Just why is Mary Blessed among women?

"And it came about while He [Jesus] said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.' But He said, 'On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.' " (Luke 11:27-28 NASB)

I happened across this short interchange while I was reading through Luke today and it struck me. Why is it that we call Mary Blessed?

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Don't get me wrong, I certainly consider Mary blessed among women, as Scripture says. There is no doubt that she was shown special favor by God. But when we say that, what exactly are we saying?

Are we saying that Mary somehow merits that special status? That she, herself, is somehow more holy than other women? That she, herself, is somehow to be praised, honored, or even worshipped?

The answer to that question must be a resounding "NO!" But reading the above verses caused me to revisit the earlier passages in Luke which speak of Mary. While in Luke 1:28 we have Mary saluted by Gabriel who calls her "favored," and she is one who has "found favor with God," this is not to be taken that she somehow merited favor. And when Elizabeth calls her, "Blessed among women," she is not indicating that Mary somehow, of her own doing or being, deserves such honor.

Rather, all of these must be taken in light of Mary's comment in Luke 1:38 where Mary responds to Gabriel and says, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." This is proved by our citation above, Luke 11:27-28.

It is not that Mary has somehow sought favor and found it with God that she was blessed to be the mother of our Lord, but rather that she "obtained grace from God," and was made the mother of God. It is that heard the word of God spoken by the angel Gabriel and believed it and acted according to it. It was thus not her inherent worth, but the grace of God bestowed upon her and the resulting faith that came from hearing God's word to her that she became blessed.

Thus it is with all of us. When we hear the Good News of Jesus Christ -- that through Him our sins are forgiven -- we receive that same faith. For Faith comes by hearing the Word of God!

Praise God that it is so. And let us continue to call Mary "Blessed" for upon her was bestowed the special gift of carrying the seed promised in the garden of Eden. That seed which was promised to Abraham that would be a blessing to all nations. Namely, Jesus, the Christ who was the lamb without blemish who took upon himself the guilt due for our iniquities and was bruised for our transgressions that through Him, we might inherit eternal life.