The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary – A Non-Canonical New Testament Writing

     The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary presents a story about Mary’s origin and gives a brief account of her life leading to the birth of Christ. This account of Mary states that her birth was foretold to her parents by an angel of the Lord who also said that she would give birth to the Messiah. In both accounts her parents were told to give her the name Mary just as Mary was told to give her son the name of Jesus.        

    The text states Mary’s father was named Joachim and his wife, Anna, was barren. Joachim had been publicly ridiculed for not having children. When the angel appeared to him he pointed to past accounts of barren women who had given birth and said that such births were often intended for something wonderful. He then appeared to Anna and declared that she would give birth to a child that would be more blessed than any other woman. This again is similar to the Biblical account of an angel appearing to Mary to announce the birth Christ thus giving a since that Mary was like Jesus in the way her birth was foretold and her divine purpose in life.

  The account states that Mary’s parents had vowed that if they had a child they would dedicate it the Lord so when she was three years old they brought her to the temple where she was raised and trained. When they arrived she climbed the steps to the temple without assistance which was seen as a miraculous sign. It also states that Mary was visited by angels and had visions on a daily bases.

  The account then presents a story how Joseph was chosen by the priest through a sign given by God to be Mary’s husband. It wraps up by telling how an angel appeared to Marry and Joseph to declare the coming birth of Christ.

    This account has a strong cultural impact that persists to this day. It provides much of the legend of Mary and also contributes to her standing in the Catholic Church. It has led to traditions that are still held to some extent. Scott P. Richert explains a Catholic perspective in his blog, “In earlier centuries, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated with greater fanfare. Now, most Catholics probably don’t even realize that the Church has a special feast day set aside to celebrate it. But, like the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an important date in our salvation history. Christ needed a mother, and Mary’s own conception and birth, therefore, are events without which Christ’s own birth would have been impossible. It’s no surprise, then, that the Christians of the second century A.D. recorded the details of Mary’s birth in such documents as the Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. While neither document bears the authority of Scripture, they provide us with everything that we know about the life of Mary before the Annunciation…”

    Although parts of the account do appear to agree with many Biblical references, (see http://ministries.tliquest.net/theology/apocryphas/nt/mary.htm.) it cannot be considered canonical as there are problems with it. One main problem is that it highly supports the worship of Mary. It uses phrases such as, “The blessed and glorious ever-virgin Mary” throughout the passages. In Luke 11:27-28 we see Jesus’ response to someone blessing Mary, “As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, ‘Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.’ He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” The term ever-virgin refers to a belief that Mary remained a virgin for the remainder of her life when Biblical scriptures refer to Mary having other children after the birth of Christ. Finally, there is no Biblical evidence that Mary ever performed a miracle.