I love the song “Mary, Did You Know?” which often is played during Advent. You’re probably familiar with the song, which is almost “hymn-like”. I especially the version by the group “Pentatonix”. I’ll post the YouTube site where you can watch their version at the end of the blog. The song was composed by Mark Lowry in 1984, but the music - as we know - it wasn’t written until 1999 by Buddy Greene. Thus, “Mary did you know?” is a relatively new song in the Christian hymnary.
The words of the Song’s beginning ask the question:
“Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will 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…
It’s an interesting question – what did Mary know? Looking at the scripture we learn a lot:
We begin by remembering the words spoken by the Angel Gabriel
who announced to Mary the Good News (the Gospel) that she would bear a child that
would come from God.
Luke 1:30-32
And 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 bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the
Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
Mary knew that his name would be Jesus, i.e., Jehovah
Saves. As a Jewish believer, Mary was
quite aware of the promises of God for the Messiah to come. All of Israel continuously prayed for God to
send the Messiah to them. Mary knew that the child she was to have was
the promised Messiah. Jesus would be called “the Son of the Most High” … “Holy,
the Son of God.”
Mary knew that Jesus’ birth was not going to occur through
a normal conception. Luke 1:34-35
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will
be called holy—the Son of God.
Mary knew that what was to soon happen was a work of God
and she was His Servant to carry it out.
Luke 1:38-49
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me
according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The Scripture records that Mary often “pondered” the words
she heard – first from the angel Gabriel, and later from the Shepherds, on the
night of Jesus’ birth. I believe Mary
realized that the child she would bear would be both Human and Divine. She knew that she was to be the “mother of
God”.
While some might wonder if that is true, we only have to remember what happened
at the wedding in Cana that the Gospel of John (chpt. 2) records. It is one of my favorite stories because it
makes clear that Mary KNEW:
John 2:1-8
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the
mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no
wine.”
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour
has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of
purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled
them up to the brim.
And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the
feast.” So they took it. When the master
of the feast tasted the water that had now become wine…”
What did Mary know? She
knew that Jesus was sent by God and she would conceive him by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and carry him in her womb through to a natural human birth. The early Church Fathers saw Mary as the “new
Eve”, and the “mother of God” who said “Yes” to God. The great Doctor/Theologian of the early Church,
Tertullian wrote:
“It was while Eve was still a virgin that the word of
the devil crept in to erect an edifice of death. Likewise, through a virgin,
the Word of God was introduced to set up a structure of life. Thus what had
been laid waste in ruin by this sex was by the same sex reestablished in
salvation. Eve had believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. That which the
one destroyed by believing, the other, by believing, set straight”
Mary believed…she said, “Yes, may it be to me as you have
said.” Mary knew!
Peace
You can watch the Pentatonix music at this web page:
https://youtu.be/ifCWN5pJGIE?si=VxtDkIz_ODEhlMod
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