Question: I’m from the Philippines. Many Filipinos believe that Mary as the mother of Jesus can mediate between God and man which I don’t believe (1 Timothy 2:5). My question is: What is the role of Mary in God’s plan? Does her genealogy have something to do with the phrase, "The throne shall not depart from David?" If so, can you please help me find her genealogy in the Bible?

Thank you!

Joseph

Answer: Hello Joseph,

I agree with you. Mary is not a mediator -- she was chosen, and honored by God to be the physical mother of the Son of God. But as great as her role was, the essential party in the relationship that resulted in the birth of Jesus was the Godhead. Any woman could have been chosen by God, but only God could have come into our world in the person of Jesus, and only God could have overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35), in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Mary’s place in the plan of God was special – but so were others, like Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, Paul, Peter, etc. But only Jesus mediates between God and man, and it is through this name and what he did on our behalf that we are saved.

Most scholars believe that the two genealogies (Matthew and Luke) are given for contrast – that Matthew’s was the legal, the line of descent, the kingly line, through his step-father Joseph (Matthew 1:1-17). Luke’s (Luke 3:23-37), on the other hand, might be that of his mother Mary, as Heli (Luke 3:23) may have been Joseph’s father-in-law. If this is the case, Mary’s genealogy would be represented by the account in Luke – a fitting Gospel for it to appear in, given the prominence of women in the Gospel of Luke.

Hope this helps, Joseph – may God bless you.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht