TITLE: WHERE WAS MARY?

Subtitle: If Mary was destined to be so important in the Salvation of mankind, then why was she excluded from the Last Supper and why did Jesus refrain from officially naming her as Co-Mediatrix as He addressed John from the cross? 

 

I was contemplating the Roman term "co-redemptress" and had a few questions concerning this new wind of doctrine. If it was necessary for Mary to be present at all Roman masses, since she is a "co- redemptress" and "co-mediatrix", then why would Mary have been excluded from the Last Supper? Wouldn’t have Jesus been setting up the standard by which all the churches of God should follow? Yet there is no mention of Mary’s presence at what Rome says is the "institution" of the "sacrifice" of the mass! (It is impossible for the Last Supper to have been a "sacrifice" since Jesus was still alive - read Heb.9:16-17).

But now Rome wants everyone to believe that Mary’s presence is a requirement that the church has always taught. We have the record of the early church in the New Testament, and there is no such scripture to support this blasphemous title. Yet, we are constantly hearing anti-scriptural doctrine from men who are devoid of spiritual discernment. A good case in point is a Catholic gentleman named Peter Lappin who wrote:

"All her life Mary exercised her salvific activity. At the crucifixion, Christ drew His mother into His suffering in order to associate her with His redeeming act. He received her dedication, love and merits and integrated her agony into His own person so that He could offer them to the Father for the salvation of mankind." (Call of the Ages, Petrisko, 294)

Now where in the scriptures does it say that Jesus offered up Mary’s merits for the atonement of mankind? This is a blatant lie!!! Rome goes on to say:

"This liturgical emphasis on the Sorrows of Mary following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross shows the primordial place given by the Church to Our Lady in the plan of Redemption and what place she should have in the devotion of Christians REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST AND THE TEARS OF HIS DEAR MOTHER."

The Bible is very clear that the New Testament is sealed in the blood...not tears! When Jesus prophesied at the Last Supper of His death, He said:

"...FOR THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this FRUIT OF THE VINE, until that day when I DRINK IT NEW with you in my Father’s kingdom." (Matt.26:28-29) (Emphasis mine)

Where is the mention of Mary? Where is the mention of her "tears"? Why did Jesus neglect to mention His own mother’s involvement in His sacrifice if it were so crucial to our salvation? The scriptures are clear:

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Again we go to the Bible as our source of all truth: "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." (Eph.2:18) Rome adds another "spirit" and the Bible warns us about that (2 Cor.11:4) If any man preach any other gospel....let him be accursed (Gal.1:8

by Rebecca A. Sexton

 

CUTTING EDGE COMMENT:

This is one instance where we need to carefully examine the Scriptures to see how completely and blatantly the Catholics have lied when they say Jesus set matters up so that Mary was to be the Co-Mediatrix.

Let us first reexamine the blatant lie, which we quoted above. "At the crucifixion, Christ drew His mother into His suffering in order to associate her with His redeeming act. He received her dedication, love and merits and integrated her agony into His own person so that He could offer them to the Father for the salvation of mankind."

Let us now go to that crucifixion to see exactly what transpired.

The crucifixion is central to each of the four Gospels.

 Matthew 27:31-66 -- Matthew presents Jesus' crucifixion with great horror that the Jews could have conspired to put their Messiah to death. But, Matthew also points "to Jesus as the royal Messiah who faced His destiny in complete control of the situation. Jesus' vindication was found not only in the rending of the veil and the centurion's testimony (Matt. 27:51,54 paralleling Mark) but in the remarkable raising of the Old Testament saints (vv. 52-53-53) which links the cross and the open tomb. For Matthew the cross inaugurated the last days when the power of death is broken, and salvation is poured out upon all people." [Holman Bible Dictionary]. Yet in all this account, Mary is mentioned only in verses 56 and 61, where Matthew just reports that they were there. Matthew makes no mention of Mary sharing the suffering of Jesus Christ or participating in His sacrifice for all the sins of the world.

