Originally posted 12/19/23
As Christmas draws closer, Mary becomes a prominent figure as we focus on the birth of Christ. Nativity scenes are being pulled out of boxes and displayed. Images of Mary holding a baby appear on many Christmas cards. You can read more about the history of the nativity here: What is a Christmas nativity? | GotQuestions.org
Hearing the words—“you’re pregnant” has filled women with joy for centuries. For others, they were dreaded words. Did it fill Mary with joy? She was engaged but not yet married. Today, teenage pregnancy doesn’t have the same stigma as it did in Bible times. In Mary’s time, a woman did not have the means to support herself. A pregnancy out of wedlock would have been catastrophic. Joseph could have shamed her beyond repair. Even before the angel of the Lord visited him, he had decided to put her away quietly. But an angel assured Joseph in a dream that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He should not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. (Matt 1:18-22) I can only imagine how the next conversation went.
Mary was a very young girl by today’s standards. She has just learned that she will carry God’s son. I have read Luke 1:26-36 many times trying to picture how scared Mary must have been. The simplicity of her reply is a wonderful lesson for us today. “And Mary said, “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:36)
As the mother of Jesus, she had a front-row seat to many events. We know that she witnessed the first miracle in John 2. She took him to the temple to be circumcised. She and Joseph frantically searched for him and found him in teaching in the Temple.
When my son was small, he was a runner and was an excellent hider. Many people spent many moments searching for him. We finally stopped locking our van in the church parking lot. I know of a pastor who left his daughter sleeping in the church nursery and didn’t realize she wasn’t with them until they got home. As parents, this is a moment of great fear. Mary and Joseph would have been no different.
Those of us who have been blessed with children know how difficult it is to watch your children suffer. We would rather take the suffering ourselves than watch them suffer. Mary went through agonizing pain watching her son at his crucifixion. While Scripture is not clear whether she was present during the events of the resurrection, it is clear that she witnessed the crucifixion.
In the book, 31 Women of the Bible, Len Woods writes: “We marvel at that kind of surrender, but Mary’s reply sounds an awful lot like the attitude displayed by her son Jesus when he faced his own excruciating call. He told his Father in heaven, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).” “Some people incorrectly (and unhealthily) revere Mary. Others don’t honor her near enough. She wasn’t (and isn’t) divine, but she is most definitely worth studying–and emulating.” p 88
The mother of Jesus speaks her last recorded words in John 2 at the wedding. The wedding guests consumed all of the wine. Running out of wine would have been an embarrassment to the hosts. How many times have we volunteered one of our children to do something for someone else? Can you imagine for a moment the impact of her last recorded words? “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”” (John 2:5) Her words still ring true for us today. Scripture records many things that Jesus says that we need to remember to follow.
A friend reminded me the other night that following Jesus is not always easy–sometimes it’s difficult. I realize it could be considered an improper application for this passage, however, following Scripture is always our best plan of action. For today and always, “Do whatever He tells you.”
Photo: John Heseltine / Pam Masco / FreeBibleimages.org.