Of the billions of women who have ever lived, only one received the singular privilege of bearing the Son of God. Today, R.C. Sproul considers the unique role that Mary, the mother of Jesus, serves in the history of redemption. Get R.C. Sproul’s book The Work of Christ, plus lifetime digital access to two of his teaching series, The Messiah Is Born and What Did Jesus Do?, for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3785/donate Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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Who wouldn't be troubled if in the midst of their day suddenly they were visited by the appearance of an angel? Gabriel's mere presence was enough to terrify anyone. But not only does he appear before Mary, but he speaks to her, and he speaks strange things to her ears.
Can you imagine that, being visited by an angel? It must have been terrifying and amazing. The message Gabriel brought was good news. Mary would be the mother of Jesus. It's for that reason that some have elevated her beyond what the Bible teaches. So how should we understand the role of Mary? Here's Dr. Sproul.
The first job I ever had as a young man was working in a shoe repair shop. My boss was a huge bear of a man who was Croatian by ancestry, and he was beloved by the boys in our town. Everybody called him Uncle Ned. Well, I worked as a shoeshine boy in Uncle Ned's shoe repair shop and also helped with some menial tasks that required no craftsmanship.
But every night in that shoe repair shop, it was Ned's. tradition to listen to the rosary on the radio. I believe the program was called the Catholic Hour. And I had to listen to this every night even though I was not Catholic in my religious affiliation. And I got so that I could shine shoes in rhythm to the rosary as we would listen to the same intonations night after night.
And they would start off with the words, Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. And then we would hear, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and the hour of our death. Amen. I still see Uncle Ned every now and then. Whenever I go back to Pittsburgh, I always make it a point to visit Ned.
And we still joke about my discipline in the shoe shop, having to listen to the rosary every night. And I still remember a little bit of it. But it wasn't until years later, when I read the Scriptures for the first time, that I understood and saw that much of the language of that had been taken directly from the New Testament.
The recitation of the rosary dates to the earliest times in Christian history, except for the addition of the phrase, Holy Mother of God, pray for us sinners now in the hour of our death. That was not added.
until the 15th century and did not become formally authorized until the 16th century, until the year 1568 by Pope Pius V. But the beginnings of that consideration, as I said, are taken from the narrative account of the infancy narratives of Jesus.
The great hymn, Ave Maria, is taken from the greeting of the angel Gabriel to Mary when this archangel was sent to this obscure village by God to announce to Mary the miraculous event that was soon to take place. The words Ave Maria in Latin simply mean Hail Mary. And the word Ave or Hail is not a statement of adoration or worship or anything like that.
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