    1. That Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, emancipated motherhood; He restored the dignity to the woman that she had when God created her - Matt. 19:1-6
    2. To complete the restoration of the honor of motherhood, the Bible uses a virgin to symbolize the church of the living God - Rev. 12:1; I Cor. 11:1-3
  3. But the allegations of the Church of Rome about Mary are not supported in the Bible:
    1. Rome claims that Mary was sinless in her nature; but that is a contradiction to the testimony of the Bible - compare Rom. 3:9-23 with chapter 5:12; Gal. 3:22; Is. 64:6
    2. It is significant that the writers of the Epistles never even mention Mary. This is thought provoking
    3. Rome asserts that Mary never died but ascended to heaven without seeing death; that she is now the mistress of the universe. If these things are true; why does Paul fail to even mention it in his 14 Epistles? that Mary died is clearly seen in Rom 5:12; I Cor. 15:22
  4. When we think of Mary:
    1. We think of the emancipation of the woman - that is to the glory of God
    2. We think of the chastity of Mary to be honored to conceive the Holy Ghost and bear the Redeemer of the world
    3. We think of the son of God taking the nature of the seed of Abraham to become in all things like unto his brethern - Heb. 2:9-17
    4. We think of what is means to redeem the human race - Matt. 1:21; Gal. 4:1-4; Phil. 2:11-14


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