Luke 1:28 and the Immaculate Conception

Luke 1:28 and the Immaculate Conception

In 1854, Pope Pius IX dogmatically declared, "From the first moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind, kept free from all stain of original sin."

The seeds of this truth were already sprouting in early Church history. The Fathers as early as St. Justin Martyr and St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century had noted the dichotomy between Eve and Mary, thus bringing about the concept of Mary being the New Eve just as Jesus was the New Adam.

St. Irenaeus writes, "Eve... having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race... Thus, the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith."

He further writes, "So if Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to be obedient to God. In this way, the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so it is rescued by a virgin."

This distinction of Mary being the New Eve is important because the Fulfillment of an Old Testament type should always be greater than the Type itself. Thus, if Eve was brought into the world sinless, so too, it is fitting for Mary to be brought into it sinless as well.

In the 4th century, St. Ephraim the Syrian wrote, "You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others, for there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother."

The great St. Athanasius called Mary the "pure and unstained Virgin," and went on to write, "O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides."

St. Cyril calls her "pure and spotless." St. Augustine writes, "Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him in whom there was no sin?"

The historical Ecumenical Councils also had much to say on the topic.

Council of Constantinople II (c. 553): “... the holy, immaculate, ever-Virgin and glorious Mary, truly and properly the Mother of God (Canon 6)

Council of Constantinople III (c. 681): “... but as taking flesh of the immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, he is perfect man” (Pros. to Emp)

Council of Nicea II (c . 787): “we confess that he who was incarnate of the immaculate Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary has two natures”

Sacred Scripture gives us a powerful glimpse into this divine truth concerning Mary. It comes right in Luke 1:28. So many translations downplay the significance of this passage. "Greetings, highly favored daughter" simply does not do it justice. Even the traditional rendering of "Hail, Full of Grace" does not go far enough, but it expresses the sublimity of what is being said by the Archangel Gabriel.

In Greek, the term for "Full of Grace" is Kecharitomene. St. Jerome translated this in Latin as "Gratia Plena," where we get Full of Grace in English. Kecharitomene is a rich term and it is used only once in the entire Bible. You can not even find it anywhere in historical secular Greek literature. That is how unique it is. It carries the connotation of one who is perfected in grace, literally overflowing with grace.

Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle in the Greek. This means she already has been perfected in grace in the past, resulting in a present state condition which is ongoing in the future. This is truly fascinating. If this means she is perfected in grace past, present, and future, then all that is left to explore is the enmity that exists between grace and sin.

Dave Armstrong breaks it down in an easy formula this way:

1) Grace saves us.

2) Grace is the antithesis of sin and gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin.

3) To be full of the grace (Luke 1:28) which gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin, is to be fully without sin, by that same grace.

The first point is explicitly taught in Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." Titus 2:11 teaches, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people." St. Paul further writes in Titus 3:7, "So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." In 2 Timothy 1:9, St. Paul teaches, "Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace."

The second point is broken down perfectly in Romans 5:12-21:

"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 6:23 sums the second point up perfectly and succinctly: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So with these two points firmly established in Sacred Scripture regarding grace and sin, we arrive at the full power being revealed in point three: "To be full of the grace (Luke 1:28) which gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin, is to be fully without sin, by that same grace."

Dr. Robert Sungenis sums it up perfectly: "These implications tend to vindicate the Catholic interpretation that Luke 1:28 refers to Mary’s personal state of existence in grace, as opposed to being only the favored status she receives in being selected as the mother of Jesus… [Luke 1:28] refers to the “fullness of grace” (which in Catholic theology means the absence of sin). Mary’s full state of grace, beginning in past time (which must logically lead back to her conception in the womb of her mother St. Anne) and continuing to the present and future, would imply her sinlessness for that whole period of time."