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Mariology and the New Testament: A Factual List
By Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon
www.virtueonline.org
September 4, 2024
VOL: Mary the mother of Jesus is largely a silent figure for Protestants. You rarely, if ever hear her preached about except as a passing reminder that she is the mother of Jesus. Joseph, her husband, is even more elusive. By entrusting Mary to the "beloved disciple" (commonly understood to be John), at the foot of the cross, Jesus was showing love and concern for his mother, ensuring that she would be safe and cared for after his death. The Roman Catholic Church has always seen this as a defining moment in the role of Mary in the Church. But are they right to do so? This sterling piece by Dr. Gagnon on Mary puts her in biblical perspective.
3 The numbers of times that Mary is depicted in the NT as not grasping Jesus' mission after Jesus' infancy (Mark 3:21; Luke 2:48-50 [but note v. 51]; John 2:3-4 [but note v. 5])
2 The number of independent Jesus sayings in the NT discouraging his followers from giving special significance to his mother qua mother (Mark 3:31-35, with parallels in Matthew and Luke; Luke 11:27-28)
2 The number of times in the NT that Jesus addresses Mary as "woman," as though she had no more significance to his identify as the Man from Heaven than any other woman (John 2:4; 19:26)
1 The number of times Jesus rebukes his mother directly in the NT (John 2:4; but indirectly twice more: Luke 2:49; Mark 3:33-34)
0 The number of times in the NT witness that Mary, apart from her role in the infancy narratives, plays any significant positive role in church theology, decision-making (for example, the Apostolic Conference), or in the proclamation and advance of the gospel
0 The number of times that Mary appears in Paul's letters, Hebrews, the Catholic or General Epistles (James, 1-3 John, 1-2 Peter, Jude), or the Book of Revelation,* or in a more than in-passing way in the Gospel of Mark (*some see at least a secondary referent to Mary in the woman of Rev 12, but context indicates an exclusive referent to the people of God)
0 The number of times that Luke refers to Mary in a more than in-passing way in the 50 chapters of his Gospel and Acts following his infancy narrative (but twice negatively in substantive references: Luke 8:19-21; 11:27-28; last in-passing reference in Acts 1:14, pre-Pentecost)
0 The number of times in the NT that a "cult of the Virgin Mary" or any devotion to her whatsoever (including prayers) is encouraged or portrayed as occurring (whether in heaven or on earth)
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is described as the most important created being (she is called "blessed among women" by Elizabeth in Luke 1:42; obviously God could not have selected a man for this task, nor a non-virgin woman for a virgin birth, nor any women whose life did not fit God's timing for the Christ's coming into the world)
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is viewed as the intercessor between Jesus and his followers
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is called "the mother of God" or theotokos ("God-birther/bearer"; Elizabeth calls her "the mother of my lord" in Luke 1:43, alluding to the Davidic king in Ps 110:1, "Yahweh said to my lord")
0 The number of texts in the NT that refer to Mary's "Immaculate Conception," sinlessness, perpetual virginity, or "Assumption" into heaven
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is said to be "full of grace" (she is rather called "favored one" by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:28)
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is treated as a New Eve (some argue Jesus' twice-address of his mother as "woman" does so, but context indicates otherwise)
0 The number of times in the NT that Mary is called the New Ark of the Covenant (some argue for echoes in Luke 1, but the link is dubious at best)
0 The number of times Mary is depicted in the NT as the one who has delivered the Christian people from any calamities, their enemies, or God's punishments
0 The number of times Mary is described in the NT, implicitly or explicitly, as "the foundation of all our confidence"
0 The number to times Mary is described in the NT, implicitly or explicitly, as the one to whom "God has committed the treasury of all good things"
0 The number of times Mary is described in the NT, implicitly or explicitly, as the one through whom is "obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation ... everything"
The list was formulated in the interest of informing as to the NT witness on Mary. You can choose to honor Mary in any way you please, but do so in knowledge of the guidance given to us in the preeminent NT witness of Jesus and the apostles. You have to decide for yourself whether the developing post-apostolic witness about Mary is consistent with the NT witness or in tension (or outright contradiction) with it.
Robert A. J. Gagnon is an American theological writer, professor of New Testament Theology at Houston Baptist University and former associate professor of the New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is an expert on biblical homosexuality, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He holds a BA from Dartmouth, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from the Princeton Theological Seminary.
