136. Who Is Mary?

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Who was Mary, really? Beyond the nativity scenes and religious artwork, Scripture paints a portrait of an extraordinary yet fully human woman whose lineage, faith, and humility made her the perfect vessel for God's greatest gift to humanity. 

This thought-provoking episode tackles one of Christianity's most debated topics: Mary's proper role in faith practice. We explore her direct descent from King David's royal line, fulfilling ancient prophecies about the Messiah's lineage. Through careful examination of both Matthew and Luke's genealogies, we uncover how Jesus' connection to David was secured both legally (through Joseph) and biologically (through Mary) – a divine orchestration centuries in the making.

Why did God choose this particular young woman from Nazareth? The answer lies not in perfection but in her remarkable willingness to surrender completely to God's plan despite facing potential shame and hardship. Her response – "I am the Lord's servant" – models the very faith we're all called to embody. Yet Scripture also reveals Mary's own acknowledgment of needing salvation, challenging traditions that elevate her beyond humanity.

The episode delicately addresses the theological tension between Catholic and Protestant perspectives, particularly regarding prayer and intercession. By returning to Scripture's clear teaching that "there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5), we find solid ground for honoring Mary's extraordinary example without directing worship or prayers toward her. Join us for this balanced, scripture-centered exploration that will deepen your understanding of Mary's significant yet properly contextualized role in Christianity. Share your thoughts with us on social media – we'd love to continue this important conversation together.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:33):
The hey everyone and welcome back to the Radiant
Mission Podcast.
I'm your host, rebecca Toomey,and we are diving right back in
to our Coffee Talk series wherewe are tackling deep faith
questions in a short,thought-provoking format.
So today's topic who is Maryand what role does she play in

(00:58):
Christianity and how shouldbelievers view her?
This is a hot topic right now,especially within Protestant and
Catholic communities.
So I'm just going to addresswhat the scripture says about
Mary.
We're going to start there.

(01:18):
Who was Mary?
According to scripture, mary wasthe mother of Jesus and she, of
course, is one of the mostwell-known women in the Bible.
She was chosen by God for aunique and holy purpose, and
that was to give birth to theSavior of the world.
It's a pretty big deal, right?

(01:38):
Mary's lineage is a fulfillmentof prophecy.
Lineage is a fulfillment ofprophecy.
She was from the tribe of Judahand is a direct descendant of
King David, which fulfilled theOld Testament prophecy that the
Messiah would come from David'slineage.
In Jeremiah 23, 5, it says thedays are coming, declares the

(02:01):
Lord, when I will raise up.
Mary's genealogy is significantto me because it really
establishes Jesus' rightfulplace as the messianic king

(02:21):
through her bloodline.
And now there takes two to kindof talk through this right,
because we also have Joseph andthere are two genealogies of
Jesus.
In the New Testament we areprovided these two genealogies
Matthew 1, verses 1 through 16,traces Jesus' lineage through

(02:43):
Joseph, who is his earthlyfather, establishing his legal
right to the throne of David.
And then in Luke 3, verses23-38, it is widely understood
to trace Mary's lineage, whichconfirms Jesus' biological
connection to David through herbloodline.
So very interesting connectionto David in both of these areas.

(03:10):
Now, matthew's genealogyfocuses on the royal line of
succession.
This shows that Jesus, asJoseph's legal son, had a
rightful claim to David's throne.
Luke's genealogy, however,likely represents Mary's
ancestry and that shows thatJesus was a physical descendant

(03:34):
of David through her.
So we kind of have both ofthese legal versus physical.
Either way physical, either wayJesus was a descendant of David
, as was Mary.
So let's talk a little bit too.

(03:54):
There's some more connectionshere to be made, and there is a
connection to not just David butAbraham, who are both key
figures in biblical history, whoare both key figures in
biblical history.
So God's promise to Abraham wasthat Jesus would come from
Abraham's line to bless allnations, and we are told this in
Genesis 12, verse 3, and thenagain in Galatians, 3, verse 16.

(04:18):
God's covenant to David we aretold that the Messiah would be a
descendant of David and ruleforever, and you can find more
on that in 2 Samuel 7, verses 12through 13, and in Isaiah 9, 13
.
So Jesus fulfilled both ofthese promises and affirmed that

(04:39):
he is the long awaited king andredeemer.
But let's get back to Mary.
Miss Mary, why did God chooseMary?
There's a lot of women in theworld, a lot of women to choose
from, but God chose Mary.
According to some of thedigging that I've done and this

(05:01):
is somewhat of an opinion right,god's selection of Mary was not
random.
She was chosen for her humility, her obedience and faith.
While she was a young, ordinaryJewish girl from Nazareth.
We are shown that her heart wasdevoted to God.

(05:22):
In Luke 1, verse 48, it saysfor he has been mindful of the
humble state of his servant.
From now on, all generationswill call me blessed.
And so let's talk about a fewof the reasons why I personally
feel that he chose Mary, thefirst being that she had a heart

(05:47):
devoted to God and she wasfound highly favored Luke 1,
verse 28,.
She had a willing spirit, sheaccepted God's calling without
hesitation.
That's found in Luke 1, verse38.
It's a fulfillment of prophecy.
She was from David's line, asforetold in scripture.

(06:11):
And, lastly, she was a model ofobedience.
She really trusted God's plandespite uncertainty.
Mary's selection really was notabout her own perfection, but it
was about God's divine plan touse an obedient and faithful
servant for his greatest mission.
And Mary was from the line ofKing David, which fulfilled Old

(06:33):
Testament prophecy that theMessiah would come from David's
lineage.
In Luke 1, verses 28 through 30, it says the angel went to her
and said greetings, you, who arehighly favored.
The Lord is with you.
Mary was greatly troubled athis words and wondered what kind
of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her donot be afraid, mary, you have

(06:56):
found favor with God.
Her obedience, her faith inaccepting this calling, is
really, and should be, anexample to all of us.
I know it's an example to me onhow, when he calls us and we
move, that, amazing thingshappen.
So now let's talk about what Ifeel is really important in this

(07:18):
conversation about Mary.
We've established that she is awonderful, god-fearing,
god-loving, obedient woman.
And what's next?
Honoring Mary versus worshipingMary?
This is something that,throughout history, different
Christian traditions have viewedMary in different ways, right?

(07:44):
Some honor her as a faithfulservant of God, which I feel
many Protestant denominations do.
Others elevate her to aposition of worship, praying to
her or asking for intercession.
And this is what I really wantto talk about.
And, please, if you arelistening and you are Catholic

(08:07):
or come from a Catholicbackground, this is not me
bashing you or anything that youbelieve, but I would like you
to open up your mind today tojust have this conversation, to
just let's talk about what theBible says about Mary versus
what we may have, may believebased on what we've been told by

(08:31):
people.
Right?
This is where we really want totake a look at this
conversation, or where I'd liketo go with it.
In Exodus 20, verses threethrough five, we are told you
shall have no other gods beforeme.
You shall not make for yourselfan image in the form of

(08:51):
anything in heaven above or onthe earth beneath or in the
waters below.
You shall not bow down to themor worship them.
That's first things first.
We are not to make idols out ofanything or anyone who is not
god.
So why do some pray to mary?

(09:12):
That's the next question.
Certain christian traditions,like with catholicism, teach
that mary can intercede onbehalf of believers.
However, the Bible makes itclear that Jesus alone is our
mediator In 1 Timothy 2.5, forthere is one God and one

(09:36):
mediator between God, the man,christ Jesus.
Nowhere in scripture does itinstruct believers to pray to
Mary, and while she is blessedand favored by God, she is not

(09:57):
divine and our worship should bereserved for God alone.
That is the biggest piece here.
As I have dug into this topicand potential reasonings, all of
what I have found about prayingto Mary in the intercession
comes from man and it does notcome from the scripture

(10:21):
instructing us to do so.
So let's talk about Mary'shumility in her own need for a
savior, because she is human,just like us.
Even Mary recognized that sheneeded a savior, just like each
of us, all of us In Luke 1,verses 46 through 47, and Mary

(10:42):
said my soul glorifies the Lordand my spirit rejoices in God,
my Savior.
If Mary needed a Savior, thenshe was not without sin, and
this directly challenges thebelief that she was sinless, as
some believe, or that she couldact as a co-redeemer.

(11:06):
So, all of this said, what canwe learn from Mary?
Even though we don't worshipMary, we can learn from her
faith and her as an example, andher as an example.

(11:26):
She displayed obedience and awillingness to trust God's plan,
as in Luke 1.38.
She had extreme and tremendousfaith and believed the angel's
message despite her fear, as inLuke 1.45.
She had tremendous humility andrecognized God's power, not her
own Luke 1, 46 through 47.
She was a godly woman, not agoddess, and we can honor her

(11:49):
without elevating her to a placethat she was never meant to
hold, a place that Jesus Christholds for us.
So, as you're sipping yourcoffee or tea today, take a
moment to reflect.
I've got some questions tothink on today.
How has Mary's faith inspiredyou?

(12:10):
Do you believe that she shouldbe prayed to, or does scripture
point us to Jesus alone?
And how can you trust God theway that Mary did?
As we wrap up today, I'd liketo hear from you.

(12:31):
Please join the conversation Ifyou have thoughts on this
comments.
Want to talk further on Mary?
Find me on Instagram at theRadiant Mission, or on Facebook
at the Radiant Mission Podcast.
And then this series.
I've been doing something kindof special on the YouTube
version of this video, which youcan find by searching for my

(12:52):
name, rebecca Toomey.
I've actually been addingvisuals, some visual captions
and the Bible verses as visuals,so if you want to check that
out, please do.
And then, of course, we wouldlove to have your support.
Please help keep the RadiantMission podcast going.
Consider becoming a monthlymember or refer this to someone

(13:14):
who might want to be a sponsorof the show.
That would be awesome.
Head to the show notes for moredetails on all of this.
And today I'm going to closewith 1 Timothy 2.5, as mentioned
before, for there is one Godand one mediator between God and
mankind, the man Jesus Christ.
I'm wishing you a radiant weekand I'll see you next time.

(13:37):
Bye, everyone.