Mary In The New Testament

328 Pages·1978·18.286 MB·English

by  Raymond E Brown, Karl P Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, John Reumann (Editors)

Mary in
the New Testament
A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and
Roman Catholic Scholars
Edited by
Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Donfried,
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann
From discussions by
PAUL J. ACHTEMEIER KARLFRlED FROEHLICH
MYLES M. BOURKE REGINALD H. FuLLER
RAYMOND E. BROWN GERHARD KRODEL
SCHUYLER BROWN J. LOUIS MARTYN
KARL P. DONFRlED ELAINE H. PAGELS
JOSEPH A. FITZMYER JOHN REUMANN
Sponsored by
the United States Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue
~
PAULIST PRESS
New York/Mahwah
MARY IN mE NEW TESTAMENT
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Mary in the New Testament.
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
1. Mary, Virgin-biblical teaching. 2. Bible. N.T.-Criticism, interpretation.
etc. I. Brown, Raymond Edward. II. Achtemeier, Paul J. ill. United States
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue (Group).
BT611.M37 232.91 78-8797
ISBN 0-8091-2168-9
Copyright 0 1978 by Fortress Press
Published by
Fortress Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and
Paulist Press
Mahwah, New Jersey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or produced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em
bodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Fortress Press.
2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania 19129.
Manufactured in the United States of America
PREFACE
In 1973 a task force of NT scholars produced a collaborative
study entitled Peter in the New Testament. They did this work at
the request of the participants in the National Dialogue between
Lutheran and Roman Catholic theologians who were then prepar
ing a study on Papal Primacy and the Universal Church, the fifth
volume in the series Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue (Min
neapolis: Augsburg, 1974).
The whole tone of that National Dialogue and its series of
volumes had been governed by an effort to see in a new light the
old problems that had been separating the churches. Certainly
one of those problems was the claim of the papacy to authority
over the church in terms of a succession to Peter. While discuss
ing those claims, the theologians of the National Dialogue
thought it would be heipful to see what modern biblical scholars
with various church backgrounds could say in common about
Peter's role in NT times. Peter in the New Testament was well
received in scholarly circles, not only for the expertise of the
contributors, but also because the ecumenical dimension of their
work brought new insights. Perhaps the best testimony to the
value of its contribution is the fact that it has been translated into
German, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese, along with a
separate British edition. It has also been cited in the various
ecumenical and interchurch dialogues about authority in the
church, with respect to the papacy.
The scholars who took part in the discussions which pro
duced Peter in the New Testament reported that working together
v
vi PREFACE
was a learning experience that they wished to continue, and they
proposed one more study on a very divisive topic in Christianity,
namely, the role of Mary in Christian thought. As previously,
they did not hope to settle all the ecumenical aspects of this
question but only to ascertain what modern scholars could say in
common about the picture of Mary in the various NT books. They
approached the theologians of the National Lutheran/Roman
catholic Dialogue to inquire if such a biblical work could be
useful to their discussions, as Peter had been. By this time the
theologians had begun their discussion of papal infallibility and
teaching authority. This was not a Marian subject; yet the defini
tions of the dogmas of the immaculate conception and the as
sumption of Mary were the most obvious exercises of the claim of
papal infallibility, and therefore a Marian study would not be
unrelated to the purposes of the Dialogue. Consequently the same
sponsorship was given to the study of Mary in the New Testament
as to the previous work on Peter.
We repeat here what we affirmed before. We know that some
voices in Christendom have questioned both the propriety and the
reliability of the critical approach to biblical research of which
both the Peter and Mary volumes are examples. We ourselves
recognize its limitations in reaching final theological conclusions.
Nevertheless, it is our belief that responsible inquiry into original
source material is a necessary task and should further our mutual
understanding of issues that have vexed Christian relationships
over the centuries. We rejoice that the task force, with four Lu
theran and four Roman Catholic members, had the added partici
pation· of two Episcopalian members and two members of the
Reformed tradition. This Marian biblical study is to the best of
our knowledge a first on the subject in current ecumenical discus
sions and should be of service to many inter-Christian dialogues.
