Did Jesus Renounce Marian Veneration? (Luke 11:27-28)
I am in the midst of an internet newsgroup debate with a Fundamentalist regarding the Catholic teaching on Mary. This man claims to be an ex-Catholic, and apparently graduated from Catholic schools. He recently attempted to use Luke 11:27-28 as a proof text against Catholic veneration of Mary:
- While he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out and said to him 'Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed!' He replied, 'Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.'
My Englishman's Greek Concordance shows that the word for "rather" here, menounge (Strong's word #3304) is used four times in the NT: Lk 11:28, Rom 9:20, 10:18, and Phil 3:8. Apparently, it can mean a contrast; however, this contrast need not negate what came before it. A clear example is Phil 3:8. In Phil 3:7 Paul says (KJV):
- But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
- Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord . . .
"Indeed" (RSV) "What is more" (NIV) "Not only that" (Jerusalem) "I would say more" (NEB) "More than that" (NRSV / NASB).
Clearly, the word in this passage does not negate what came before, since the comparison is between "gainful things" and "all things." The second didn't undermine the first, but merely expanded upon it, making the category even broader. Likewise in Lk 11:27-28.
My New Bible Commentary (ed. D. Guthrie, rev. 1970, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, p. 906), a reputable Protestant source, states:
- The woman's rather sentimental benediction on Jesus' mother meant, 'If only I had such a son as this.' Jesus' reply is that something else matters far more, to hear the message He proclaimed and to obey it (cf. 6:46-49).
Written in 1998 by Dave Armstrong.
