Mary, You Did Know!
Last year in honor of Christmas, I wrote an article titled “The Perspective of the King’s Expecting Parents!” In that article, I wrote from the perspective concerns that Mary and Joseph may have had as a young newly formed couple about to embark on the journey of their lives, raising the King of Kings! It is similar to another great work that I often run across around Christmas time. Many of us have heard the song “Mary, Did You Know?” It is sort of a Christmas tradition in many churches to play this song every Christmas season, while others hear it on the radios this time of year. It’s written from what appears to be Mary’s motherly perspective and asks some very emotionally charged questions for any mom in her position. I will post the actual song on the end of this post, but for those of you who rather not listen, here are the lyrics: Mary, Did You Know? Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Oh Mary did you know? Song Writers: Buddy Greene/Mark Lowry Not to knock the meaning and value of the song as we know it, but I want to pose a challenge. Mary not only knew who that little baby boy was that she held in her arms, she also knew quite a bit about his purpose. As a gentile mother she may have had nearly all of the questions that the song presents, but as a Hebrew mom, knowing the history and faith she was taught, I highly doubt many of these questions ever remained a concern for her. Out of all the Hebrew women in the nation, God chose her and for good reason. Mary was pure and had never known a man. Hebrews in those days would have grown up hearing the scrolls of the Torah (The Law) and Tanakh (whole thing) read in the Synagogue. They would have heard the precious words of God even in schools. The Torah includes the 5 early Old Testament books Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and the Tanakh is the entirety of the Jewish Bible. From these books we find prophecies about the soon coming of the Messiah (Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ). Prophecies such as: The Messiah would be in the lineage of the tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10 (KJV) “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” King David would be part of the lineage of the Messiah: 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NKJV) “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the [a]blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before [b]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” The Messiah would certainly be born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 (KJV) “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” The Messiah would approach Jerusalem riding upon a donkey: Zechariah 9:9 (KJV) “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” The Messiah would according to scripture, suffer, match a description, would be silent during his trial, buried in a rich man’s grave, and would be resurrected from the dead: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” –v.3 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” –v.5 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” –v.7 “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” –v.9-11 All of these details and hundreds of others were established centuries before the birth of Christ and would have been part of Mary’s faith and traditions. As we can see from Mary’s responses to her “unique” and bizarre situation of being a virgin mother, we can see that she already had expectations and faith in God’s way of doing things: Luke 1:26-38 (KJV) “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Notice that Mary doesn’t question if this son would be legitimate, beg God to take such a hard situation away from her, or even question if God could do it. She not only knows that God can, she asks how it would all happen as if to say, “instruct me what to do.” Even Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin and John the Baptist’s mother) understood what was about to happen. In Luke 1:43 we find her saying, “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Later on in Jesus’ life, even before the public knew exactly who Jesus was because His ministry had not even begun yet, Mary once again allowed her understanding of who her son was to be on display. Even though we find in John 2 where Mary begs Jesus to perform the miracle of making more wine for a wedding party and Jesus tries to resist due to the timing of ministry not being right, the faith of his Mother inspires Jesus to perform the miracle anyway. What is awesome is her faith, determination, and confidence in who Jesus was and what He could do. In verse five “His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5) There is a lesson here in this perspective of Mary for all of us. Today, little girls dreams may not be to one day be the mother of the soon coming Messiah, but we can all be excited about the purpose that God has birthed into our lives. In a way, we are all Mary’s expected something the world considers impossible, living with a purpose and a promise of redemption! While the world believes the lie that we all made it here by accident and will meet the same meaningless fate at death, God gives His people a hope for not only a future, but a future filled with “abundant life.” So, I ask you today, what dream has God birthed into you? What are you “expecting”? Notice that v. 37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” My next question to you is that if you already have faith in God, are you obedient? Are you doing as Mary instructed to the servants, “whatever He says to you”? As you reflect this Christmas on the “Reason” for the season, don’t forget to remember the purpose God has placed in your heart and the decisions that lead you in the direction of the path God has set before you. Mary could have taken a much different path and a total different direction, but God knew that she wouldn’t because He knew her heart. Mary may not have known just how awesome the miracle of Jesus would be, but what she did know was that He was surely a miracle and that “with God nothing shall be impossible.” You also may not know for sure just how awesome and powerful your journey may be, but you have the assurance of God and the promises that He brings to our lives. So with boldness and faith this Christmas season, proclaim the name of Christ to all those you encounter and walk in obedience to the Lord.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |