The Truth About Mary

When a person opposes the Roman Catholic mythology about Mary, the mother of Jesus, other people may say that such a person is "anti-Mary." But I would think that the people who are really anti-Mary are those who distort the story of her life.

The truth is, Mary, the real Mary of Scripture, is certainly worthy of our admiration for her obedience to God. But at the same time, we must recognize that much of the Roman Catholic tradition surrounding her is actually counter to what we know from Scripture.

The Bible's main job is to point to Jesus Christ, which is why the information on people other than Jesus is somewhat scanty. Nevertheless the Bible paints an adequate history of Mary so that we may know the truth.

Mary's "Immaculate Conception" and "Sinless Life"

Many Protestants do not understand that the immaculate conception does not refer to Christ's conception but to Mary's. The teaching in Roman Catholicism is that Mary herself was born without sin and never sinned in her life.

Mary was not a horribly sinful person; it is true that she was a very moral person and personally very pleasing to God. But it is a mistake to say that she had a sinless life. The only person directly mentioned in Scripture as having had a sinless life is Jesus (Hebrews 4:15). Otherwise, as Paul wrote, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Mary herself had to give a sin offering. In Luke 2:22-24, we read, "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

The specific Law of Moses referenced here is from Leviticus 12. Leviticus 12:6 says, "And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:".

Under the Law of Moses, Mary offered a sin offering, the reason for so doing being that one has sinned. So the notion that Mary led a sinless life is proven false in two ways, by Paul's writing and by the fact she offered a sin offering under the Law.

The notion of Mary's sinlessness or immaculate conception are by no means necessary for Christ to have been born without sin Himself. Paul wrote, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:14). Jesus did not inherit Adam's sinful nature because He had no human father, and besides that, He had power as the Son of God to resist temptation.

(For the sake of completeness, I should note that in Luke 2:22, some versions read "their purification" instead of "her purification". That's because they follow the Alexandrian Bible manuscript family instead of Byzantine manuscript family. This is one of the relatively few errors in the Alexandrian manuscripts. If you read Leviticus 12, you will see that no purification or sin offering is required for the child.)

Mary's Virginity At the Time of Jesus' Birth

To begin with, we can know that Mary was a devout Jewish woman, and she was certainly a virgin when she conceived Jesus according to both the Old and New Testaments.

Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Jesus was never referred to as "Immanuel," which confuses some people, but you need to keep in mind what "Immanuel" means, "God is with us." The "name" in Hebrew thought could be understood to be synonymous with identity. Therefore, you must understand that absolutely everyone who really believes in Jesus recognizes that He is God, and that He was here on earth with us. So we call His identity, "Immanuel" -- God with us.

Some sects inside Protestantism have members that claim Mary was not a virgin when she had Jesus, but those people are just heretics. This disbelief is part of a larger heresy called "Socinianism" or today, "rationalism." The Bible explicitly affirms that Mary was a virgin at Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:27.

Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Luke 1:27 says that the angel Gabriel was sent "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."

The virginity of Mary prior to the birth of Jesus is not debatable from Scripture. However, the Roman Catholic teaching that Mary remained a virgin the rest of her life is not defensible from Scripture.

Mary's "Perpetual Virginity" Disproven

Mary and Joseph had other children, which is something the Roman Catholic authorities do not accept. Matthew 12:46 reports, "While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him." In fact, they had at least four other boys. Matthew 13:55 reports, "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"

The Catholic authorities endeavor to explain this away by saying that these children were Joseph's by a prior marriage. This does not stand up to scrutiny. First, Jesus was over thirty at the time the incident in Matthew 12 took place. Why were men in their thirties and forties still travelling about with their mother?

Perhaps recognizing that their argument is very weak, the Catholic authorities also attempt to explain this away by saying that Jesus' brothers were really His cousins, saying that Aramaic lacked a word for "cousin," while neglecting to explain the New Testament scriptures aren't in Aramaic, but in Greek, which most certainly has a word for cousin. This topic is discussed in more detail in our article Jesus' Brothers or Cousins?.

