“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:28-33.

     The life of Mary, mother of Jesus, deserves a dignity that she does not receive in the Christian church. The “Mariology” doctrine that exists in Catholicism has robbed from this woman the true glory due to her good name: the glory ascribed to every human being through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She never once directed attention to herself. In fact, among her few words recorded in the Bible gave the clear command to follow the words of her Son: “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Jn.2;5. This admonishing statement is in perfect harmony with the Father’s Words to Christ’s disciples on the mount of transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah descended from heaven to encourage Jesus as He prepared for the Cross: “a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Matt.17:5.

     The world’s ruling church has yet to honor the words of Jesus when He was “an hungered” and Satan tempted Him to commit sin. Said the LORD: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt.4:4. Every Christian should be careful and prayerful so as to not fall into the same trap of the pick-and-choose theology that rules throughout Christendom. Having a keen literacy of our salvation in light of Satan’s accusations is key to the success of the last generation of Christians who live through the closing scenes of Earth’s history ushering the 2nd Advent of Jesus Christ.

     Jesus gave no admonishing words to exalt His mother; no command to revere her as the church of Rome has done; no sharing of the High Priest’s office of interceding on the sinners behalf before the Father, Who Only Hears The Intercession of His Son. For through the shedding of His life’s blood, and only His, the Father can show “mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex.34:7). But the Bible does point every Christian to love Mary as the most blessed woman to ever live within the confines of sin. Nevertheless, she has no exalted status in Scripture outside of her family lineage to David and her being chosen to bear and raise “the Son of man.” And yet, the list of false rights ascribed to her, from having sinless flesh and a holy nature to the ten thousand apparitions claiming that Mary is the source of great miracles, and of warnings and healings. Yes, the miracles are there, but the Bible ascribes them to Satan who has great power to deceive, to heal, to give visions to Bible illiterate souls. And he always leads people away from the Bible’s criteria of truth while cementing the souls of men in sin.

     But Mary was as every woman born in our sinful world. She was a good mother. She raised her Son in the Scriptures, reading to Him the great stories of GOD’S deliverance. She educated Him in the traditions of Judaism. And she rejoiced at the thought of GOD’S intervening hand to grant her Son the privilege of ruling Israel. But she was also trapped in the popular views of prophecy concerning the Messiah. Throughout the land of Judaea it was unanimously conveyed how the Messiah would sweep the oppressing Romans out of Judaea and place Israel on the pedestal of world dominion. In this prideful stance all of Israel was about to receive the shock of their lives. “The bigger they come, the harder they fall” applies not only to size but also of pride: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov.16:18. Even the disciples of Jesus stumbled in this false theology, and as a result of their expectations being dashed they abandoned Jesus on the night of His arrest.

     There was a profound loneliness in the life of Jesus. Jesus faced His trials Alone. He carried the sin of the world Alone. The only ONE He could turn to, the only ONE Who understood the heart of the Son was the Father. And although Jesus had no physical contact with His Father: no embrace, no kiss, no memory of a smiling face, Christ’s faith was strong enough to see His mission through to the end. Jesus is the only Man to live without sin on the Earth. And this victory has given Him the right to turn “the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee” (Deut.23:5).

     After His resurrection the Bible says “he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Although the Bible is silent, it is unthinkable that Jesus would not pay a special visit to His mother before His ascension to heaven. And for Mary to only hear from others of her Son being alive would be an insult to her dignity, not only as a loving mother but to her posterity. Mary grieved bitterly in witnessing what men had done to her Son. And the depths of anguish in her mourning would not be disregarded by the One Who showed what true love is. You can imagine the look on her face when she looked into the eyes of her Son: the wonder, the joy, and the rest that came over Mary to see her Son standing before her. The words Jesus spoke to Mary had a tenderness that only a son can give to his mother.