 Mark 15:20-47-- Mark also represented the national tragedy of Israel killing their Messiah for whom they had long awaited. But, Mark also "emphasized the messianic meaning, using the taunts of the crowds to 'save yourself' (15:30-31) as an unconscious prophecy pointing to the resurrection." [Holman Bible Dictionary] Again, Mary is only mentioned casually as being present at the cross, with no mention being made of her sharing the suffering of Jesus Christ or of participating in His sacrifice for all the sins of the world.

 Luke 23:24-56 -- Luke has a most unique portrayal of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. He presents the entire episode as a glorious victory of God over Satan. Luke includes events which positively show the glory, the forgiveness, and reverence due Jesus during this blessed event. Luke omits the negative events of the earthquake and the drink offered to Jesus while He was dying. Where the other Gospel writers mentioned the taunts of the crowd before Jesus died, Luke reports that the crowd afterward went home "beating their breasts" in great anguish of spirit. While Mary is not even mentioned in this account, verse 49 states that the women who followed Him from Galilee were present at the crucifixion. We can see, from the other Gospel writers, that Mary, Jesus' Mother, was one of those women. However, again we see no reference to Mary participating in the suffering of Jesus Christ or in Jesus' all-important sacrifice.

 John 19:1-42 -- John presents the most dramatic description of the crucifixion. Like Luke, John "presents an atmosphere of calm that characterizes the scene. At the core is Jesus' sovereign control of the whole scene. The cross becomes His throne. John noted that the inscription on the cross ("JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS") was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek (19:19-20), thereby changing it into a universal proclamation of Jesus' royal status. Throughout the account to the final cry, 'It is finished' (v. 30), Jesus was in complete control." [Holman Bible Dictionary]

Once again, Mary was mentioned casually as being present at the cross with the other women who had followed Jesus from Galilee. But, John adds another detail that demonstrates positively that Jesus did not have a Co-Mediatrix role planned for His Mother. Since John correctly demonstrates that Jesus was in complete control of the entire scene, as He fulfilled all the Father's demands for the Perfect Sacrifice for sins, and as He fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies, we can only conclude that Jesus would not have left out a most important element in the Redemptive Plan. If Jesus had planned for Mary to take this role, He would have ensured that her role would have come directly from His lips, either at the Last Supper or at the cross.

However, Mary was not even present at the Last Supper and Jesus never mentioned her to His disciples. But, John records the one instance that would have given Jesus the perfect opportunity to announce to His disciples, and to the entire world, that His Mother was going to be Co-Mediatrix.

In verses 26-27, Jesus looks down at His Mother and His Apostle, John. Let us see precisely what Jesus said. " 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."

In this passage, Jesus ensures that the Apostle John would take care of His Mother after His death. This concern over His Mother was definitely a Jewish distinctive, and Jesus took the opportunity to inform John that he was to take as good care of His Mother as if she were his own mother. Then, Jesus turned to His Mother and informed her that she was to allow John to take care of her. This is probably the reason the Apostle John was the only Apostle not to be martyred, and to die of old age.

But, if Jesus had intended for Mary to take such an important role as the Roman Catholic Church has invented for her, He most assuredly would not have let such a golden opportunity to announce this exalted position for His Mother. This fact makes Jesus' silence from the cross a deafening roar!

The only "source" for this special role for Mary comes from the Roman Catholic Tradition of the Fathers, a mere man-made role. Once again, we see that Roman Catholic theologians have deliberately created new doctrine out of thin air, in direct disobedience to God's commands to not add to, nor subtract from, His Holy Word! [Solemnly read Deuteronomy 4:2, and 12:32; Proverbs 30:5-6; and Revelation 20:18-19]

On Judgment Day, several billion Roman Catholic faithful will understand, for the first time, that God was extremely serious when He forbade any addition to, or subtraction from, His Bible. Only then, when it is too late to change one's eternal destiny, will these Roman Catholic faithful understand that they had placed their eternal destiny in the hands of unsaved, lying prophets.

If you are one of these faithful, we urge you to realize the folly of depending upon the word of men and of their traditions. Believe in Jesus Christ ALONE, both for Salvation and for paying the penalty for your sins! Believe only in the Holy Bible, and stop listening to the lying lips of Roman Catholic priests. Do not delay this personal decision. Your precious eternal soul is at stake.

 

David Bay

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