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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Mary the New Eve

Often we might hear Jesus being called the New Adam and for good reason 1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. That Last Adam is Jesus.
The Church also calls Mary the New Eve, is there any scriptural ground for this?

Certainly there is but to see it we need to go back to the beginning in Genesis where two covenants were made and then broken.

When God made Adam he said Genesis 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
But we know that Adam was made first because Genesis 2 talks about the man being alone with the animals.

Getting into the creation of the man, it says that God made man in his own image. This is familial covenant language. WE know this because in Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. So that image and likeness language points us to a familial covenant relationship that God has with mankind. God has made a covenant with Adam by making him in God’s own image and likeness.

That is the first covenant.

The second is when in Genesis chapter 2 God took one of Adams ribs and makes from it a woman. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." When we say that someone today is our own flesh and blood we mean that they are family. Adam is saying the same thing. This is familial covenant language that is why in the next verse it says
Genesis 2:24 For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

That is the second covenant.

The devil enters upon the scene and systematically helps ruin both covenants.

First, by getting the woman to listen and believe the devils message instead of her husbands message to not touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The devil drives a wedge between the couple, and in some sense causes the woman to commit spiritual adultery.
So that marriage covenant has been compromised.

Next the devil gets the Adam to break the covenant between himself and God by Adam disobeying God and eating from the tree.

The Church Fathers talked about Mary untying the knot that Eve had tied. And just when you untie a knot, you must do it in reverse of the way that it was tied. This is exactly what happens with Jesus and Mary.

Now getting to Mary being the new Eve. We see in the Gospel of John is another woman who is present only two times. Once at a wedding and another time at a tree.
Mary is never mentioned by name in the Gospel of John, she is called two times "woman".

The first is at the wedding of Cana when in John 2 when Jesus at the request of his mother provides wine for a marriage feast. So Jesus’ first miracle not only saves a marriage feast from social danger and embarrassment by running out of wine, but also blesses marriage by his very presence, thus restoring the sanctity of marriage.

Next we see Jesus nailed to a tree and at the foot of the tree is his mother, who he addresses as "woman". It is on this tree that Jesus is restoring the covenant between God and Man.

So Adam we given two covenants one with God and one with the woman. It is the same with Jesus but in reverse. His first miracle is provided at a wedding at the request of the woman, and finally restoring the covenant with God at the crucifixion with the woman again - his mother.

It is in this was that Mary untied the knot that Eve tied., thus becoming the new Eve.

5 comments:

this life said...

I totally see how these comparisons make sense. The one thing that my family always brings up against the catholic church is why catholics honor Mary so much. I just wish the church fathers teachings were more more readily available to us lay catholics so that we become more informed about Mary in order to defend our faith.

Daniel Egan said...

Well Marco, the church Fathers are readily available to us, you just need to know who to ask. I have links below to web sites and books.
Hope they help.
http://www.catholic.com/library/mary_saints.asp

http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Early-Fathers-Vol-1/dp/0814604323


This guy you can email and he will direct you to better answers on the early church and Mary.
http://www.mikeaquilina.com/

Thomas said...

That makes sense about the familial covenant, I had never noticed the similar language with Adam and Seth, but it is really cool.

Anonymous said...

Mary, Jesus' mother, is not the New Eve. Adam and Eve were mates.
The second Adam and the second Eve are to join hands together to redeem what the first Adam and first Eve did to break the covenants. The New Eve is hidden and will be revealed at the coming of Jesus to rescue her. She is the "woman" who defeats Satan and is a co-Messiah with Jesus as One.
Mary doesn't fit the part. She's Jesus' mother not his wife. The Lord Jesus would pick a "woman" who would do things right this time and she would be his mate. It was going to be the "church", but she's an adulterous whore. She's fornicating with the "Beast" as the Word Council of Churches. So, he has chosen an "Esther" to replace "Vashti" (a symbol of a rebellious wife, the church. Jesus has chosen His "New Eve". She will be revealed at the appointed time. She's living and waiting for her Prince to arrive.
Truly a "Song of Solomon" story. Adam's mother didn't blow it; his wife Eve did. So the New Eve is the "new wife" of the "new Adam", Jesus. Got it? There will be a lot of "shocked" people when the truth is revealed.

Mary said...

To Anonymous:
I understand why you are anonymous. A lot of venom in your response.