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Mary
Mother Of Jesus

By Glenn Davis

The vast majority of what we know about Mary, mother of Jesus, comes from the events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  The recorded events of her life take place between 6 BC and AD 30, or between 4040 and 4070 years after creation.

The Old Testament has many general prophecies concerning the line through which the Messiah would come, starting at Gen. 3:15, where the Messiah is said to be the Seed of the woman [not the man], and continuing over time to be narrowed until we come to the Davidic line in the tribe of Judah.  Isaiah promised that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.

We do not know Mary’s age for sure, although many believe she was a teenager when she was pledged to marry Joseph.  Being pledged to marry was stronger than a modern-day engagement; although they were not married with the privileges of marriage, breaking the pledge required a formal divorce.  We also know, from the gifts that Mary and Joseph brought at the purification ceremony, that they were very poor.  

We know that Mary loved God and lived a pure - but not sinless - life.  Even though poor, she found ways to learn the Word of God.  She was obviously familiar with Hannah’s prophecy spoken over a thousand years before.  She referred to herself as “blessed among women” using the same term Deborah had used of Jael [Jud. 5:24].  We know she thought deeply about things, for she is mentioned as treasuring things in her heart when she didn’t understand them. 

The Call Of
Mary, Mother Of Jesus

Let us walk through what we know of her life…

One day, as Mary was going about her normal duties, the angel Gabriel appeared to her.  Many times when angels appeared to people, they took on normal human form.  It is likely that Gabriel did the same for Mary was not shocked by his appearance, but by what he said.  Mary was told that she was “highly favoured” and that “the Lord is with you.”  Those statements troubled her.  Perhaps, as many of us would have, she was wondering what kind of bad news she was being prepared for!  Gabriel set her mind at rest.  No bad news, but the greatest news possible.  She had been chosen, in the grace of God, to be the mother of the Messiah that had first been promised over 4,000 years ago.  She was to have a unique and honoured place in history.

As overwhelming as this news was, Mary was puzzled.  Maybe the angel had made a mistake.  She was a virgin; she wasn’t married. How could she have a child?  Unlike Zechariah, this was not doubt but a sincere wondering how it could happen or what she would have to do to make it happen.  The angel assured her that she did not have to do anything.  The Holy Spirit Himself would implant the Seed, and it would indeed be a virgin birth.  That removed all the problems.  Mary gave God permission to accomplish His will in her life.  Now she could really get excited!

Gabriel had mentioned that her cousin, Elizabeth, was going to have a miracle child.  As soon as she could, Mary left for a 3-month visit with her cousin.  The moment Mary entered Elizabeth’s home, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb for joy [showing, by the way, the humanity of unborn children and how murderous abortion is].  Elizabeth greatly encouraged Mary, and they rejoiced together in the parts they had been given in God’s great plan.

When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth to John the Baptist, Mary left for home.  It was a tough homecoming.  She was 3 months pregnant.  She had to tell the man pledged to be her husband and the whole town a story they most certainly would not believe.  Her earthly love, Joseph, decided the only God-honouring thing he could do would be to divorce her.  He loved her and did not want to put her through more pain than was absolutely necessary, so he determined to divorce her as quietly as possible.  Mary faced rejection from her loved ones and the prospect of being a single mother in a society that made that very difficult.  

However, God did not abandon Mary or His Son.  An angel confirmed to Joseph that Mary’s story was true.  He then reversed his decision and accepted her as his wife, although they refrained from sex until after Jesus was born.  Now life in Nazareth was difficult for both of them as they endured the shame and rejection of a couple [falsely] accused of having premarital sex.  The pressure was so great that when Joseph had to leave for Bethlehem to be registered for tax purposes, a nine-month pregnant Mary made the journey with him rather than stay home.  It may have been for her safety, too.  Since they later got a house in Bethlehem, it is unlikely either of them ever intended to return to Nazareth.  

Birth And Childhood 
Of Jesus

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, it was bursting at the seams with all the people arriving to register.  They had nowhere to stay except a stable.  It was in that dirty and uncomfortable place that Mary gave birth to her firstborn: Jesus.  She wrapped him in cloths and laid Him in a manger, as clean as Joseph could make it.  

Heaven was excited that the final stage of God’s Covenant plan had begun.  Angels appeared to the shepherds on a nearby hill, announcing to them what had just happened.  As soon as the angels left, the shepherds hurried off to see this Wonderful Child for themselves.  Then they spread the news to everyone who would listen.

As every Jewish boy was, Jesus was circumcised when He was eight days old.  At least 41 days after Jesus was born Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem to perform the purification ceremony [Lev. 12].  There, Simeon and Anna prophesied over Jesus.  

