CHAPTER 6
The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Luke 1:27–28 nkjv
Of all the extraordinary women in Scripture, one stands out above all others as the most blessed, most highly favored by God, and most universally admired by women. Indeed, no woman is more truly remarkable than Mary. She was the one sovereignly chosen by God—from among all the women who have ever been born—to be the singular instrument through which He would at last bring the Messiah into the world.
Mary herself testified that all generations would regard her as profoundly blessed by God (Luke 1:48). This was not because she believed herself to be any kind of saintly superhuman, but because she was given such remarkable grace and privilege.
While acknowledging that Mary was the most extraordinary of women, it is appropriate to inject a word of caution against the common tendency to elevate her too much. She was, after all, a woman—not a demigoddess or a quasi-deiform creature who somehow transcended the rest of her race. The point of her “blessedness” is certainly not that we should think of her as someone to whom we can appeal for blessing; but rather that she herself was supremely blessed by God. She is never portrayed in Scripture as a source or dispenser of grace, but is herself the recipient of God’s blessing. Her Son, not Mary herself, is the fountain of grace (Ps. 72:17). He is the long-awaited Seed of Abraham of whom the covenant promise spoke: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18 nkjv).
Various extrabiblical religious traditions and many superstitious minds have beatified Mary beyond what is reasonable, making her an object of religious veneration, imputing to her various titles and attributes that belong to God alone. A long tradition of overzealous souls throughout history have wrongly exalted her to godlike status. Unfortunately, even in our era, Mary, not Christ, is the central focus of worship and religious affection for millions. They think of her as more approachable and more sympathetic than Christ. They revere her as the perfect Madonna, supposedly untouched by original sin, a perpetual virgin, and even co-redemptrix with Christ Himself. Catholic dogma teaches that she was taken bodily to heaven, where she was crowned “Queen of Heaven.” Her role today, according to Catholic legend, is mediatory and intercessory. Therefore, multitudes direct their prayers to her instead of to God alone—as if Mary were omnipresent and omniscient.
As a matter of fact, many people superstitiously imagine that Mary regularly appears in various apparitions here and there, and some even claim that she delivers prophecies to the world through such means. This extreme gullibility about apparitions of Mary sometimes rises to almost comical proportions. In November 2004, a stale grilled-cheese sandwich sold for $28,000 in an eBay auction because the sandwich purportedly had an image of Mary supernaturally etched in the burn marks of the toast. A few months later, thousands of worshipers in Chicago built a makeshift shrine to Mary in the walkway of a freeway underpass because someone claimed to see an image of her in salt stains on the concrete wall of the abutment.
No less than Pope John Paul II declared his total devotion to Mary. He dedicated his whole pontificate to her and had an M for Mary embroidered in all his papal garments. He prayed to her, credited her with saving his life, and even left the care of the Roman Catholic Church to her in his will. Rome has long fostered the cult of Marian devotion, and superstition about Mary is more popular today than it has ever been. So much homage is paid to Mary in Catholic churches around the world that the centrality and supremacy of Christ is often utterly obscured by the adoration of His mother.
All such veneration of Mary is entirely without biblical warrant. In fact, it is completely contrary to what Scripture expressly teaches (Rev. 19:10). But the tendency to make Mary an object of worship is nothing new. Even during Jesus’ earthly ministry, for example, there were those who showed undue reverence to Mary because of her role as His mother. On one occasion, Scripture says, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.”
His reply was a rebuke: “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it” (Luke 11:27–28 nasb).
Mary herself was a humble soul who maintained a consistently low profile in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. Scripture expressly debunks some of the main legends about her. The idea that she remained a perpetual virgin, for example, is impossible to reconcile with the fact that Jesus had half-brothers who are named in Scripture alongside both Joseph and Mary as their parents: “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?” (Matt. 13:55 nkjv). Matthew 1:25 furthermore says that Joseph abstained from sexual relations with Mary only “till she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (nkjv). On any natural reading of the plain sense of Scripture, it is impossible to support the idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity.
Mary’s immaculate conception and her supposed sinlessness are likewise without any scriptural foundation whatsoever. The opening stanza of Mary’s Magnificat speaks of God as her “Savior,” thus giving implicit testimony from Mary’s own lips that she needed redemption. In such a biblical context, that could refer only to salvation from sin. Mary was in effect confessing her own sinfulness.
In fact, far from portraying Mary with a halo and a seraphic stare on her face, Scripture reveals her as an average young girl of common means from a peasants’ town in a poor region of Israel, betrothed to a working-class fiancé who earned his living as a carpenter. If you had met Mary before her firstborn Son was miraculously conceived, you might not have noticed her at all. She could hardly have been more plain and unassuming. From everything we know of her background and social standing, not much about her life or her experience so far would be deemed very extraordinary.
MARY’S HERITAGE
Mary did have some illustrious ancestors, though. Luke gave us her genealogy in detail (Luke 3:23–38). Matthew, likewise, listed Joseph’s (Matt. 1:1–16). Both Joseph and Mary descended from David. Therefore, prior to David, they shared the same genealogy. Mary’s branch of David’s family tree can be traced through David’s son named Nathan, while Joseph’s branch is the royal line, through Solomon. In light of this, Christ inherited David’s throne through his stepfather. It was his birthright as a firstborn son. Jesus’ blood relationship to David, however, came through Mary who descended from an otherwise inconsequential branch of David’s family.
Remember that Matthew included several women in the genealogy of Christ. Since all those women came between Abraham and David, all of them were ancestors of both Joseph and Mary—including Rahab and Ruth. Of course, Sarah (though unnamed in the New Testament genealogies) was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. And Eve was the mother of all living. Therefore, with the single exception of Hannah, every one of the extraordinary women we have examined so far was an ancestor of Mary. She seems to have inherited the best traits of all of them. (As we’re going to see, she also reflected the best aspects of Hannah’s character.) Most significant of all, her faith was an extraordinary example of the kind of faith Jesus blessed. She was sincere, earnestly worshipful, childlike in her trust of the Lord, and utterly dependent on Him.
Then she found herself unexpectedly thrust into the very role each one of her illustrious ancestors had longed to fulfill. She would become the mother of the promised Redeemer.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CHANGED HER LIFE
When we first meet Mary in Luke’s gospel, it is on the occasion when an archangel appeared to her suddenly and without fanfare to disclose to her God’s wonderful plan. Scripture says, simply, “The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27 nkjv).
