Mary of Nazareth
As March is Women’s History month in the U.S. and March 8th is International Women’s Day, I will be devoting all posts this month to women.
Her name means stubborn and rebellious. Her occupation was a wife, mother, and homemaker. She was a refugee in Egypt. She was from the tribe of Judah, from the lineage of King David. Her religion was firstly Judaism then later Christianity. She came from a very devout Jewish family that strictly kept the Jewish laws. She’s referenced in the Gospels and in Acts 1. In the New Testament she only speaks 4 times. Clues about her life are elusive, so scholars must take what they can from Hebrew Scriptures, first century Mediterranean texts, the New Testament, and archaeological digs.
Muslims and certain types of Christians consider her to be holy above all women, and her name “Maryam” appears more often in the Koran than “Mary” does in the Bible. Yes, this woman I am talking about is Mary of Nazareth. She was from the “the wrong side of the tracks”- the sketch part of Israel. Her husband was Joseph, somewhere around 40 years old when he married her as a preteen. And, her children were Jesus Christ, James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and she had daughters. But, scholars believe the latter 4+ children were Joseph’s from a previous marriage.
Mary was around 12/13 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. And around 13/14 when she gave birth to Jesus. Before all of this, Mary was an ordinary Jewish girl, looking forward to doing ordinary Jewish girl things. When Gabriel appeared to her and said, “You are highly favored among women (Luke 1:25), Mary most likely didn’t fully comprehend what being the mother of the Savior of the world would entail. But, she kept those words in her heart and obeyed. She didn’t argue with Gabriel and said yes. Even with all of her favor, Mary would suffer a lot. She would know disgrace as an unwed mother. She would nearly lose her fiancé. Her Son would be rejected and cruelly murdered. To submit to God’s plan would cost her dearly, but she was willing to be His servant. God knew that Mary was a rare woman of strength because she shaped her future with words of obedience.
Not once, according to Scripture did Jesus call Mary- mommy, mom, or mother- but rather He called her “woman.” Though it was common for women to be called this during their day. She wasn’t your typical mother of the King with a house in the countryside, getting to wave her white-gloved hand from the palace balcony. There’s a side to Mary that most of us have never noticed before:
1). The Mary trying to sort her relationship with her Son.
2). The Mary constantly being thrown off balance by the things He said and did.
3). And the Mary that struggled to come to terms with her identity as a mother and as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Her Son turned out to be more of challenge than she ever expected. The prophet Simeon had told her this would be the case when she took Jesus to the temple when He was 8 days old. Simeon said, “A sword will pierce your own soul too (Luke 2:35).”
As Carolyn Custis James wrote in Lost Women of the Bible. “The road from the stable to the cross was bumpy. The rare moment- accounts of conversations between Jesus and His mother that we find in the Gospels (presumably because Mary later told her story to the Gospel writers), are laden with love and riddled with pain. Jesus’ remarks caught His mother off guard and left her pondering His words, trying to figure out what He meant and to sort through the implications. Exchanges between Jesus and His mother are memorable and chronicle the steps of Mary’s journey from mother to disciple.” This is so true as we see how He interacted with her when He was accidently left at temple at the age of 12 (Luke 2) and at the Wedding in Cana (John 2). His words would pierce any mother.
But, there is a blessedness that Jesus offers women. In Luke 8 when Jesus questions who His mother, brothers, and sisters are, He was directing them to what matters most- the hearing and obeying of God’s Word. To guide them into a true relationship with Him that transcended any biological relationship. This was a radical turning point for Mary, because Jesus was redefining their family. The family of God are those who share a commitment to God’s Word. As He got older and moved into His ministry, Jesus was giving Mary, the only path to blessedness. Physically giving birth to Jesus ultimately meant nothing if Mary never listened, believed, and lived out the teachings of Christ. Her calling, like every woman, is to hear the words of Christ. To live by them, and cultivate the family resemblance of Christ by becoming like her Son.
Jesus said “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) These are the greatest words offered to women by Jesus- single or married. Jesus zeroed in on 2 sacred institutions for women: family and motherhood and redefined them both. According to Jesus, a women’s life is not fully blessed when she becomes a mother, but when she obeys and hears the Word. The crowning glory for men and women is to be disciples of Jesus- to base it on anything else to shaky ground.
As Carolyn Custis James states further “If her [Mary] identity were to be in the roles as wife and mother it would have destroyed her, but Jesus came to save her too, gave her identity as more than a Blessed Mother, gave her something more durable enough to outlast the cross.”
To all the women reading this, Happy International Women’s Day next Tuesday!
Happy Friday! xx
**Inspiration from this post came from Carolyn Custis James’ book, Lost Women of the Bible.