Women in the Life of Jesus: Mary the Mother of Jesus

 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.-Matthew 1:16 (NKJV)

Scripture where she is found: Matthew 1-3, Mark 6, Luke 1-2, 8, John 2, 19, & Acts 1

Her story:

Mary was the mother of Jesus and the 5th woman listed in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1.

She is mentioned throughout all four Gospels and in the book of Acts.

I have discussed her before, in John 2, when Jesus changed the water into wine.  You can find that post here.

What I want to share about today can found in Luke 1.

 Now in the sixth month 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.  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.  Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.  For with God nothing will be impossible.”

 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

-Luke 1:26-38

My thoughts:

God gives us a lot of detail in this short passage of scripture. This is good, because this is a very important moment in His(story.)

God is the one who sends the angel, His messenger, to Mary.  The angel's name is Gabriel.  He is a male, and he just appears in her home.

The passage also tells us exactly who he goes to, who she was engaged to, and that she is a virgin.  All of these details believers might sometimes take for granted, but I believe God wanted to be very specific in what was included in scripture.  This is the most widely told story-it has been told over and over again for centuries because we celebrate Christmas, which is the celebration of Christ's birth.

Faith comes by hearing.  And so many people have heard this again and again, that they probably have no question that these details are just as God said they were.

When she saw the angel, she doesn't seem to be troubled by him, as much as what he is saying to her.  In fact, she seems to have some spiritual understand already and knowledge of the things of God. She doesn't seem upset by the appearance of the angel himself. She just keeps having a conversation with him.

He tells her not to be afraid. Does that mean of him, or what he is about to tell her?  I think maybe the message.  

He goes on to tell her she has found "favor with God."  What would cause that?  Again, I think she had some knowledge of God.  I think she was familiar with the scriptures, and that coupled with her character, allowed God to trust her.  This was a big deal, to carry the Son of God in her womb.

She then asks the angel another question.  She is a virgin, so she doesn't understand how this can come to pass.  He then explains to her about the Holy Spirit.  

The Holy Spirit was involved in creation in Genesis.  He hovered "over the face of the waters."  Then God started speaking and things came into being.  This is how the Son of God was going to come into the world.

And then in Luke 1:38, we see a greater glimpse of why He chose her.  She says,
Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.

And then the angel leaves.

Her character and her knowledge of the things of God are why I believe He chose her.  He could trust her and she was already prepared to handle what was to come, because it was to be no easy task.  I am so thankful for her and for the birth of Jesus.

For further reading about Mary, check out The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs, or this children's biography, Get to Know Mary by Nancy I Sanders.

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus.

Called by God-Mary the Mother of Jesus

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.

His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it.'

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.

Jesus said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up to the brim.

And He said to them, 'Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.' And they took it.

When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bride-groom.

And he said to him, 'Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.-John 2:1-11



I love the role Mary plays in this account. She is a primary person of faith in regards to the miracle Jesus performs. She says one of my favorites lines in Scripture,

"Whatever He says to you, do it."

How would she know to say that to the servants?

We would probably have to take a look back at her life to determine the answer to that question.

She was a young Jewish woman when the angel visited her and told her she was to be the mother of Jesus, who would be the Savior of the world.

In Luke 1:30, the angel tells her, "You have found favor with God."

She doesn't seem extremely alarmed when the angel visits her. He explains to her how that miracle will take place, and she has faith in what he tells her, and says,

"Let it be to me according to your word."

She possibly could had learned the Scriptures as a young girl. She most likely knew the Old Testament stories.

Her faith in the Scriptures, plus her own experience with the miracle power of the Holy Spirit, gave her basis for faith in Jesus. She knew what He was capable of doing.

Up until that point, He had done no miracles. But as soon as He was baptized in the Holy Spirit, He was ready.

When Jesus says to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour is not yet come," He is not chiding her. The term "woman" as used in this particular passage was a term of endearment.

Mary kind of bypasses what He says, and gives the servants instructions anyway. Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that she was His mom. Mothers have a way of encouraging, that no one else does.

But Mary's faith in Him facilitates the miracle.

So, what was the outcome?

Jesus turns the water into wine. This was His first miracle. The Bible calls it, "This beginning of signs."

He also "manifested His glory" and "His disciples believed in Him."

Mary was there at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, fulfilling her purpose, and called by God. She continued to be there throughout His ministry, during His death, burial, and resurrection.

