Does Luke 1:28 Support The Immaculate Conception Of Mary?

          "The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. It was fitting that the mother of him in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" should herself be "full of grace." She was, by sheer grace, conceived without sin as the most humble of creatures, the most capable of welcoming the inexpressible gift of the Almighty. It was quite correct for the angel Gabriel to greet her as the "Daughter of Zion": "Rejoice." It is the thanksgiving of the whole People of God, and thus of the Church, which Mary in her canticle lifts up to the Father in the Holy Spirit while carrying within her the eternal Son." (CCC # 722).

          The clearest description that we get about Mary from the New Testament is that she is "the Lord's servant" (Luke 1:38). Nothing much else is said of her elsewhere. Further, it is an unrealistic jump to go from describing Mary as being an instrument used by God to being a woman conceived without sin, ascending into heaven without physical death, and being exalted as the queen of heaven. The context of Luke 1 contains no reliable evidence that Mary holds a mediatory role between humanity and God or was intended to be venerated in the way that Catholics have done with her.

          The angel Gabriel’s greeting, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28, NRSV), underscores God's favor upon Mary as the chosen vessel for Jesus' incarnation. However, there is no indication that this favor confers an ongoing role for Mary beyond being the mother of Jesus. Moreover, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) emphasizes Mary's acknowledgment of her own humility and God's greatness. While she praises God for the honor given to her, the prayer's central focus is on God's mercy, justice, and faithfulness to His covenant. There is no suggestion that Mary sought or should receive adoration from others.

          Luke 1 contains important statements of Elizabeth, Mary, and the Angel Gabriel. However, nothing is said concerning Mary being without sin. Further, why would Gabriel announce the important message of Mary's birth so many years after the occasion took place (i.e. when she was already a fully grown woman)? Both the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were proclaimed before their birth dates. It would be highly unusual to make a prophecy of an event after the fact that it has already happened. Luke chapter one centers around the conception of Jesus.

          The Greek word in Luke 1:28, kecharitomene, does not require the translation “full of grace,” since its basic meaning points to someone who has been shown favor rather than someone possessing a unique or permanent fullness of grace. Jerome’s Vulgate rendering, gratia plena, reflects an interpretive choice rather than a strict translation of the Greek. Building doctrine on that phrasing places more weight on the Latin wording than the original text itself supports. Modern Roman Catholic translations, such as the New American Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible, avoid “full of grace” and instead use “favored one,” indicating that the Greek text does not exactly convey the stronger Marian meaning traditionally associated with the Vulgate. Consider this excerpt from the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VII, Page 378:

          "The words of Gabriel, “Hail, full of grace” (Lk. 1.28), have also been appealed to as a revelation of the Immaculate Conception, on the grounds that to be truly full of grace, Mary must have had it always. This interpretation, however, overlooks the fact that the Greek term κεχαριτωμένη is not nearly so explicit as the translation “full of grace” might suggest. It implies only that God’s favor has been lavished on Mary, without defining the degree of grace."

          Gabriel’s greeting in Luke 1:28 does not teach Mary’s lifelong sinlessness because Luke uses the perfect participle to describe a past act of God with ongoing relevance, not a permanent or prenatal moral condition. For example, in Acts 15:8-9 Luke says God “cleansed” Gentile hearts using a similar perfective form, yet this clearly does not mean they were pure from birth. Within Luke-Acts, elevated titles consistently mark divine favor and commissioning, not intrinsic impeccability: Mary is “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42), echoing the same phrase applied to Jael in Judges 5:24; Simeon is “righteous and devout” (Luke 2:25); Stephen is “full of grace and power” (Acts 6:8). None of these descriptions imply sinlessness. The broader biblical pattern reinforces this point: Noah “found favor” with God (Genesis 6:8) and Gideon is hailed “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12), yet both men are clearly flawed. In the same way, Gabriel’s greeting identifies Mary as God’s chosen servant for a unique mission, not as someone possessing an eternal state of sinlessness.

          Martin Franzmann, in the Concordia Self-Study Commentary, New Testament, p. 60, wrote:

          "Luke 1:26-38 The annunciation to Mary is narrated in strict parallel to the story of the annunciation to Zechariah (angelic messenger; “troubled” recipient; calming of fear; promise of one who “will be great”; sign given, introduced by “and behold”; assurance of fulfillment); both stories are part of the one Gospel. But there is progression and heightening as well as parallelism. There is in the story of the annunciation to Mary a heightened emphasis on the initiative and the working of God; this is God’s Gospel indeed, dominated by Him: here are God’s messengers, God’s favor, God’s Word, God’s Spirit, the power of the God with whom nothing is impossible, and above all the grace of God which gives to Israel and mankind the Son of God to reign for ever on the throne of... David."

          Consider this excerpt from The Augsburg Confession: A Commentary, by Leif Grane, p. 209, which is thoroughly fitting to include here:

          "She [Mary] does not seek her own enjoyment in the honor which God has permitted her to share, but keeps her spirit pure. In this way the Magnificat becomes a proclamation of God's own goodness toward poor and lowly mortals. It is God's grace toward Mary, who is unworthy, that we should praise. Mary does not desire that praise be directed toward her, for thereby God's grace is diminished. If one would honor her, one should regard her low estate and marvel at God's exceedingly abundant grace toward her. Thereupon one should praise God, who acts this way toward poor and wretched human beings, and so learn to depend of God oneself, when one is despised and degraded. By elevating Mary into a sublime being, one destroys the comfort which Mary's words can bring."