Apologetics for the Masses - Issue #57

Bible Christian Society

General Comments

I had a good time in Steubenville this past weekend. They actually had me set up to speak in a tent outside of one of the buildings, so I got to do some “tent preachin’” to a couple hundred or so folks. Even with the high humidity, I enjoyed it immensely. And I very much enjoyed meeting several of you at the Conference…thank you for coming up and introducing yourselves. I hope all of you had a great time and enjoyed all of the speakers.


I still haven’t heard back from Matthew Janzen in regard to his next reply in our debate about whether or not Jesus is God. The last time I heard from him he said that he would probably respond by around July 24th. Hmmm…maybe he’s changed his mind on this issue?! I emailed him today to see about getting a response, but if I don’t hear back from him by Monday, I’ll probably start up with a new dialogue in next week’s newsletter and just come back to him should he eventually respond.


Or, who knows, maybe I’ll finally hear back from Matt Johnson with answers to those yes-no questions I asked him. I believe some of his last words to me – about 6 months ago or so – were, “I guarantee you will end this exchange before I do.” Hmmm. I wonder if that falls into the “famous last words” category.

Introduction

Since I haven’t heard back from Matthew, I’m just going to do a short commentary on a frequently heard comment about Mary. That Mary is just an average woman, no better than anyone else. The email below is typical of what you might hear. Below the email is my response, and then I’ve added a few extra comments that came to mind after I had sent the email.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

John,


I had a friend point out a verse of the bible Luke 11:27 and he was trying to say that Mary was just a plain woman and we shouldn’t give honor to her for following Jesus. He also was trying to point out that there is nothing special about her. But I wanted to hear what you would say about that.


Adam


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Adam,


Luke 11:27, “As He said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!’ But He said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’”


Luke 1:38, “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’”


Luke 1:45, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”


Jesus is not putting Mary down in any way, shape, or form in Luke 11:27. He is actually referring to her first and foremost as one who heard the word of God and kept it…as we see confirmed in Luke 1:38 and Luke 1:45. He is actually telling us that we need to model ourselves after His mother, who said to the Lord, “Let it be to me according to your word,” and who believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word to her.


Also, to say that Mary was just a plain woman is like saying the Ark of the Covenant was just another wooden box. The Ark of the Covenant was holy because it carried the stone version of the word of God. It was holy because it carried the manna that God had sent from Heaven. How much holier must Mary have been as the carrier of the word of God in the flesh?! As the carrier of the bread of life?! To what other woman was given the honor of being called “the mother of my Lord”? To what other woman did God ever say, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you”? What other woman ever bore God in her womb? What other woman was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit?


To say that Mary was “just a plain woman” is an insult to God and is just an absolutely ridiculous statement.


And that’s what I say about that.


God bless!


John Martignoni


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Luke 1:41-42, “…and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’”


Luke 1:48, “For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”


Yep, sounds like just any ol’ ordinary woman to me.


One of the most outlandish things that I’ve ever heard was that Mary was just an “incubator” for Jesus. That’s very scriptural, isn’t it?


Luke 1:43, “And why is this granted me, that the incubator of my Lord should come to me?”


Folks, to say that Mary – the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit – was just a “plain woman” is the height of absurdity. No other human being has had such intimate relationships with all the persons of the Trinity. And to say that we shouldn’t honor her, is diabolical in origin. Jesus honored her, that is, of course, if you think He kept the Commandment about honoring your father and your mother. So, if Jesus honored her, are we not to imitate Jesus in what He did and how He lived? If so, then we should honor her, too.

In Conclusion

In Gen 3:15, God says He will put enmity between Satan and “the woman.” The woman whose seed is seen, by all commentators I have ever read, to be Jesus Christ. In other words, Mary. Because of this enmity, honor paid to Mary simply infuriates Satan. That is why He is doing His best to spread the lie that Mary was just an ordinary woman like any other woman and deserves no special honor, no special attention.


In Luke 11:27, Jesus is indeed putting His mother in her place. But, not by dismissing what this person was saying about Mary and lowering her status, but by taking what this person was saying to an even deeper level and elevating Mary to her proper place as a role model for all in her acceptance of, and obedience to, the word of God.

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Apologetics for the Masses