What is your purpose? What is God calling you to do? We should also follow Mary's request to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it. It will produce fruit and miracles in the lives of others.

Get to Know Mary by Nancy I. Sanders

"Mary and Joseph's house probably didn't have much furniture.  In Bible times, people slept on mats.  Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the other children probably slept side by side on their mats.  Then they rolled them up in the morning and stacked the mats next to a wall."

-Excerpt from the chapter "Mary and Joseph's Home" in Get to Know Mary

Making connections to the Word of God is important.  It is important for adults and it is important for children.  I always feel more connected to passages of scripture that I am reading if I know more intimate and historical details about the passage.  Get to Know Mary by Nancy I Sanders is a wonderful tool to help your student connect to the Word of God.  It will make the passages about Mary and Jesus and the time period surrounding come alive.

Get to Know Mary is a small, pocket-sized reference book, containing a wealth of information surrounding the life and times of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Inside, you will find information about the places Mary lived, the culture, worship, where they lived, food they ate, and scriptural passages that included Mary in the story.  There are also maps, artwork, and photographs representative of the time in which Mary lived.

There were a few things that were distracting from the text. There is lots of additional information on some of the pages besides the text, which made it seem too busy. On page 29, there was information about Mary’s journey to visit and Elizabeth and back home to Nazareth.  The map on the opposite page does not include Nazareth.  Also, some of the information had to be filtered through to find facts just about Mary.  It seemed to be a book more about the life and times of Mary, than just Mary herself.

I enjoy doing research about Biblical times. This was a very nice book to include in a child’s research library, and could be helpful for teens and adults as well. Overall, I enjoyed this book and am glad that I chose it as one for review.  I enjoyed looking at the artwork depicting Biblical people and events, as well as the photographs of the artifacts and historical sites in Israel.  My favorite part was learning about Mary and Joseph’s home.  

I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, whether you are someone who enjoys doing Biblical research or a homeschool student.  This is a wonderful book to include in your library.  The author has done a lot of research which will benefit you in your Bible study.  She ends the novel with the resurrection of Christ and how Mary’s story is completed in Jesus, as all our stories are, when we trust in Him.

Many blessings to you as you discover the wonderful truths of God’s Word!

Beth

Disclaimer:  I received this book free from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a review.  I was not required to give a favorable review.  The thoughts and opinions her are entirely my own.

To learn more about the author, Nancy I. Sanders, please visit her at her website nancyisanders.com.

To learn more about other books in the Get to Know series, visit www.zondervan.com.

The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs

"As David once wrote, 'The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng.' Amen to that!  Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna are among that mighty throng who've heard God's truth and gladly given him the glory."

-excerpt, Chapter 8, Women of Christmas

I love Christmas.  Each year it seems like I want to start celebrating earlier and earlier.  Reading Christmas literature is something I like to do to deepen the meaning of the season for me.  This year I started with The Women of Christmas by author Liz Curtis Higgs.

The Women of Christmas is a a detailed commentary of the story of Christmas as pertaining to three women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and Anna, the prophetess who worshiped God day and night in the temple.  The book contains 8 chapters with a devotional/study guide at the back of the book for each chapter.

One of the first things I noticed about this book was the incredible amount of research the author has done.  It was amazing!  There are a lot of footnotes in this book, which I like.  I like to read a book and take away information about the Bible that I didn't know before.  In The Women of Christmas, Liz discusses things like the age of Elizabeth when she became pregnant with John the Baptist, the theory behind the possibility that Zechariah was also deaf along with being mute, and the very important encounter of Mary with the angel Gabriel. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the research that was put into this.  That was the biggest thing for me.  I like it when an author does their homework.  I was a little disappointed with the book cover.  The dust jacket which serves as the cover is beautiful, but the book itself is plain and did not include the beauty you see on the dust jacket.  Also, I was a little confused about why the author chose to include information about Simeon in the book, other than to segue into her information about Anna. 

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to delve deeper into the Christmas story.  This book is a great one for study.  It would also be a great book for a Women's Bible study around Christmastime.

Many blessings to you as we make our way toward the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.,

Beth

Disclosure:  I received this book free as part of a free books for bloggers program at Waterbrook Multnomah.  I was not required to give a positive review.  The thoughts and opinions here are entirely my own.