For the purposes of this article, it suffices to say the Greek word for brother is adelphos which can only mean brother. If you look in either a theological or secular Greek-English dictionary, it is defined only as brother. The word's etymology is a combination of a connective participle and the word "womb," the combination meaning "connected by the womb." God chose Greek for the NT for the very reason that it is precise enough to combat the false doctrines He knew would later arise. Although even in Hebrew, which appears to have lacked a word for cousin, the Bible distinguishes between brothers and other relatives (compare Ezekiel 11:15).

Second, when Joseph and Mary went to Egypt, they took their child -- singular, and was able to leave without arranging lodgings for any other children. Matthew 2:14 says, "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:"

Third, even when Jesus was 12, there was no mention of other children when His parents left the caravan and went back to look for Him in Luke 2:41-52.

These facts make the Catholic stance on Mary’s supposed "perpetual" virginity illogical. The facts are that Joseph had no children before Jesus, but Jesus had four brothers by Matthew 12.

The reason the Catholics feel that Mary had to be a virgin all her life is that her virginity is considered a sign of her purity and dedication to God. But we can know for a Biblical certainty that Mary did have sex with Joseph because the Bible explicitly states that Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after the birth of Jesus. Matthew 1:24,25 says, "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

If the Bible says Joseph did not have sex with Mary ("knew her not") until after the birth of Jesus, and given that there's abundant Biblical evidence of Christ's having brothers and sisters, that means that sometime after the birth of Jesus, they must have had sex.

Catholics, Orthodox and other proponents of the doctrine dispute that is the case, arguing the word "until" does not mean what the word means. For instance, an Orthodox site points to Acts 8:40, "But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea" and then says in essence, "Philip did not stop preaching when he came to Caesarea." Of course he didn't, but that's not what the text says Philip stopped doing: Philip stopped preaching IN ALL THE CITIES once he reached Caesarea. Such are the lengths of intellectual dishonesty proponents of this false doctrine must resort to in order to prop up a doctrine with no basis in Scripture.

Roman Catholics teach that Joseph and Mary were married, but the Orthodox, also proponents of Mary's perpetual virginity, deny even that. But after the birth of Jesus, it is interesting to note that all of God's further communications to His earthly parents were directed to Joseph. For instance, Joseph was the one told to take Jesus to Egypt. Matthew 2:13 reports, "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."

Joseph was also the one told to bring Him back to Israel. Matthew 2:19,20 reports, "But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life."

Why didn’t God go through the woman that Roman Catholics claim is the Queen of Heaven? Simply because God worked through the family unit He had set up with the man as the head. 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." From the moment Joseph accepted his assignment to be Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly father, God worked through the family order He had established; and this fact demonstrates that Joseph and Mary were indeed married, and the Orthodox position that they were not married is false.

The last time Joseph is mentioned as a living person in the Bible is in Luke 2, finding Jesus in the Temple when he was 12. Sometime between Jesus' age of 12 and 30, it would seem that Jesus' adopted earthly father died and His mother was left a widow.

The Pharisees accused Jesus of being "born of fornication" in John 8:41. When Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Ye do the deeds of your father," they responded with what was apparently a shot at Jesus’ parentage, "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." Mary's becoming pregnant before marriage was great ammunition for the Pharisees against Jesus. She was labeled a fornicator.

However, people understood that Jesus was Joseph's son, as Luke 4:22 testifies, "And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" As Joseph and Mary were merely betrothed and not actually married at the time of Jesus' birth (cf. Luke 2:5), the people assumed that sexual intercourse outside of marriage (fornication) had occurred; but that doesn't mean Joseph and Mary were not later married, hence Jesus being referred to as Joseph's son.

Mary Not Part of Jesus' Earthly Ministry

Another thing we know about Mary was that she was never any part of Jesus' ministry. In the account in Matthew 12, we find Mary and Jesus' brothers are not a part of His ministry. Matthew 12:47-50 reads, "Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

This is not to say that his mother opposed His ministry, but neither she nor Jesus' brothers were any part of it. In fact, none of Jesus’ brothers believed in Him before His resurrection. John 7:5 reports, "For neither did his brethren believe in him."

Mary re-enters the picture at the sad sight of the crucifixion, and Jesus wanted His disciple John to adopt her as his own mother and take her into his house. Jesus commands this adoption to take place in John 19:26-27, "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

This is actually another proof that Jesus' brothers were younger than He was, otherwise surely He would have simply let His brothers look after His mother. As well, in Jewish custom, He would not have had the right to make such a request unless He was the firstborn.

The choice of John as the adopter of Mary as mother is also very telling. John was known by Jesus from the beginning to be a man who would live to a very late age. Jesus predicted a long life for John in John 21:22, "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." Many disciples took this to mean that John would not die before Jesus’ return. In verse 23, John follows up Jesus’ statement, "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"

In Acts, we note that, even though Mary was now John's adopted mother, and John was an apostle in the Jerusalem church, that she is absolutely never mentioned as having any involvement in the church.

The Assumption is Also False Doctrine

John certainly outlived Mary. In 89 AD, the Roman emperor Domitian began a seven year persecution of Christians and began, for the first time, exiling Christians to the Isle of Patmos, a prison island. John confirms that this is where he wrote Revelation in Revelation 1:9, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

The evidence supports that John was exiled to Patmos at a very advanced age and wrote the book of Revelation somewhere between 90-95AD.

Today, it is a known fact that Jesus was born in either 5BC or 6BC. Mary was a woman no younger than her teens. If she were still present on earth by the time of John’s exile, she would have been at least 105 years old and possibly older. Yet, John writes absolutely nothing of an "assumption of Mary." The man who had adopted Mary as his own mother wrote not one word about her apart from the words in his gospel.

Mary Not In Ministry After Christ's Ascension

Paul writes not one word about Mary in all of his epistles. Neither does Peter, nor do James or Jude, who are both Mary's sons and Jesus' brothers. You would think a fantastic event like Mary’s ascension into heaven would be reported in Scripture, but it was not. And you can see that the emphasis of the first church was certainly not on Mary from the Bible's record.

There can be no doubt that Mary was a good woman and obedient to God. In a sense, I believe, certain acts were purposefully omitted by Jesus and Mary for the sake of maintaining the purity of the gospel. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation. But Jesus, who saves all who are saved, made it a point to never baptize even one person in His whole life on earth. John 4:2 tell us "(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)"

Jesus did not baptize so that people would not look to their baptisms for salvation but rather look unto Him for salvation. Similarly, Mary's lack of involvement in the church would seem to be a deliberate act so that the focus of the pure gospel would never be directed in any way toward Mary, but rather toward Christ.

Inappropriate Catholic Titles for Mary

There is one other false doctrine I have not addressed, and that is the inappropriate titles Catholics give Mary, "Queen of Heaven" and "Mother of God". The title "Queen of Heaven" is totally inappropriate as it is the name of a false deity in opposition to God, mentioned in Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:17-25. The title "Mother of God" is also inappropriate. God, in all His persons, existed before Mary, including the Son who makes around 17 appearances in the Old Testament under the name "angel of the LORD" and is described in John 1 as being with God in the beginning. Jesus got his humanity from Mary, not His divinity, and the title "Mother of God" is totally inaccurate for that reason.

In Conclusion

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14-15).

In the account of Moses in the wilderness being referred to here, we find that biting serpents had come to attack the people of Israel. Numbers 21:8-9 says, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."

We have all been bitten by a serpent; the serpent that tempted Eve has bitten every man, woman and child who ever lived. And the whole message of Scripture is that we will die from that bite unless we turn from our sin, our religions, our ceremonies, and our own strength, and simply look unto Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. Isaiah 45:22 says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." There is nothing and no one else that can save us, only Jesus Christ.

In closing, I don’t think God is offended when people tell the truth about Mary. But I do think He is terribly offended by those who through their traditions invalidate Scripture by lying about her. Jesus said it best at Matthew 15:6b, "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."

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