In
a previous post, I discussed the Greek term κεχαριτωμένη in Luke 1:28 and
showed that it does not support the doctrine of Mary's immaculate conception
and personal sinlessness. In this post, I will focus on the phrase, "The
Lord is with thee" in the same verse.
From
a Roman Catholic apologetics Website (emphasis added):
In fact, Gabriel referred to Mary as
"full of grace" (Luke 1:28) BEFORE the incarnation took place. One
cannot be full of grace and have ANY sin (Romans 6:14). And that fact could only mean that Mary did
not have the stain of any sin, even original sin, on her soul. Mary was not "Full of Grace"
because she had Jesus inside of her; rather, she was chosen to be the mother of
Jesus because she was full of grace already.
Gabriel told her "The Lord is with you" before she became
pregnant by the Holy Ghost.
Some
Catholics, such as this apologist, try to tie in the alleged forced of κεχαριτωμένη
with the phrase, “the Lord is with you” to strengthen the case for the
Immaculate Conception. However, the phrase, “The Lord is with you” is a rather
common locution in the LXX and never once hints at the concept of being free
from sin, whether original or personal. Consider the following examples(in the
following examples from the LXX, the Greek term κυριος are instances where the underlining Hebrew is Yahweh):
And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee [Isaac]: and
we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let
us make a covenant with thee. (Gen 26:28)
And he said unto them, Let the Lord be with you, as I will let you go,
and your little ones; look to it, for evil is before you. (Exo 10:10)
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, “The
Lord is with thee [Gideon], thou mighty man of valour. (Judg 6:12)
And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The
Lord be with you, And they answered him, The Lord bless thee. (Ruth 2:4)
David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the
lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of
this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. (1
Sam 17:37)
The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to
do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go
in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. (1 Sam
20:13)
And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the
Lord is with thee. (2 Sam 7:3)
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all
Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek
him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2
Chron 15:2)
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye
still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with
you. (2 Chron 20:17)
What
we can conclude from this is that (1) the locution, ο
κυριος μετα σου and similar
locutions is not evidence of being free from the stain of sin and (2) simply
means that the Lord is “with” the person in the sense of protecting and/or
guiding prophetically and individual or a group. In the case of Luke 1:28 and
Mary, God was “with” her in that she would, miraculously, be the mother of the
Messiah (Luke 1:35). To read into this evidence of
the Immaculate Conception, as defined in 1854, is nothing sort of eisegesis.