Christians throughout the centuries have rightly called Mary “blessed.” She is one of the most important figures in redemptive history, chosen by God to bear the Messiah and honored in Scripture as a model of humble faith.
Yet in the wider Christian world, Mary has often been misunderstood. Here in Roman Catholic Italy, where I live and serve, Mary is frequently exalted far beyond what Scripture teaches. Statues of la Madonna appear on street corners, in train stations, and in public squares. Many pray to her as if she possesses unique powers to protect, intercede, or grant help. Italy even has two national holidays dedicated to her: the Feast of the Assumption (Ferragosto) on August 15, celebrating the Roman Catholic dogma of her bodily assumption into heaven, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, commemorating the belief that she was conceived without original sin.
On the other hand, some Protestants, eager to distance themselves from Rome’s excesses, have reacted by holding an unnecessarily low view of Mary, mentioning her rarely or only in passing.
Scripture, however, does not allow for either extreme. The Bible calls her “favored” (Luke 1:28) and “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42). No other woman in history has received a calling so extraordinary: God used Mary to bring the long-promised Savior into the world. For this reason, she is remembered not only in the Gospels but also in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
So, who was Mary? And how should believers think about her today?
Mary was the recipient of grace.
God delights in using the lowly and unexpected to accomplish His purposes. Scripture introduces Mary as a young Jewish woman from Nazareth, a small, insignificant village in Galilee. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter from the line of David (Luke 1:26–27). Nothing in the text suggests nobility, wealth, or special status. Yet it was to this humble young woman that the angel Gabriel declared, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28).
In the fourth century, the Latin Vulgate translated Luke 1:28 poorly: Ave Maria, gratia plena (“Hail Mary, full of grace”). That mistranslation helped give rise to the belief that Mary is full of grace and can dispense grace to others. It also became the basis of the well-known “Hail Mary” prayer used in the Roman Catholic Church, which asks for Mary’s intercession. In the sixteenth century, the Council of Trent added the petition, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” to the prayer, which is still used when reciting the rosary.
But Scripture never presents Mary as an intercessor or mediator. She is not the giver of grace, she is the recipient of grace. Like every believer, Mary was a sinner who needed salvation. God’s grace is His unmerited favor toward the unworthy, and Gabriel’s announcement underscores this: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30).
Mary was the mother of Jesus, the God-man.
The central truth about Mary is that she was the mother of Jesus Christ, who is truly God and truly man. Gabriel’s words make this unmistakable: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). Whereas John the Baptist was the “prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76), Jesus is the Son of the Most High, true God from true God. He is the promised Messiah who inherits the throne of David, “and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23).
For this reason, the early church called Mary the Theotokos, “God-bearer,” a title affirmed at the councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). This did not mean that Mary was the source of Christ’s divine nature, but simply that the child she bore was truly God incarnate. The title protected the truth of the incarnation: The One born of Mary is one person, Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man.
Mary was the object of a miracle.
The virgin birth is not about Mary’s purity but about God’s sovereign initiative in salvation. Scripture teaches that Mary conceived by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, without any sexual relationship (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35). The same Spirit who hovered over the waters of creation (Gen. 1:2) overshadowed Mary and brought about the conception of Christ. Just as the first Adam was formed in an extraordinary way from the dust of the earth, so the second Adam came into the world in an extraordinary way, conceived supernaturally by the Spirit. Christ is the head and heir of a new creation, born as the result of a miracle.
Mary was a model of humble faith.
When God’s call interrupted Mary’s life in a costly and unpredictable way, her response was both simple and profound: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
This is not the voice of a passive girl but of a believer shaped by Scripture and grounded in God’s promises. Mary understood that obedience would bring misunderstanding, hardship, and perhaps public shame. But she submitted herself to the Lord’s will with courageous, thoughtful faith.
Her song, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), reveals a heart saturated with the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms and Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2. Mary rejoices not in herself but in the God who saves sinners, lifts up the lowly, and keeps His covenant of grace.
Mary points us to Christ, not to herself.
Every biblical portrait of Mary functions like a window, not a mirror. The point is never to focus on Mary herself, but to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
She believed God’s promises, showing the nature of genuine faith.
She pondered Christ’s works, showing a heart of meditation.
She stood at the cross, reminding us that salvation comes only through the Son.
She prayed with the church after Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:14), showing that she is among the disciples, not above them.
Mary invites us not to seek her help, but to follow her example: to honor God, trust His promises, and magnify Christ.
The Reformed tradition does not diminish Mary. It places her exactly where Scripture does: blessed among women, but not above them; honored by the church, but not worshiped; a servant who magnifies the Lord, not herself.
And for this, we give thanks to God.
Ligonier Ministries