Mary is the equivalent of the Hebrew “Miriam.” The name may be derived from the Hebrew word for “bitter.” (As we saw in the story of Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi referred to herself as “Mara,” a reference to the bitterness of her trials.) Mary’s young life may well have been filled with bitter hardships. Her hometown was a forlorn community in a poor district of Galilee. Nazareth, you may recall, famously bore the brunt of at least one future disciple’s disdain. When Philip told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah and the Anointed One was a Galilean from Nazareth, Nathanael sneered, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45–46 nkjv). Mary had lived there all her life, in a community where, frankly, good things probably were pretty scarce.
Other details about Mary’s background can be gleaned here and there in Scripture. She had a sister, according to John 19:25. There’s not enough data in the text to identify accurately who the sister was, but Mary’s sister was herself obviously a close enough disciple of Jesus to be present with the other faithful women at the crucifixion. Mary was also a close relative of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:36). The nature of that relationship isn’t specifically described. They might have been cousins, or Elizabeth might have been Mary’s aunt. Luke’s account describes Elizabeth as already “in her old age.” Mary, on the other hand, seems to have been quite young.
In fact, at the time of the Annunciation, Mary was probably still a teenager. It was customary for girls in that culture to be betrothed while they were still as young as thirteen years of age. Marriages were ordinarily arranged by the bridegroom or his parents through the girl’s father. Mary was betrothed to Joseph, about whom we know next to nothing—except that he was a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and a righteous man (Matt. 1:19).
Scripture is very clear in teaching that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was miraculously conceived in her womb. Luke 1:27 twice calls her a virgin, using a Greek term that allows for no subtle nuance of meaning. The clear claim of Scripture, and Mary’s own testimony, is that she had never been physically intimate with any man. Her betrothal to Joseph was a legal engagement known as kiddushin, which in that culture typically lasted a full year. Kiddushin was legally as binding as marriage itself. The couple were deemed husband and wife, and only a legal divorce could dissolve the marriage contract (Matt. 1:19). But during this time, the couple lived separately from one another and had no physical relations whatsoever. One of the main points of kiddushin was to demonstrate the fidelity of both partners.
When the angel appeared to Mary, she was already formally bound to Joseph by kiddushin. Luke 1:28–35 describes Mary’s encounter with the angel:
And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (nkjv)
We have seen throughout this book how numerous godly women in Mary’s ancestry, going all the way back to Eve, had fostered the hope of being the one through whom the Redeemer would come. But the privilege came at a high cost to Mary personally, because it carried the stigma of an unwed pregnancy. Although she had remained totally and completely chaste, the world was bound to think otherwise. Even Joseph assumed the worst. We can only imagine how his heart sank when he learned that Mary was pregnant, and he knew he was not the father. His inclination was to divorce her quietly. He was a righteous man and loved her, so Scripture says he was not willing to make a public example of her, but he was so shaken by the news of her pregnancy that at first he saw no option but divorce. Then an angel appeared to him in a dream and reassured him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20–21 nkjv).
Common sense suggests that Mary must have anticipated all these difficulties the moment the angel told her she would conceive a child. Her joy and amazement at learning that she would be the mother of the Redeemer might therefore have been tempered significantly at the horror of the scandal that awaited her. Still, knowing the cost and weighing it against the immense privilege of becoming the mother of the Christ, Mary surrendered herself unconditionally, saying simply, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 nkjv).
There’s no evidence that Mary ever brooded over the effects her pregnancy would have on her reputation. She instantly, humbly, and joyfully submitted to God’s will without further doubt or question. She could hardly have had a more godly response to the announcement of Jesus’ birth. It demonstrated that she was a young woman of mature faith and one who was a worshiper of the true God. Her great joy over the Lord’s plan for her would soon be very evident.
MARY’S RESPONSE OF WORSHIP
Mary, filled with joy and bubbling over with praise, hurried to the hill country to visit her beloved relative, Elizabeth. There’s no suggestion that Mary was fleeing the shame of her premature pregnancy. It seems she simply wanted a kindred spirit to share her heart with. The angel had explicitly informed Mary about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. So it was natural for her to seek out a close relative who was both a strong believer and also expecting her first son by a miraculous birth, announced by an angel (Luke 1:13–19). While Elizabeth was much older, maybe even in her eighties, and had always been unable to conceive, and Mary was at the beginning of life—both had been supernaturally blessed by God to conceive. It was a perfect situation for the two women to spend time rejoicing together in the Lord’s goodness to both of them.
Elizabeth’s immediate response to the sound of Mary’s voice gave Mary independent confirmation of all that the angel had told her. Scripture says,
It happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:41–45 nkjv)
Elizabeth’s message was prophetic, of course, and Mary instantly understood that. Mary had learned from an angel about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Nothing indicates that Mary had sent word of her own circumstances ahead to Elizabeth. Indeed, Mary’s sudden arrival had all the hallmarks of a surprise to her relative. Elizabeth’s knowledge of Mary’s pregnancy, therefore, seems to have come to her by revelation, in the prophecy she uttered when the Holy Spirit suddenly filled her.
Mary replied with prophetic words of her own. Her saying is known as the Magnificat (Latin for the first word of Mary’s outpouring of praise). It is really a hymn about the incarnation. Without question, it is a song of unspeakable joy and the most magnificent psalm of worship in the New Testament. It is the equal of any Old Testament psalm, and as we have noted before, it bears a strong resemblance to Hannah’s famous hymn of praise for the birth of Samuel. It is filled with messianic hope, scriptural language, and references to the Abrahamic covenant:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever. (Luke 1:46–55 nkjv)
It is clear that Mary’s young heart and mind were already thoroughly saturated with the Word of God. She included not only echoes of two of Hannah’s prayers (1 Sam. 1:11; 2:1–10), but also several other allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets:
Luke 1 (nkjv)
Old Testament (nkjv)
• “My soul magnifies the Lord” (46).
• “My heart rejoices in the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:1).
• “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord” (Ps. 34:2).
• “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord” (Ps. 35:9).
• “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God” (Isa. 61:10).
• “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (47).
• “God is my salvation” (Isa. 12:2).
• “There is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior” (Isa. 45:21).
• “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant” (48).
• “If You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant” (1 Sam. 1:11).
• “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer” (Ps. 102:17).
• “Who remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy endures forever” (Ps. 136:23).
• “For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (48).
• “Then Leah said, ‘I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed’” (Gen. 30:13).
• “And all nations will call you blessed” (Mal. 3:12).
• “For He who is mighty has done great things for me” (49).
• “And holy is His name” (49).
• “Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things” (Ps. 71:19).
• “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Ps. 126:3).
• “No one is holy like the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:2).
• “Holy and awesome is His name” (Ps. 111:9).
• “The High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isa. 57:15).