While this work has been carried on with all the techniques
of scholarship, the editors have sought to phrase the results with
an eye toward general intelligibility and pedagogical principles.
The contributing scholars have understood that they are speaking
not only to other scholars but also to the parish clergy and knowl
edgeable laity of the churches. We hope that that wide aim will
make Mary in the New Testament useful for college, university.
PREFACE vi1
and seminary classrooms, as well as for more general discussion
groups and adult education classes. Ample documentation and
footnotes have been provided, for the experience with the previ
ous volume on Pe1!er has shown that such an ecumenical biblical
study can serve as a resource in college religion classes and in
seminars at theological schools.
,All those who profit from this work will share our debt to the
twelve scholars who worked without remuneration or royalty.
Their generosity testifies to the importance they attribute to a
study which is virtually unique as an ecumenical contribution. On
behalf of the National Dialogue we express our appreciation to
the Catholic Biblical Association of America and the Lutheran
World Ministries for their financial contributions, and to the Au
burn Program of Union Theological Seminary (N.Y.C.) for having
placed its library reading room at the disposal of the task force for
its meetings.
Paul C. Empie .. T. Austin Murphy
Former General Secretary Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
U.S.A. National Committee Bishops' Committee for Ecu-
Lutheran World Federation menical and Interreligious
Affairs
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: ORIGINS OF THE STUDY 1-6
CHAPTER TWO: PRESUPPOSITIONS OF THE
STUDY 7~t
A. The Nature of the New Testament Writings 7
B. The Composition of the New Testament Books·
and Their Marian Content·
I. The Letters of Paul 9
2. The Gospels 9
3. The Gospel of Mark 14
4. The Gospel of Matthew 17
5. The Gospel of Luke 18
6. The Gospel of John 20
7. The Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse 21
C. Theological Method in Evaluating New
Testament Evidence
1. New Testament Pluralism 22
2. The Canonical Status of .. Pluralistic New
Testament 2S
3. The Relation between History and Tradition 27
4. The Relation of the Biblical Evidence to
Post-biblical Mariology 28
CHAPTER THREE: THE BIRTH OF JESUS IN THE
PAULINE WRITINGS 3349
A. Possible Pre-Pauline Formulations in Philippians
and Romans
1. Pre-existence in Phil 2:6-11 33
ix
Ii CONTENTS
2 .. Davidic Descent and Divine Sons hip in Rom
1:3-4 34
B. Passages of Possible Marian Import in Galatians
1. James, the Brother of the Lord (Gal 1: 19)
2. Born of. Woman (Gal 4:4)
3. Born according to the Spirit (Gal 4:28-29)
CHAPTER FOUR: MARY IN THE GOSPEL OF
MARK '1-72
A. Who Constitute the Family of Jesus? (3:31-35)
1. The Passage in Itself
2. The Passage in the Marcan Context of 3:20-3~
B. The Rejection of Jesus in His Own Country
(6: 1-6a)
1. The Carpenter, the Son of Mary 59
2. The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus 65
C. Mary, James, and Joses (15:40, 47; 16:1) 68
CHAPTER FIVE: MARY IN THE GOSPEL OF
MATTHEW 73-103
A. Mary in the Birth Narrative (Chaps. 1-2) 74
1. Mary in the Genealogy (1:1-17) 77
2. Mary and the Conception of Jesus (1:18-25) &J
B. Mary in the Public Ministry 97
1. The Disciples Constitute the Family of Jesus
(12:46-50)
2. The Rejection of Jesus in His Own Country
(13:53-58) 99
CHAPTER SIX: MARY IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 105-177
A. Mary in the Birth Narrative (Chaps. 1-2) 107
1. Mary and the Conception of Jesus (1:26-38) 111
2. Mary's Visitation to Elizabeth 0:39-56) 134
3. Mary and the Birth at Bethlehem (2: 1-20) 143
4. Mary and the Presentation of Jesus in the
Temple (2:21-40) 152
CONTENTS xi
5. Mary and the Finding of Jesus in the ,Temple
(2:41-52) 157
B. Mary in the Public Ministry 162
1. The Oenealogy of the "Supposed" Son of
Joseph (3:23) 163
2. The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (4: 16-30) 164
3. The Mother and the Brothers and the Family
of Jesus (8: 19-21) 167
4. A Beatitude on Jesus' Mother (11:27-28) 170
C. Mary in the Jerusalem Community of Acts 1: 14 173
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE MOTHER OF JESUS IN
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 179-218
A. Passages of Marian Import in Chaps. 1-12· 180
1. Begotten of God (1: 13) 181
2. The Scene at Cana (2:1-11) 182
3. The Transition to Capernaum (2: 12) 194
4. The Son of Joseph (6:42) 196
5. The Unbelieving Brothers of Jesus (7:1-10) 199
6. Is Not the Messiah to Come from Bethlehem?
(7:41-43) 201
7. ""Born of Fornication" (8:41) 204
B. The Mother at the Foot of the Cross (19:25-27) 206
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE WOMAN IN
REVELATION 12 219-239
A. ,General Remarks on Apocalyptic and Revelation
1. The Genre Called "Apocalyptic" 219
2. Various Interpretations of the Book of
Revelation 221
B. The Interpretation of ~evelation 12
I. Its Place in the Plan of the Book 223
2. The Structure of Revelation 12 225
3. Possible Sources of the Imagery and the
Narrative 228
4. The Primary Meaning of Revelation 12 231
5. A Reference to Mary in Revelation 12? 235