09/29/2026
Here are the notes from our most recent video: Mary- Mother of Jesus
I. What we know
Context-12-16 year old virgin betrothed to Joseph *Betrothal vs Consummated marriage
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. 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. And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 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, Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.” Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home. Luke 1:26-56
Present at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), at least one sermon (Luke 8:20), the crucifixion (John 19:25-27) *Lived with John from this point on, and the beginning of the Church (Acts 1:14)
II. What is possible
A) Assisted in writing the Gospels
Whether she was specifically interviewed by Luke, or whether her stories were passed to him, her stories were clearly told in the Bible.
Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ~Luke 2:19
B) The new Eve
The Bible specifically compares how sin entered the world through Adam and how salvation comes through Jesus. (Romans 5:18–19, I Corinthians 15:21–22)
Early Church leaders also compared how sin entered the world through Eve’s disobedience and how our Savior entered the world through Mary’s faithfulness. (Justin Martyr 150, Irenaeus 180)
In the fullness of time, God sent The Son, born of woman. ~Galatians 4:4
Picture
C) Mother Mary title
In the Bible, she is referred to as Mary, the mother of Jesus. Because Jesus is God, this was later changed to Theokotos, or mother of God, which was defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
(Trinity video)
She is not the mother of the Father or Holy Spirit, so it is best to follow the biblical example of calling her the mother of Jesus
D) Perpetual virginity
Unanimous agreement about virginity until birth of Jesus.
Joseph had no intimate relations with her until she bore a son, and he named Him Jesus. ~Matthew 1:25
Starting around the year 200 (Clement of Alexandria), perpetual virginity begins to appear, then became more prominent until becoming dogma in 553 at the Second Council of Constantinople. (define dogma)
1. The Bible continuously shows the importance of s*x within the covenant of marriage. *S*x is not sinful!
2. Jesus had at least 6 siblings (Matthew 13:55)
3) If Joseph had other sons before Jesus, they would have been on the journey to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-5).
***All biblical evidence points to Mary and Joseph consummating marriage
E) Assumption-Taken directly to heaven bodily without dying.
The first record of questioning how Mary’s life on earth ended came in the 4th century. The belief in her assumption became more and more common in the Roman Catholic Church until being formally recognized dogma in 1950.
III. What goes against God’s Word
A) Mary was sinless
The early church leaders, along with the Bible itself, present Mary as a faithful, obedient, blessed woman. The Roman Catholic Church debated her sinlessness for centuries until 1854 when her Immaculate Conception and continued sinlessness became dogma.
Truth: Everyone has sinned.
We all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. ~Romans 3:23-24
This also includes Peter and all other Church leaders. (Galatians 2:11-16)
If Mary is sinless, then John the Baptist must be also! “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.” ~Matthew 11:11
B) Mary as mediator
The first recorded accounts of people seeking Mary in prayer begin in the 6th century, which develops into the “Hail Mary” prayer in the 12th century.
Truth: There is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. ~I Timothy 2:5
*Any believer can speak directly with God in prayer any time or place!
C) Queen of Heaven: As the theology of “Mother of God” developed, words and images depicting Mary became more and more royal from the 5th century through the Middle Ages until she was given the title “Queen over all things” in 1964. This, not surprisingly, has led many to falsely consider her to be divine.
D) Co-Redemptrix: Officially rejected by the Roman Catholic Church in 2025. “Christ's redemptive sacrifice is complete, and Mary cannot add to or perfect it.”
Pattern of human logic: If X is true, then maybe Y is true also. Y becomes more and more popular over centuries until it becomes dogmatic belief.
IV. A few more thoughts
1) Should we venerate Mary?
We all need to continuously check our hearts to be sure God is in His rightful place.
Some people borderline worship current things, while some focus too much on the past. We worship God alone and filter everything we believe and do through His Word and the Holy Spirit. This applies to current teachings and music along with the teachings of early followers of Christ
As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed!”
Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.” ~Luke 11:27-28
Worship is not her fault
2) The Word of God vs the commandments of men
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.
A continuous problem: Isaiah 29:13, Mark 7:7, today
3) The command of Mary (Gospel)
Do whatever He tells you! ~Mary (John 2:5)
Mary in heaven- Always controversial
Takeaways:
1) Jesus alone is Savior, Mediator, and High Priest
2) The Bible stands alone as the Word of God, and must be the sole foundation for everything we do and believe
3) We can learn from Mary and other saints throughout history, but worship is for God alone