• “And His mercy is on them who fear Him from generation to generation” (50).
• “So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:11).
• “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children” (Ps. 103:17).
• “My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation” (Isa. 51:8).
• “He has shown strength with His arm” (51).
• “You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand,and high is Your right hand” (Ps. 89:13).
• “He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory” (Ps. 98:1).
• “The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations” (Isa. 52:10).
• “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” (51).
• “You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm” (Ps. 89:10).
• “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21).
• “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly” (52).
• “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory” (1 Sam. 2:6–8).
• “He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and sets others in their place” (Job 34:24).
• “He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent away empty” (53).
• “He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Ps. 107:9).
• “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever” (54–55).
• “He has remembered His mercy and His fulness to the house of Israel” (Ps. 98:3).
• “O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!” (Isa. 44:21).
• “You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old” (Mic. 7:20).
• “O seed of Abraham … He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham” (Ps. 105:6–9).
Those who channel their religious energies into the veneration of Mary would do well to learn from the example of Mary herself. God is the only One she magnified. Notice how she praised the glory and majesty of God while repeatedly acknowledging her own lowliness. She took no credit for anything good in herself. But she praised the Lord for His attributes, naming some of the chief ones specifically, including His power, His mercy, and His holiness. She freely confessed God as the one who had done great things for her, and not vice versa. The song is all about God’s greatness, His glory, the strength of His arm, and His faithfulness across the generations.
Mary’s worship was clearly from the heart. She was plainly consumed by the wonder of His grace to her. She seemed amazed that an absolutely holy God would do such great things for one as undeserving as she. This was not the prayer of one who claimed to be conceived immaculately, without the corruption of original sin. It was, on the contrary, the glad rejoicing of one who knew God intimately as her Savior. She could celebrate the fact that God’s mercy is on those who fear Him, because she herself feared God and had received His mercy. And she knew firsthand how God exalts the lowly and fills the hungry with good things, because she herself was a humble sinner who had hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and was filled.
It was customary in Jewish prayers to recite God’s past faithfulness to His people (Ex. 15; Judg. 5; Pss. 68; 78; 104; 105; 114; 135; 136; 145; and Hab. 3). Mary followed that convention here in abbreviated fashion. She recalled how God had helped Israel, in fulfillment of all His promises. Now her own child would be the living fulfillment of God’s saving promise. No wonder Mary’s heart overflowed with such praise.
HER RELATIONSHIP TO HER SON
Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, Mary appeared in only three scenes. On two of those occasions, Jesus Himself explicitly repudiated the notion that her earthly authority over Him as His mother entitled her to manage any aspect of His saving work. He did this without showing her the least bit of disrespect, of course, but He nonetheless clearly and completely disclaimed the idea that Mary was in any sense a mediator of His grace.
The first of these occasions was during the wedding at Cana, when Jesus performed His first miracle. The apostle John recorded what happened: “When they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine’ ” (John 2:3 nkjv). The host at the wedding was undoubtedly a close family friend whom Mary cared a great deal for. (Notice how verse 1 says “the mother of Jesus was there”; but verse 2 says, “Jesus and His disciples were invited.” Mary was evidently helping to coordinate the reception for her friend. Hence, she was one of the first to see that the wine supply was not going to be enough.) Mary also knew full well that Christ had the means to solve this embarrassing social dilemma, and she was subtly asking Him to do something about it. Whether she anticipated the kind of miracle He performed is not clear. She might have simply been prodding Him to make a suitable announcement and help cover the embarrassment for the hosts. Or, as it seems likely, she fully understood that He was the Prophet whom Moses foretold, and she was expecting Him, like Moses had so often done, to work a miracle that would supply what was lacking. She made no overt request, but her meaning was obviously plain to her Son.
For His part, Jesus had every intention of miraculously replenishing the wine, because that is what He subsequently did. He was never prone to vacillate, hesitate, or change His mind (Heb. 13:8). The fact that He ultimately performed the miracle is proof that He planned to do it.
Yet Scripture suggests His reply to Mary was somewhat terse. He was just as direct with Mary as she had been subtle with Him: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come’ ” (John 2:4 nkjv). He was not being rude, and nothing suggests that Mary was in any way grieved or offended by His reply. “Woman” was a typical formal address in that culture. Again, it was curt without being impertinent. But there’s no escaping the mild rebuke in His words and in His tone. The question, “What does your concern have to do with Me?” is a challenge seen several times in Scripture (Judg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; Ezra 4:2–3; Matt. 8:29). It conveyed a clear tone of displeasure and strong admonishment. Still, there’s no suggestion that Mary took this as an affront. His intent was not to wound, but to correct and instruct.
Mary may have recalled a similar incident years before. As a young boy just entering young adulthood, Jesus was separated from His parents at the temple. After a frantic search, they found Him, and Mary mildly scolded Him for allowing them to be worried. He replied, with what appears to be genuine amazement, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 nkjv). He was, in effect, disclaiming any notion that His earthly father’s parental interests could ever override the higher authority of His heavenly Father.
Here, at the Cana wedding, His message to Mary was similar. In spiritual matters, her earthly role as His mother did not give her any right to attempt to manage His mission as it pertained to fulfilling the Father’s will on the Father’s timetable. As a man, He was her Son. But as God, He was her Lord. It was not her business to command Him in spiritual matters. The way He spoke to her simply reminded her of that fact without showing her any real disrespect.
Then He turned the water to wine.
After that, Mary always remained in the background. She never sought or accepted the kind of preeminence so many seem determined to try to thrust on her. She never again attempted to intercede with Him for miracles, special favors, or other blessings on behalf of her friends, her relatives, or anyone else. It is only sheer folly that causes so many to imagine she has now usurped that role from her position in heaven.
Mary appeared again during Jesus’ earthly ministry when the throngs who clamored for miracles from Christ had become larger than ever. Mark records that the demands of Jesus’ ministry were such that He didn’t even have time to eat (Mark 3:20). Jesus’ own close family members began to be concerned for His safety, and they concluded (wrongly, of course) that He was beside Himself (v. 21). Scripture says they went to Him intending to physically pull Him away from the crowds and the heavy demands that they were making on Him.
Meanwhile, some scribes came from Jerusalem and accused Jesus of casting out demons in the power of Beelzebub (v. 22). Mark painted a vivid picture of chaos, opposition, and vast multitudes of needy people all pressing in on Jesus. It was into this context that His immediate family members came, seeking to get Him away from the multitudes for His own safety and sanity’s sake. Mark 3:31–35 tells what happened:
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” (nkjv)
Jesus sent the same message again. As far as His spiritual work was concerned, His earthly relatives had no more claim on Him than anyone else. He certainly did not set Mary on any exalted plane above His other disciples. He knew better than she did the limits of His human strength. He would not, even at her urging, leave what He was doing. He would not be interrupted or allow Himself to be sidetracked, even by her sincere maternal concern. As always, He must be about His Father’s business, and she did not need to be consulted for that.