Luke now records that they returned to their “own town of Nazareth” because that is the end of his record until Jesus was 12 years of age.  Nazareth is indeed where they ended up [which was Luke’s point], but it is not directly where they went after the purification in Jerusalem.  According to Matthew, they appear to have returned to Bethlehem for a season.  Respected commentator Matthew Henry confirms this: “Luke related no more concerning them, till they were returned into Galilee; but it appears by St. Matthew’s gospel that from Jerusalem they returned to Bethlehem…” Vol. 5, pg. 606.

It is a common misconception that the wisemen [magi] visited Jesus at the stable with the shepherds.  Herod the Great diligently inquired of the wise men when they had first seen the star, and later he had all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem murdered.  He likely chose that age because of the information he had obtained.  That would make Jesus somewhere between 1 and 2 years of age when the wise men visited [and still living in Bethlehem].  Again, people commonly assume there were three wise men because there were three gifts, but the Bible never directly states how many wise men there were.  In any case, they arrived and gave Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Then, after being warned by God in a dream, they left - avoiding Jerusalem and Herod.

Herod was furious.  He was an unstable man at the best of times, murdering family members and strangers alike.  This order was so in line with his character and cruel deeds that secular historians do not even take note of it.  When the wise men left, Joseph was warned to flee to Egypt.  He obeyed immediately, and Jesus escaped the massacre.  After Herod died, God told Joseph in a dream that it was safe to return.  He probably intended to return to Bethlehem, but the political situation gave him little choice.  He had to return to Nazareth.  

When Jesus was twelve years old, His parents took Him to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.  Perhaps during this time they told Him about the miraculous events surrounding His birth.  In any case, He was fascinated by the temple and all that He was learning and seeing.  Like many young people, time slipped away from Him.  It never occurred to Him that His parents would worry about Him and look for Him.  He knew where He was and what He was doing!  After three days of frantic searching, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple area.  Mary scolded Him for the worry He had caused them.  Jesus was surprised that they had been worried, but obediently returned with them to Nazareth.  

Adult Relationship Between
Jesus And Mary

Except for this one incident, Scripture is silent on Jesus' life until He is about 30 years old.  Many crude and fictitious accounts of miracles or events from this time exist.  The implication of Scripture is that it was a normal family…so normal that people thought He was crazy for claiming to be the Son of God…they knew Him and His family - He was just a poor carpenter.  Contrary to religious myths, Mary and Joseph had a normal marriage, and Jesus had step-brothers and step-sisters.  After the trip to Jerusalem for the Passover, Joseph disappears from history.  This leads some to believe [and it is likely true] that Joseph died during this period, leaving Mary a widow and Jesus responsible for providing for the family. 

After this, Mary, the mother of Jesus, has very few Biblical appearances in Jesus' life.  We see her next at the wedding in Cana - which was probably a relative of some kind.  If Joseph had indeed died, then Mary was accustomed to looking to her eldest Son for help.  So when the wedding celebrations ran into serious trouble, she brought the problem to Jesus.  Jesus did not seem eager to get involved, but she trusted Him.  And so Jesus’ first miracle was performed - turning the water into wine.  

Interestingly, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the next incident.  Mary, along with Jesus’ brothers and sisters, went to see Him for an unknown reason, perhaps family business.  Instead of dropping everything and rushing out to meet them, Jesus used the moment to teach that the family of God supersedes the human family.  

Mary, mother of Jesus, was at the cross.  The sword had pierced her own heart.  Jesus had fulfilled all these family duties up to this point, but now He could no longer do so.  So He committed the care of His mother to His disciple John - not to His natural brother.  Again, this shows the priority of the family of God over natural family relationships.  We don’t have any record of Mary being among the women at the tomb, but perhaps she was. 

The last time Scripture takes note of this “most blessed among women” is that Mary, mother of Jesus,  was among the 120 men and women meeting in the upper room, praying and waiting…

Mary, mother of Jesus, holds a unique place in history.  She was an obedient vessel for the grace of God to flow through to bring the Messiah into the world.  Some have tried to give her a place above what Scripture gives, and that we must resist and expose without detracting from the honour and respect that is her due. 

Biblical References To
Mary Mother Of Jesus

Is. 7:14, Matt. 1:16-24, Matt. 2:11-14, Matt. 2:20-21, Matt. 12:46-50, Matt. 13:55, Mark 3:31, Mark 6:3, Luke 1:27-56, Luke 2:5, Luke 2:16-51, Luke 8:19, John 2:1-12, John 6:42, John 19:25-27, Acts 1:14, Gal. 4:4

Mary Mother Of Jesus
Articles

Cost Of Christmas, The *** Did Jesus Disrespect His Mother? *** God Loves A Willing Heart *** Mary, Child Of Grace *** Is It Biblically Correct To Pray To Mary? *** Why Was The Virgin Birth Necessary?

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