How do Lutherans view Mary?

How the Christian church views Mary has been a subject of debate for millennia. In the first few centuries of the New Testament Christian church, disputes broke out about whether Mary could be called the mother of God.

Mary: The mother of God

Lutherans, like all creedal Christians, confess that we can give her that title. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is both true God and true man. Christ is one person with two natures and forever will be one person with two natures. Just as we can say God died because Jesus is God, we can say that Mary is the mother of God because Jesus is God. Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, creedal Protestants of various denominations, and Lutherans all agree on this.

In one of his most splendid works, Martin Luther comments on the song of Mary, the Magnificat (see sidebar below). He highly praises Mary for her words of faith, as Mary tells us how she sees God, his Son (her child), and her role in God’s work. Luther gives thanks for the part she played as the mother of God. He also, however, makes it clear that she stands with believers of every age, not apart from them. She is one of us and needed Jesus just as much as we do. Luther writes, “This, then, is the meaning of these words of the Mother of God: ‘In all those great and good things there is nothing of mine, but He who alone does all things, and whose power works in all, has done such great things for me’ ” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p. 328).

Some from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox backgrounds might hear this and think Lutherans are downplaying the significance of our Lord’s mother. Luther, however, flips that on its head. He warns that those who seek to set her apart from other believers, who exalt her as sinless or chosen on account of her merit, actually do her a disservice. They undermine her song, her own words and confession. Luther explains:

They are set on proving their own skill and fail to see how they spoil the Magnificat, make the Mother of God a liar, and diminish the grace of God. For, in proportion as we ascribe merit and worthiness to her, we lower the grace of God and diminish the truth of the Magnificat. The angel salutes her only as highly favored of God, and because the Lord is with her (Luke 1:28), which is why she is blessed among women. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p. 322)

Mary: An example of faith

Mary and Joseph played critical roles in the story of our salvation and provide wonderful examples of faith. They loved Jesus in a special way, and Jesus certainly had a special affection for them. Mary and Joseph, however, looked to the same place that all Christians look, and their lives flowed from the same place that all Christian life flows: Christ. As the gospels moved past Jesus’ childhood, Joseph fades away, content with the attention focusing on the child placed in his care. Mary stands with the Christian church and all its Christians at the foot of the cross and sees “God my Savior” doing for her what he did for all of us (Luke 1:47; John 19:25-27). Her salvation is no less a gift than ours, even as she brought the Giver of this gift, and the gift itself, into this world through her womb.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 972). It then makes a distinction between the veneration or adoration offered to God and that offered to Mary and the saints. It explains:

“The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.” The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 971)

Lutherans hold that such veneration and adoration expressed in the formal doctrine of the Catholic Church and seen in its popular piety goes beyond anything sanctioned in Scripture.

Lutherans do, however, commemorate Mary, just like we do other saints. Article XXI of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, one of our Lutheran Confessions, explains why such commemorations are found in our hymnals. First, they provide an opportunity to thank God for giving us such servants of the church. Second, the mercy God has shown the saints reminds us of the mercy he shows us too. Third, we learn from their examples of faith and service in their daily lives and vocations.

Mary: Viewed through Jesus

Jesus’ mother, Mary, is “blessed” (Luke 1:48). All generations will call her such because of the fruit of her womb, Jesus (Luke 1:42). What God did through Mary will never be forgotten, because Jesus is never forgotten. But Mary, like us, is who she is truly and most fully in Jesus. We thank God for giving Mary as a servant of the church. We also thank God for his mercy shown to her and for choosing her by grace to be the mother of God. Finally, we can learn much from Mary’s humility, her pondering of the Word of God, and her commitment to Christ for our own daily lives and callings.

How do Lutherans view Mary? The short answer is “through Jesus,” which is how Mary saw herself and the whole grand narrative of Scripture and human existence. We do well, then, to look where she looked, hope for what she hoped, and cling to the one to whom she clung: Jesus Christ, her son and God’s Son, our Lord, her Savior and ours.

Author: Wade Johnston
Volume 112, Number 12
Issue: December 2025

The Magnificat

After Mary learned she would be the mother of Jesus, she visited her cousin Elizabeth, who immediately called Mary blessed. Mary’s reaction? A song we now know as the Magnificat (from the Latin word to “magnify” or “glorify”).

Ponder this song of joy from Mary from Luke 1:46-55, a song that displays her humility and her faith in her son, God’s Son, Jesus.

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.