Once again, however, we see Mary learning to submit to Him as her Lord, rather than trying to control Him as His mother. She became one of His faithful disciples. She seems to have come to grips with the reality that He had work to do, and she could not direct it. She ultimately followed Him all the way to the cross, and on that dark afternoon when He died, she was standing nearby with a group of women, watching in grief and horror. The crucifixion was the third and final time Mary appeared alongside Jesus during the years of His public ministry.
THE SWORD THAT PIERCED HER SOUL
Mary had probably always had an inkling that this day would come. She had surely heard Jesus speak (as He did often) of His own death. As a matter of fact, the cloud of this inevitable reality had probably hung over Mary’s mind since Jesus’ infancy. It was no doubt one of the things she kept and pondered in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51). Luke’s gospel recounts how the first hint of impending tragedy crept into Mary’s consciousness.
When Jesus was yet a newborn infant, His earthly parents took Him to the temple to dedicate Him to the Lord in accordance with the instructions of Exodus 13:2, 13: “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel … All the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem” (nkjv). Joseph and Mary came with a sacrifice of two turtledoves (Luke 2:24), which was what the law prescribed for people too poor to afford a lamb (Lev. 12:8). On that day, the little family from Nazareth encountered two elderly saints, Simeon and Anna. (Anna will be the subject of the following chapter.)
Simeon was an old man whom Scripture describes as “just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25 nkjv). The Spirit of God had revealed to Simeon that he would have the privilege of seeing the Messiah before he died. On the day Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus at the temple, the Holy Spirit led Simeon there also (v. 27 nkjv).
As soon as Simeon saw Jesus, he knew this child was the Lord’s Anointed One. Scripture says he took the infant Jesus up in his arms and uttered a prophecy. Then, turning to Mary, he told her, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (vv. 34–35 nkjv, emphasis added).
It is almost certain that in the process of writing his gospel, Luke sought details about Jesus’ birth and life from Mary. Luke 1:1–4 indicates that he had access to the testimony of many eyewitness reports. Since he included several details that only Mary could have known, we can be fairly sure that Mary herself was one of Luke’s primary sources. Luke’s inclusion of several facts from Jesus’ early life (2:19, 48, 51) suggests that this was the case. Mary’s own eyewitness testimony must also have been Luke’s source for the account of Simeon’s prophecy, for who but she could have known and recalled that incident? Apparently, the old man’s cryptic prophecy had never left her mind.
Years later, as Mary stood watching a soldier thrust a sword into Jesus’ side, she must have truly felt as if a sword had pierced her own soul also. At that very moment, she might well have recalled Simeon’s prophecy, and suddenly its true meaning came home to her with full force.
While Mary quietly watched her Son die, others were screaming wicked taunts and insults at Him. Her sense of the injustice being done to Him must have been profound. After all, no one understood Jesus’ absolute, sinless perfection better than Mary did. She had nurtured Him as an infant and brought Him up through childhood. No one could have loved Him more than she did. All those facts merely compounded the acute grief any mother would feel at such a horrible sight. The pain of Mary’s anguish is almost unimaginable. Yet she stood, stoically, silently, when lesser women would have fled in horror, shrieked and thrashed around in panic, or simply collapsed in a heap from the overwhelming distress. Mary was clearly a woman of dignified grace and courage.
Mary seemed to understand that her steadfast presence at Jesus’ side was the only kind of support she could give Him at this dreaded moment. But even that was merely a public show of support. Mary’s personal suffering did not represent any kind of participation in His atoning work. Her grief added no merit to His suffering for others’ guilt. He was bearing the sins of the world. She could not assist with that. Nor did He need her aid as any kind of “co-redemptrix” or “co-mediatrix.” “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5 nkjv). Mary herself did not try to intrude into that office; it is a shame so many people insist on trying to put her there.
As a matter of fact, in the waning hours of Jesus’ life, it was Jesus who came to her aid. Already in the final throes of death, He spotted Mary standing nearby with a small group of women and John, the beloved disciple. For the final time, Jesus acknowledged His human relationship with Mary. In his own gospel account, John describes what happened: “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:26–27 nkjv).
So one of Jesus’ last earthly acts before yielding up His life to God was to make sure that for the rest of her life, Mary would be cared for.
That act epitomizes Mary’s relationship with her firstborn Son. She was His earthly mother; but He was her eternal Lord. She understood and embraced that relationship. She bowed to His authority in heavenly matters just as in His childhood and youth He had always been subject to her parental authority in earthly matters (Luke 2:51). As a mother, she had once provided all His needs, but in the ultimate and eternal sense, He was her Savior and provider.
Mary was like no other mother. Godly mothers are typically absorbed in the task of training their children for heaven. Mary’s Son was the Lord and Creator of heaven. Over time, she came to perceive the full import of that truth, until it filled her heart. She became a disciple and a worshiper. Her maternal relationship with Him faded into the background. That moment on the cross—Jesus placing His mother into the earthly care of John—formally marked the end of that earthly aspect of Mary’s relationship with Jesus.
After Jesus’ death, Mary appears only once more in the Bible. In Luke’s chronicle of the early church, she is listed among the disciples who were praying together in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). Her name is never mentioned in the epistles. It is clear that the early church never thought of making her an object of religious veneration the way so many have done in the subsequent annals of various Christian traditions.
Mary herself never claimed to be, or pretended to be, anything more than a humble handmaiden of the Lord. She was extraordinary because God used her in an extraordinary way. She clearly thought of herself as perfectly ordinary. She is portrayed in Scripture only as an instrument whom God used in the fulfillment of His plan. She herself never made any pretense of being an administrator of the divine agenda, and she never gave anyone any encouragement to regard her as a mediatrix in the dispensing of divine grace. The lowly perspective reflected in Mary’s Magnificat is the same simple spirit of humility that colored all her life and character.
It is truly regrettable that religious superstition has, in effect, turned Mary into an idol. She is certainly a worthy woman to emulate, but Mary herself would undoubtedly be appalled to think anyone would pray to her, venerate images of her, or burn candles in homage to her. Her life and her testimony point us consistently to her Son. He was the object of her worship. He was the one she recognized as Lord. He was the one she trusted for everything. Mary’s own example, seen in the pure light of Scripture, teaches us to do the same.
