Spirituality Column #788

December 21, 2021

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Mary Knew, But …

By Bob Walters

“…the angel [Gabriel] said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High … the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’ … And Mary said to Gabriel, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. – Luke 1:30-32, 35, 38

The popular Christmas song title asks, “Mary, Did You Know?” 

Well, according to this Bible passage from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, I think the answer is most definitely, “Yep, Mary knew.”  Jesus was on the way.

Mary at that time certainly didn’t know the answers to all the questions and tender images the song poses about the eventual life and work and miracles of Christ; nobody at that time did.  Despite the scriptural roadmap laid out in the Old Testament for God’s plan of salvation of humanity, this frightened but faithful and obedient teenage girl received this world-altering news from what I imagine would have been a glowing angel sent by God almighty.  Mary’s response went from fear to confusion to rejoicing.

Mary knew in her heart this wasn’t fake news. While the person, methods, and fullness of Christ couldn’t have been known then – by Mary or by anybody – humanity would come to know Jesus as the Good News of its salvation from a fallen world: the restoration of mankind’s eternal shared life in the glorious presence of our Creator God.

But in remote Judea, the Son of God to be born as a baby was on the way.  And at that moment of Gabriel’s visit, Mary was the only one who did know, along with, shortly thereafter, her similarly startled husband-to-be, Joseph, who received the news – separately – from an apparently different angel in a dream (Matthew 1:18-25). 

Where the “Mary Did You Know?” song gets it right is not so much in whether the virgin Mary knew the identity of the baby she would carry and birth – she did – but how absolutely no one in the world had any idea what God was truly up to and all that Jesus would mean during his short life on earth and for the remainder of human history. 

So yes, Mary knew.  However, her only question was how it would happen. Then … no more questions.  Her response from then on was trust, faith, and obedience to God … and love for the child growing inside her.  That was Mary’s first Christmas.

Mary was “the mother of God,” what theologians call the “Theotokos,” or “God bearer.”  Mary’s soul “glorified the Lord” and her spirit “rejoiced in God my Savior.” She knew “all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48). That’s quite a Christmas gift.

We share Mary’s joy when we obediently accept the savior Jesus into our lives, and Christmas is the time of year to remember that.  Joy multiplies when we remember it every day … every moment … but Christmas is when we share the story to an unsaved world that needs to hear the Good News of the birth of Jesus and salvation.

Too many of us think celebrating Christmas is about earthly gifts, when Jesus is the cosmic, divine, ultimate gift: new life in Christ.  With faith in Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God, the Truth of God, the Word of God, and accepting our sins as forgiven, we are restored to the paradise of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Merry Christmas.

Mary, blessed for all time, welcomed Jesus into the world.  She knew then that the best celebration of Christmas, always, is when we welcome Jesus into our hearts.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) sees no verse mentioning Joseph and Mary talking to each other about the angels’ separate visits to them. Imagine that conversation…