The fifth and last woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ is Mary the mother of Jesus. When still a young lady, a virgin in her teens, engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, she was approached by the angel Gabriel, who 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 name Him Jesus” (Luke 1:30 – 31, NASB).
God chose Mary for a task that seems impossible. He was going to use her as the entry point of His Son into the world as a man; God in man. It was through Him that all things, visible and invisible, were created and yet He would have a body of flesh formed in Mary that He would be clothed in during his stay on earth (See Colossians 1:15 – 17; Luke 1:28 – 38). God had a plan for Mary; to give birth to a child not fathered by her husband but by God and raise him as his mother. How did this choice on the part of God, change and affect the life of a teenager filled with normal dreams of getting married and raising a family? When Mary said to Gabriel, “Be it done to me according to your word,” do you think she had any idea of how she would suffer?
There is much that could be written about Mary, but because of limited space let us consider just a few points. Being with child and not yet married could, in her culture, result in her being stoned to death (John 8:3 – 5). Consider how this pregnancy affected her relationship with the people she loved; the man she was engaged to, her parents, her friends. Consider the social pressure against her. If you are a mother, think about giving birth to your baby in a smelly barn with the animals and laying him in a dirty feed trough.
After the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were complete they brought Jesus up to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. There Simeon blessed them and said to Mary that, “a sword will pierce even your own soul” (Luke 2:35, NASB). Twelve years later they returned to the temple to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. At age twelve the responsibility of raising a child transitions from the mother to the father, thus on their return trip Jesus could travel with either Mary or Joseph. Each assumed Jesus was with the other and as a result he was left behind in Jerusalem. After a day’s journey they realized he was not in the caravan among the relatives so they returned and searched for three days before finding him in the temple. If you were Mary, consider how you would have felt if you had been given the responsibility of raising God’s Son and then lost him someplace in Jerusalem. Jesus chose to stay behind to begin that transition, not from Mary to Joseph, but from Mary to his Father in heaven.
Another time when Mary could have felt great pain was when they were at a wedding feast in Cana and Mary told Jesus that there was no wine left. Jesus responded by saying, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4, NASB). In that culture, what Jesus said was not disrespectful, but it surely must have hurt Mary.
At another time when Mary and his brothers came to where Jesus was speaking, wishing to speak with him, he says, “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (See Luke 8:19 – 21). Each of these two instances was designed to help Mary understand a changing relationship with him, but they still deeply hurt.
Along the pathway of life that Mary was on, her husband Joseph dies leaving her with a huge hole in her life filled with pain. Later along that pathway she hears the crowd cry out, “Crucify Him!” (See Mark 15:12 – 15)
Mary is without a husband and will soon lose her firstborn son. She will experience disgrace and pain that will be excruciating as Jesus is executed on the cross as a criminal.
The fact that God chose Mary to perform a service for him, caused her to experienced terrible pain during her life, but through that pain Mary became the first disciple of Jesus. The cost was great, but what she learned about God and his ways far out distanced her pain. According to 1 Peter 1:1 – 2, we are chosen by God the Father to obey him. Are we, like Mary, willing to bear the pain in order to experience the blessing God has for us by serving him? I believe many American Christians have said “No” and as a result America is reaping the fruit of greed. We can choose to serve self or we can choose to serve God. Mary made the right choice and gave birth to the one who became her savior and redeemer.
