Everything You Need to Know About Mary, the Mama of Jesus
Photo: from the film ‘Passion of the Christ’
One of the most fascinating women of the ages, Mary the mother of Jesus was a humble girl from the tiny town of Nazareth. Giving birth to Jesus around the age of 13/14, she would carry a burden, a beautiful burden, but a heavy burden the rest of her life. ‘The rare moment- accounts of conversations between Jesus and His mother that we find in the Gospels are laden with love and riddled with pain.’ A relatable woman to us all, SEELE’s last Friday Post of 2019 highlights a woman whose life was forever changed when Gabriel met her with news. And her unwavering devotion to her Son’s mission is a reminder of the true reason of the season. Merry Christmas from SEELE!
In this Advent season, I want to do Seele’s last Friday Post of the year on Mary, the mother of Jesus, a woman who I find so fascinating. What sticks out about Mary was her willingness to obey God’s plan, that God could trust her, and also, that she’s one of the most relatable women in the Bible. People from all times in history will in some way be able to relate to her. 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. Mary only speaks four times in the New Testament and clues about her life are elusive, so scholars must take what they can from Hebrew Scriptures, first century Mediterranean texts, the four Gospels and Acts 1, as well as archaeological digs.
Mary, Miriam, or Maryam- all variations of her name means ‘stubborn and rebellious.’ She came from a very very very devout Jewish family, a family who observed all the feast days and kept Jewish traditions. From the tribe of Judah- the line of King David, Mary was born in Nazareth and would have spoken Aramaic. Quite frankly, Nazareth was the bad part of town. She didn’t come from opulence or a respected city, and still today, Nazareth isn’t the best part of Israel.
At the age of 12 girls were considered mature and ready for marriage. Her husband was Joseph, a carpenter, and somewhere around 40-years-old when he married her as a preteen. And, her children were Jesus the 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. But before all of this took place in her life, Mary was an ordinary Jewish girl, looking forward to doing ordinary Jewish girl things.
This Burden
When Gabriel appeared to her and said, “You are highly favored among women (Luke 1:25), Mary 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, but she said yes. And even with all of her favor, Mary would suffer a lot. She, would carry a burden, a beautiful burden, but a heavy burden the rest of her life.
From the time Gabriel left her with the news she was with child, Mary would know disgrace as an unwed mother. She then 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 girl of strength as she grew up, and also, because she shaped her future with words of obedience to Gabriel.
Not ‘Mommy’ but ‘Woman’
Not once, according to Scripture did Jesus call Mary- mommy, mom, or mother- but rather He called her “woman,” although it was common for women to be called this during their day, but there is a reason why He did this- I’ll point it out in a minute.
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 would have ever expected. The prophet Simeon had told her this would be the case when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple at 8 days old. Simeon said, “A sword will pierce your own soul too (Luke 2:35).”
Her SON was more challenging than she expected…
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 accidentally left at temple at the age of 12 (Luke 2) and at the Wedding in Cana (John 2). His words would pierce any mother. Mark points us to a rift between Jesus and Mary- and His siblings in chapter 3, verses 31-35. There He is pointing out a boundary between Himself and His mother. As I mentioned before, He called her woman in their interactions in Scripture. What He is doing in Mark 3 at the time of His ministry, was letting her know that He was indeed the Christ (the Savior). He was no longer her little boy but He had to solely be about His Father’s business.
Father’s Business to Blessedness
But, there is a blessedness that Jesus offers men and 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 woman’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.”
After her Son’s death, burial and resurrection Mary would live with the Apostle John, in the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey, in his home where he would care for her in during the beginnings of the church, until she died.
Everyone who looks at the meaning of Christianity must wonder about this woman and all that she went through to raise an extraordinarily unique and different child, to misunderstand Him at times, to always love and worry about Him, to let Him go, but to also understand that her Son Jesus came to pardon her sins as well. And in this, her life was in dedication to faith in Jesus her Savior, a message she passes along to humanity- that our true identity is not in roles but rather in the blessedness that Jesus offers through the awesome gift of salvation and eternal life.