Mary's Perpetual Virginity...

[Jake Huether]

Luke 1:

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,

27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

28 The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

30 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.

31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.

34 How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin?

Let me highlight the key quotes which undeniably indicate that Mary intended even before she pledged to be married to remain a virgin.

The Angel Gabriel declares to Mary.

You will be with child and give birth to a son

Note, this is in the future tense. You WILL be with child. Not you ARE with child.

When in the future? Is it before Mary is married to Joseph? Is it after? We aren't sure. Mary isn't sure.

Also note, the Angel doesn't explicitly say that her son will be God. Mary can't be sure the child wont be from Joseph. At this point, the child might be from her future husband - because the Angel said she'd have a child in the future. In fact, the reader of the Gospel up to this point has every reason to believe that it would be from Joseph, since Gabriel had just come from talking with Zechariah in pretty much the same exact fashion. And we all know Elizabeth would be with child BY Zechariah. But we can't really be sure. Frankly, the Angel Gabriel leaves a lot to be desired. And consequently Mary must asks:

How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin?

Now, if the Angel tells Mary that in the future she will be with child, and he doesn't explicitly say who the father will be, and Mary is engaged to Joseph, and (main point) if inDouche Mary intended on having relations with Joseph...

Why on earth would she, at this point, need to ask "How will this be."? If it is in the future, and Mary will marry Joseph and have normal relations with him in the future, then Mary would have most certainly presumed that it would have been from Joseph!

You see, in Zech's case, he asked "how can this be" but he got busted. Why? Because he presumed correctly that it would be by his wife. But what he didn't believe is that his wife could still have kids by the power of God. Mary on the other hand doesn't get busted. Why? Because she knows that she and her future husband could have kids if they wanted. BUT. she doesn't want to have marital relations with Joseph. And the Angle knows that! So, since Mary has presumed wrongly that the way in which her child would be born would be through intercourse, and she has not (nor will she) have intercourse, then her question is valid.

We can conclude then that Mary had previosly made a vow before God that she would remain a virgin. If she hadn't, then her question is null. Understanding her circumstances, she would have presumed that Joseph would be the father. In which case, then the Angel would have needed to be more explisit prior.

Mary was vowed to be a virgin, despite being engaged, perpetually.

Mary ever Virgin, pray for us.

[Jake Huether]

ICTHUS,

Please read this. I hope it helps.

[MrsFrozen]

Hi, Jake..

I'm really glad you posted this! I found it very helpful. I was wondering about scriptural references to Mary's perpetual virginity, and here it is!

Thank you very much. :)

[the_rev]

It also says, "you have found favour with God!"

How great is our blessed mother!

Eh!