The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Luke 1:27–28 nkjv
Of all the extraordinary women in Scripture, one stands out above all others as the most blessed, most highly favored by God, and most universally admired by women. Indeed, no woman is more truly remarkable than Mary. She was the one sovereignly chosen by God—from among all the women who have ever been born—to be the singular instrument through which He would at last bring the Messiah into the world.
Mary herself testified that all generations would regard her as profoundly blessed by God (Luke 1:48). This was not because she believed herself to be any kind of saintly superhuman, but because she was given such remarkable grace and privilege.
While acknowledging that Mary was the most extraordinary of women, it is appropriate to inject a word of caution against the common tendency to elevate her too much. She was, after all, a woman—not a demigoddess or a quasi-deiform creature who somehow transcended the rest of her race. The point of her “blessedness” is certainly not that we should think of her as someone to whom we can appeal for blessing; but rather that she herself was supremely blessed by God. She is never portrayed in Scripture as a source or dispenser of grace, but is herself the recipient of God’s blessing. Her Son, not Mary herself, is the fountain of grace (Ps. 72:17). He is the long-awaited Seed of Abraham of whom the covenant promise spoke: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18 nkjv).
Various extrabiblical religious traditions and many superstitious minds have beatified Mary beyond what is reasonable, making her an object of religious veneration, imputing to her various titles and attributes that belong to God alone. A long tradition of overzealous souls throughout history have wrongly exalted her to godlike status. Unfortunately, even in our era, Mary, not Christ, is the central focus of worship and religious affection for millions. They think of her as more approachable and more sympathetic than Christ. They revere her as the perfect Madonna, supposedly untouched by original sin, a perpetual virgin, and even co-redemptrix with Christ Himself. Catholic dogma teaches that she was taken bodily to heaven, where she was crowned “Queen of Heaven.” Her role today, according to Catholic legend, is mediatory and intercessory. Therefore, multitudes direct their prayers to her instead of to God alone—as if Mary were omnipresent and omniscient.
As a matter of fact, many people superstitiously imagine that Mary regularly appears in various apparitions here and there, and some even claim that she delivers prophecies to the world through such means. This extreme gullibility about apparitions of Mary sometimes rises to almost comical proportions. In November 2004, a stale grilled-cheese sandwich sold for $28,000 in an eBay auction because the sandwich purportedly had an image of Mary supernaturally etched in the burn marks of the toast. A few months later, thousands of worshipers in Chicago built a makeshift shrine to Mary in the walkway of a freeway underpass because someone claimed to see an image of her in salt stains on the concrete wall of the abutment.
No less than Pope John Paul II declared his total devotion to Mary. He dedicated his whole pontificate to her and had an M for Mary embroidered in all his papal garments. He prayed to her, credited her with saving his life, and even left the care of the Roman Catholic Church to her in his will. Rome has long fostered the cult of Marian devotion, and superstition about Mary is more popular today than it has ever been. So much homage is paid to Mary in Catholic churches around the world that the centrality and supremacy of Christ is often utterly obscured by the adoration of His mother.
All such veneration of Mary is entirely without biblical warrant. In fact, it is completely contrary to what Scripture expressly teaches (Rev. 19:10). But the tendency to make Mary an object of worship is nothing new. Even during Jesus’ earthly ministry, for example, there were those who showed undue reverence to Mary because of her role as His mother. On one occasion, Scripture says, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.”
His reply was a rebuke: “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it” (Luke 11:27–28 nasb).
Mary herself was a humble soul who maintained a consistently low profile in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. Scripture expressly debunks some of the main legends about her. The idea that she remained a perpetual virgin, for example, is impossible to reconcile with the fact that Jesus had half-brothers who are named in Scripture alongside both Joseph and Mary as their parents: “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?” (Matt. 13:55 nkjv). Matthew 1:25 furthermore says that Joseph abstained from sexual relations with Mary only “till she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (nkjv). On any natural reading of the plain sense of Scripture, it is impossible to support the idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity.
Mary’s immaculate conception and her supposed sinlessness are likewise without any scriptural foundation whatsoever. The opening stanza of Mary’s Magnificat speaks of God as her “Savior,” thus giving implicit testimony from Mary’s own lips that she needed redemption. In such a biblical context, that could refer only to salvation from sin. Mary was in effect confessing her own sinfulness.
In fact, far from portraying Mary with a halo and a seraphic stare on her face, Scripture reveals her as an average young girl of common means from a peasants’ town in a poor region of Israel, betrothed to a working-class fiancé who earned his living as a carpenter. If you had met Mary before her firstborn Son was miraculously conceived, you might not have noticed her at all. She could hardly have been more plain and unassuming. From everything we know of her background and social standing, not much about her life or her experience so far would be deemed very extraordinary.
MARY’S HERITAGE
Mary did have some illustrious ancestors, though. Luke gave us her genealogy in detail (Luke 3:23–38). Matthew, likewise, listed Joseph’s (Matt. 1:1–16). Both Joseph and Mary descended from David. Therefore, prior to David, they shared the same genealogy. Mary’s branch of David’s family tree can be traced through David’s son named Nathan, while Joseph’s branch is the royal line, through Solomon. In light of this, Christ inherited David’s throne through his stepfather. It was his birthright as a firstborn son. Jesus’ blood relationship to David, however, came through Mary who descended from an otherwise inconsequential branch of David’s family.
Remember that Matthew included several women in the genealogy of Christ. Since all those women came between Abraham and David, all of them were ancestors of both Joseph and Mary—including Rahab and Ruth. Of course, Sarah (though unnamed in the New Testament genealogies) was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. And Eve was the mother of all living. Therefore, with the single exception of Hannah, every one of the extraordinary women we have examined so far was an ancestor of Mary. She seems to have inherited the best traits of all of them. (As we’re going to see, she also reflected the best aspects of Hannah’s character.) Most significant of all, her faith was an extraordinary example of the kind of faith Jesus blessed. She was sincere, earnestly worshipful, childlike in her trust of the Lord, and utterly dependent on Him.
Then she found herself unexpectedly thrust into the very role each one of her illustrious ancestors had longed to fulfill. She would become the mother of the promised Redeemer.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CHANGED HER LIFE
When we first meet Mary in Luke’s gospel, it is on the occasion when an archangel appeared to her suddenly and without fanfare to disclose to her God’s wonderful plan. Scripture says, simply, “The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27 nkjv).
Mary is the equivalent of the Hebrew “Miriam.” The name may be derived from the Hebrew word for “bitter.” (As we saw in the story of Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi referred to herself as “Mara,” a reference to the bitterness of her trials.) Mary’s young life may well have been filled with bitter hardships. Her hometown was a forlorn community in a poor district of Galilee. Nazareth, you may recall, famously bore the brunt of at least one future disciple’s disdain. When Philip told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah and the Anointed One was a Galilean from Nazareth, Nathanael sneered, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45–46 nkjv). Mary had lived there all her life, in a community where, frankly, good things probably were pretty scarce.
Other details about Mary’s background can be gleaned here and there in Scripture. She had a sister, according to John 19:25. There’s not enough data in the text to identify accurately who the sister was, but Mary’s sister was herself obviously a close enough disciple of Jesus to be present with the other faithful women at the crucifixion. Mary was also a close relative of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:36). The nature of that relationship isn’t specifically described. They might have been cousins, or Elizabeth might have been Mary’s aunt. Luke’s account describes Elizabeth as already “in her old age.” Mary, on the other hand, seems to have been quite young.
In fact, at the time of the Annunciation, Mary was probably still a teenager. It was customary for girls in that culture to be betrothed while they were still as young as thirteen years of age. Marriages were ordinarily arranged by the bridegroom or his parents through the girl’s father. Mary was betrothed to Joseph, about whom we know next to nothing—except that he was a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and a righteous man (Matt. 1:19).
Scripture is very clear in teaching that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was miraculously conceived in her womb. Luke 1:27 twice calls her a virgin, using a Greek term that allows for no subtle nuance of meaning. The clear claim of Scripture, and Mary’s own testimony, is that she had never been physically intimate with any man. Her betrothal to Joseph was a legal engagement known as kiddushin, which in that culture typically lasted a full year. Kiddushin was legally as binding as marriage itself. The couple were deemed husband and wife, and only a legal divorce could dissolve the marriage contract (Matt. 1:19). But during this time, the couple lived separately from one another and had no physical relations whatsoever. One of the main points of kiddushin was to demonstrate the fidelity of both partners.
When the angel appeared to Mary, she was already formally bound to Joseph by kiddushin. Luke 1:28–35 describes Mary’s encounter with the angel:
And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (nkjv)
We have seen throughout this book how numerous godly women in Mary’s ancestry, going all the way back to Eve, had fostered the hope of being the one through whom the Redeemer would come. But the privilege came at a high cost to Mary personally, because it carried the stigma of an unwed pregnancy. Although she had remained totally and completely chaste, the world was bound to think otherwise. Even Joseph assumed the worst. We can only imagine how his heart sank when he learned that Mary was pregnant, and he knew he was not the father. His inclination was to divorce her quietly. He was a righteous man and loved her, so Scripture says he was not willing to make a public example of her, but he was so shaken by the news of her pregnancy that at first he saw no option but divorce. Then an angel appeared to him in a dream and reassured him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20–21 nkjv).
Common sense suggests that Mary must have anticipated all these difficulties the moment the angel told her she would conceive a child. Her joy and amazement at learning that she would be the mother of the Redeemer might therefore have been tempered significantly at the horror of the scandal that awaited her. Still, knowing the cost and weighing it against the immense privilege of becoming the mother of the Christ, Mary surrendered herself unconditionally, saying simply, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 nkjv).
There’s no evidence that Mary ever brooded over the effects her pregnancy would have on her reputation. She instantly, humbly, and joyfully submitted to God’s will without further doubt or question. She could hardly have had a more godly response to the announcement of Jesus’ birth. It demonstrated that she was a young woman of mature faith and one who was a worshiper of the true God. Her great joy over the Lord’s plan for her would soon be very evident.
MARY’S RESPONSE OF WORSHIP
Mary, filled with joy and bubbling over with praise, hurried to the hill country to visit her beloved relative, Elizabeth. There’s no suggestion that Mary was fleeing the shame of her premature pregnancy. It seems she simply wanted a kindred spirit to share her heart with. The angel had explicitly informed Mary about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. So it was natural for her to seek out a close relative who was both a strong believer and also expecting her first son by a miraculous birth, announced by an angel (Luke 1:13–19). While Elizabeth was much older, maybe even in her eighties, and had always been unable to conceive, and Mary was at the beginning of life—both had been supernaturally blessed by God to conceive. It was a perfect situation for the two women to spend time rejoicing together in the Lord’s goodness to both of them.
Elizabeth’s immediate response to the sound of Mary’s voice gave Mary independent confirmation of all that the angel had told her. Scripture says,
It happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:41–45 nkjv)
Elizabeth’s message was prophetic, of course, and Mary instantly understood that. Mary had learned from an angel about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Nothing indicates that Mary had sent word of her own circumstances ahead to Elizabeth. Indeed, Mary’s sudden arrival had all the hallmarks of a surprise to her relative. Elizabeth’s knowledge of Mary’s pregnancy, therefore, seems to have come to her by revelation, in the prophecy she uttered when the Holy Spirit suddenly filled her.
Mary replied with prophetic words of her own. Her saying is known as the Magnificat (Latin for the first word of Mary’s outpouring of praise). It is really a hymn about the incarnation. Without question, it is a song of unspeakable joy and the most magnificent psalm of worship in the New Testament. It is the equal of any Old Testament psalm, and as we have noted before, it bears a strong resemblance to Hannah’s famous hymn of praise for the birth of Samuel. It is filled with messianic hope, scriptural language, and references to the Abrahamic covenant:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever. (Luke 1:46–55 nkjv)
It is clear that Mary’s young heart and mind were already thoroughly saturated with the Word of God. She included not only echoes of two of Hannah’s prayers (1 Sam. 1:11; 2:1–10), but also several other allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets:
Luke 1 (nkjv)
Old Testament (nkjv)
• “My soul magnifies the Lord” (46).
• “My heart rejoices in the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:1).
• “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord” (Ps. 34:2).
• “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord” (Ps. 35:9).
• “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God” (Isa. 61:10).
• “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (47).
• “God is my salvation” (Isa. 12:2).
• “There is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior” (Isa. 45:21).
• “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant” (48).
• “If You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant” (1 Sam. 1:11).
• “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer” (Ps. 102:17).
• “Who remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy endures forever” (Ps. 136:23).
• “For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (48).
• “Then Leah said, ‘I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed’” (Gen. 30:13).
• “And all nations will call you blessed” (Mal. 3:12).
• “For He who is mighty has done great things for me” (49).
• “And holy is His name” (49).
• “Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things” (Ps. 71:19).
• “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Ps. 126:3).
• “No one is holy like the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:2).
• “Holy and awesome is His name” (Ps. 111:9).
• “The High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isa. 57:15).
• “And His mercy is on them who fear Him from generation to generation” (50).
• “So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:11).
• “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children” (Ps. 103:17).
• “My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation” (Isa. 51:8).
• “He has shown strength with His arm” (51).
• “You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand,and high is Your right hand” (Ps. 89:13).
• “He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory” (Ps. 98:1).
• “The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations” (Isa. 52:10).
• “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” (51).
• “You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm” (Ps. 89:10).
• “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21).
• “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly” (52).
• “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory” (1 Sam. 2:6–8).
• “He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and sets others in their place” (Job 34:24).
• “He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent away empty” (53).
• “He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Ps. 107:9).
• “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever” (54–55).
• “He has remembered His mercy and His fulness to the house of Israel” (Ps. 98:3).
• “O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!” (Isa. 44:21).
• “You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old” (Mic. 7:20).
• “O seed of Abraham … He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham” (Ps. 105:6–9).
Those who channel their religious energies into the veneration of Mary would do well to learn from the example of Mary herself. God is the only One she magnified. Notice how she praised the glory and majesty of God while repeatedly acknowledging her own lowliness. She took no credit for anything good in herself. But she praised the Lord for His attributes, naming some of the chief ones specifically, including His power, His mercy, and His holiness. She freely confessed God as the one who had done great things for her, and not vice versa. The song is all about God’s greatness, His glory, the strength of His arm, and His faithfulness across the generations.
Mary’s worship was clearly from the heart. She was plainly consumed by the wonder of His grace to her. She seemed amazed that an absolutely holy God would do such great things for one as undeserving as she. This was not the prayer of one who claimed to be conceived immaculately, without the corruption of original sin. It was, on the contrary, the glad rejoicing of one who knew God intimately as her Savior. She could celebrate the fact that God’s mercy is on those who fear Him, because she herself feared God and had received His mercy. And she knew firsthand how God exalts the lowly and fills the hungry with good things, because she herself was a humble sinner who had hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and was filled.
It was customary in Jewish prayers to recite God’s past faithfulness to His people (Ex. 15; Judg. 5; Pss. 68; 78; 104; 105; 114; 135; 136; 145; and Hab. 3). Mary followed that convention here in abbreviated fashion. She recalled how God had helped Israel, in fulfillment of all His promises. Now her own child would be the living fulfillment of God’s saving promise. No wonder Mary’s heart overflowed with such praise.
HER RELATIONSHIP TO HER SON
Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, Mary appeared in only three scenes. On two of those occasions, Jesus Himself explicitly repudiated the notion that her earthly authority over Him as His mother entitled her to manage any aspect of His saving work. He did this without showing her the least bit of disrespect, of course, but He nonetheless clearly and completely disclaimed the idea that Mary was in any sense a mediator of His grace.
The first of these occasions was during the wedding at Cana, when Jesus performed His first miracle. The apostle John recorded what happened: “When they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine’ ” (John 2:3 nkjv). The host at the wedding was undoubtedly a close family friend whom Mary cared a great deal for. (Notice how verse 1 says “the mother of Jesus was there”; but verse 2 says, “Jesus and His disciples were invited.” Mary was evidently helping to coordinate the reception for her friend. Hence, she was one of the first to see that the wine supply was not going to be enough.) Mary also knew full well that Christ had the means to solve this embarrassing social dilemma, and she was subtly asking Him to do something about it. Whether she anticipated the kind of miracle He performed is not clear. She might have simply been prodding Him to make a suitable announcement and help cover the embarrassment for the hosts. Or, as it seems likely, she fully understood that He was the Prophet whom Moses foretold, and she was expecting Him, like Moses had so often done, to work a miracle that would supply what was lacking. She made no overt request, but her meaning was obviously plain to her Son.
For His part, Jesus had every intention of miraculously replenishing the wine, because that is what He subsequently did. He was never prone to vacillate, hesitate, or change His mind (Heb. 13:8). The fact that He ultimately performed the miracle is proof that He planned to do it.
Yet Scripture suggests His reply to Mary was somewhat terse. He was just as direct with Mary as she had been subtle with Him: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come’ ” (John 2:4 nkjv). He was not being rude, and nothing suggests that Mary was in any way grieved or offended by His reply. “Woman” was a typical formal address in that culture. Again, it was curt without being impertinent. But there’s no escaping the mild rebuke in His words and in His tone. The question, “What does your concern have to do with Me?” is a challenge seen several times in Scripture (Judg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; Ezra 4:2–3; Matt. 8:29). It conveyed a clear tone of displeasure and strong admonishment. Still, there’s no suggestion that Mary took this as an affront. His intent was not to wound, but to correct and instruct.
Mary may have recalled a similar incident years before. As a young boy just entering young adulthood, Jesus was separated from His parents at the temple. After a frantic search, they found Him, and Mary mildly scolded Him for allowing them to be worried. He replied, with what appears to be genuine amazement, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 nkjv). He was, in effect, disclaiming any notion that His earthly father’s parental interests could ever override the higher authority of His heavenly Father.
Here, at the Cana wedding, His message to Mary was similar. In spiritual matters, her earthly role as His mother did not give her any right to attempt to manage His mission as it pertained to fulfilling the Father’s will on the Father’s timetable. As a man, He was her Son. But as God, He was her Lord. It was not her business to command Him in spiritual matters. The way He spoke to her simply reminded her of that fact without showing her any real disrespect.
Then He turned the water to wine.
After that, Mary always remained in the background. She never sought or accepted the kind of preeminence so many seem determined to try to thrust on her. She never again attempted to intercede with Him for miracles, special favors, or other blessings on behalf of her friends, her relatives, or anyone else. It is only sheer folly that causes so many to imagine she has now usurped that role from her position in heaven.
Mary appeared again during Jesus’ earthly ministry when the throngs who clamored for miracles from Christ had become larger than ever. Mark records that the demands of Jesus’ ministry were such that He didn’t even have time to eat (Mark 3:20). Jesus’ own close family members began to be concerned for His safety, and they concluded (wrongly, of course) that He was beside Himself (v. 21). Scripture says they went to Him intending to physically pull Him away from the crowds and the heavy demands that they were making on Him.
Meanwhile, some scribes came from Jerusalem and accused Jesus of casting out demons in the power of Beelzebub (v. 22). Mark painted a vivid picture of chaos, opposition, and vast multitudes of needy people all pressing in on Jesus. It was into this context that His immediate family members came, seeking to get Him away from the multitudes for His own safety and sanity’s sake. Mark 3:31–35 tells what happened:
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” (nkjv)
Jesus sent the same message again. As far as His spiritual work was concerned, His earthly relatives had no more claim on Him than anyone else. He certainly did not set Mary on any exalted plane above His other disciples. He knew better than she did the limits of His human strength. He would not, even at her urging, leave what He was doing. He would not be interrupted or allow Himself to be sidetracked, even by her sincere maternal concern. As always, He must be about His Father’s business, and she did not need to be consulted for that.
Once again, however, we see Mary learning to submit to Him as her Lord, rather than trying to control Him as His mother. She became one of His faithful disciples. She seems to have come to grips with the reality that He had work to do, and she could not direct it. She ultimately followed Him all the way to the cross, and on that dark afternoon when He died, she was standing nearby with a group of women, watching in grief and horror. The crucifixion was the third and final time Mary appeared alongside Jesus during the years of His public ministry.
THE SWORD THAT PIERCED HER SOUL
Mary had probably always had an inkling that this day would come. She had surely heard Jesus speak (as He did often) of His own death. As a matter of fact, the cloud of this inevitable reality had probably hung over Mary’s mind since Jesus’ infancy. It was no doubt one of the things she kept and pondered in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51). Luke’s gospel recounts how the first hint of impending tragedy crept into Mary’s consciousness.
When Jesus was yet a newborn infant, His earthly parents took Him to the temple to dedicate Him to the Lord in accordance with the instructions of Exodus 13:2, 13: “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel … All the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem” (nkjv). Joseph and Mary came with a sacrifice of two turtledoves (Luke 2:24), which was what the law prescribed for people too poor to afford a lamb (Lev. 12:8). On that day, the little family from Nazareth encountered two elderly saints, Simeon and Anna. (Anna will be the subject of the following chapter.)
Simeon was an old man whom Scripture describes as “just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25 nkjv). The Spirit of God had revealed to Simeon that he would have the privilege of seeing the Messiah before he died. On the day Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus at the temple, the Holy Spirit led Simeon there also (v. 27 nkjv).
As soon as Simeon saw Jesus, he knew this child was the Lord’s Anointed One. Scripture says he took the infant Jesus up in his arms and uttered a prophecy. Then, turning to Mary, he told her, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (vv. 34–35 nkjv, emphasis added).
It is almost certain that in the process of writing his gospel, Luke sought details about Jesus’ birth and life from Mary. Luke 1:1–4 indicates that he had access to the testimony of many eyewitness reports. Since he included several details that only Mary could have known, we can be fairly sure that Mary herself was one of Luke’s primary sources. Luke’s inclusion of several facts from Jesus’ early life (2:19, 48, 51) suggests that this was the case. Mary’s own eyewitness testimony must also have been Luke’s source for the account of Simeon’s prophecy, for who but she could have known and recalled that incident? Apparently, the old man’s cryptic prophecy had never left her mind.
Years later, as Mary stood watching a soldier thrust a sword into Jesus’ side, she must have truly felt as if a sword had pierced her own soul also. At that very moment, she might well have recalled Simeon’s prophecy, and suddenly its true meaning came home to her with full force.
While Mary quietly watched her Son die, others were screaming wicked taunts and insults at Him. Her sense of the injustice being done to Him must have been profound. After all, no one understood Jesus’ absolute, sinless perfection better than Mary did. She had nurtured Him as an infant and brought Him up through childhood. No one could have loved Him more than she did. All those facts merely compounded the acute grief any mother would feel at such a horrible sight. The pain of Mary’s anguish is almost unimaginable. Yet she stood, stoically, silently, when lesser women would have fled in horror, shrieked and thrashed around in panic, or simply collapsed in a heap from the overwhelming distress. Mary was clearly a woman of dignified grace and courage.
Mary seemed to understand that her steadfast presence at Jesus’ side was the only kind of support she could give Him at this dreaded moment. But even that was merely a public show of support. Mary’s personal suffering did not represent any kind of participation in His atoning work. Her grief added no merit to His suffering for others’ guilt. He was bearing the sins of the world. She could not assist with that. Nor did He need her aid as any kind of “co-redemptrix” or “co-mediatrix.” “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5 nkjv). Mary herself did not try to intrude into that office; it is a shame so many people insist on trying to put her there.
As a matter of fact, in the waning hours of Jesus’ life, it was Jesus who came to her aid. Already in the final throes of death, He spotted Mary standing nearby with a small group of women and John, the beloved disciple. For the final time, Jesus acknowledged His human relationship with Mary. In his own gospel account, John describes what happened: “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:26–27 nkjv).
So one of Jesus’ last earthly acts before yielding up His life to God was to make sure that for the rest of her life, Mary would be cared for.
That act epitomizes Mary’s relationship with her firstborn Son. She was His earthly mother; but He was her eternal Lord. She understood and embraced that relationship. She bowed to His authority in heavenly matters just as in His childhood and youth He had always been subject to her parental authority in earthly matters (Luke 2:51). As a mother, she had once provided all His needs, but in the ultimate and eternal sense, He was her Savior and provider.
Mary was like no other mother. Godly mothers are typically absorbed in the task of training their children for heaven. Mary’s Son was the Lord and Creator of heaven. Over time, she came to perceive the full import of that truth, until it filled her heart. She became a disciple and a worshiper. Her maternal relationship with Him faded into the background. That moment on the cross—Jesus placing His mother into the earthly care of John—formally marked the end of that earthly aspect of Mary’s relationship with Jesus.
After Jesus’ death, Mary appears only once more in the Bible. In Luke’s chronicle of the early church, she is listed among the disciples who were praying together in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). Her name is never mentioned in the epistles. It is clear that the early church never thought of making her an object of religious veneration the way so many have done in the subsequent annals of various Christian traditions.
Mary herself never claimed to be, or pretended to be, anything more than a humble handmaiden of the Lord. She was extraordinary because God used her in an extraordinary way. She clearly thought of herself as perfectly ordinary. She is portrayed in Scripture only as an instrument whom God used in the fulfillment of His plan. She herself never made any pretense of being an administrator of the divine agenda, and she never gave anyone any encouragement to regard her as a mediatrix in the dispensing of divine grace. The lowly perspective reflected in Mary’s Magnificat is the same simple spirit of humility that colored all her life and character.
It is truly regrettable that religious superstition has, in effect, turned Mary into an idol. She is certainly a worthy woman to emulate, but Mary herself would undoubtedly be appalled to think anyone would pray to her, venerate images of her, or burn candles in homage to her. Her life and her testimony point us consistently to her Son. He was the object of her worship. He was the one she recognized as Lord. He was the one she trusted for everything. Mary’s own example, seen in the pure light of Scripture, teaches us to do the same.
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