Imagine being a young woman who is engaged to be married. Your whole life is ahead of you, and you dream of your wedding and marriage to an honorable young man. Suddenly, your world is turned upside down when the angel of the Lord appears to you to tell you that you will birth the Messiah. This is the Savior that everyone in your culture has been waiting on, and it is a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you would be humbled, honored and excited, but you also would deal with criticism, disbelief, and possibly even undeserved shame.
Mary was a common woman, just like you and me, but she was chosen as the vessel to bring God Himself to earth. Her role was no small task, but with the help of God, she fulfilled her mission to help bring Him into the world and raise Him in her home. Today we will dive into the life of this young woman named Mary in our character study of the birth of Jesus.
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:4-7).
Character Study on Mary
Mary was a girl with great integrity. She was chosen by God because of her humility and purity. Gabriel, the angel of the Lord called her “highly favored” (Luke 1:28). The way that she responded to the message from Gabriel proved her faith and trust, but also her authenticity. She was “greatly troubled” (Luke 1:29) and asked how she could conceive since she was a virgin (Luke 1:34). Her questions were from a humble stance. She was not afraid to seek the will of God and gain understanding, but had reverence for who He was as her Lord.
We can tell a lot about her from Luke 1:38, “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” Mary was given an honorable, yet challenging situation. She was provided with strength to be obedient and receive this calling as a servant of God.
The way that she, a young teenager, showed boldness and trust in the Lord’s message encourages us in our own personal callings. Mary should never be elevated to be equivalent to God, as she was just a vessel like so many others in history. However, she should be honored and remembered for her great faith and obedience to say yes to Him. We too can live like this. We will not be asked to carry the son of God, but we can live and respond in faith as the Holy Spirit leads us.
In her later years, Mary is seen many times during Jesus’ ministry. She is particularly known for asking Jesus to perform His very first miracle to turn water into wine (John 2:3-5). Mary knew that her son was God, the Messiah, and she again had great faith to ask Him to work in a seemingly impossible situation. She lived her whole life with the perfect son (who I imagine refined her greatly as a mom) and she was excited to see Him begin His earthly ministry.
Mary was around throughout Jesus’ ministry and was at the cross near Jesus during his crucifixion. She watched that sweet baby boy whom she had placed in a wooden manger be nailed to a wooden cross for her own sins and ours (John 19:25). Jesus did not leave her alone though, He told John (the only disciple not to be martyred) to care for her as his own mother. He knew that He would not put his mother through losing a son in such a horrible way again. Jesus loved Mary (John 19:26-27).
She likely saw her son glorified after the resurrection. I believe that Mary (like any of us) missed her Son when he ascended to Heaven to be with His Father. Yet, as special as her role was in the gospel, Jesus is still at the center and we are equally loved and valuable to Him.
3 Important Things to Know about Mary
Below are a few details about Mary. As we review them, may we be reminded that she is not a fairy tale character, but a historical person. Mary was real and her testimony is true.
1. Mary Was in the Line of David
Many scholars believe that Matthew contains Joseph’s genealogy, while Luke lists out Mary’s genealogy. Both genealogies fulfill the prophecies that Jesus was from the line of David. Mary makes Jesus a blood relative to King David, Joseph made Jesus a legal relative to him.
2. Mary Pondered the Mysteries of God
Mary received the news from the angel and treasured it in her heart. Mary was someone who valued the things of God. She pondered her Savior (Luke 2:19, Luke 2:51). This indicates that Mary was probably a deep thinker about spiritual things; she likely took her faith in the Lord very seriously and served Him from a young age.
3. Mary Was Poor
Mary married Joseph, a carpenter, so they likely did not have a lot of money. Mary was poor in this life, but spiritually wealthy. We would have expected the Messiah to have come into a prominent family, but the truth is that Mary and Joseph were not anything special to the world. They were everyday followers of Yahweh who faithfully said, “Yes” to being used by God.
Lessons We Can Learn from Mary
As we study the life of Mary and the part she played in the Christmas story, may we take note of a few things. God invites our questions, but He is still worthy of humility as we approach Him.
The Lord wants to use us for His glory, but we have to be willing to submit to His Spirit and grow in our character for Him to fulfill that. Jesus uses broken people, but He desires for us to live by His Spirit, not our flesh.
Like Mary, life doesn’t have to be glamorous for it to be glorious, and an ongoing relationship with God builds our trust in Him.
Jesus was fully God and fully man, but he needed a mom too. Motherhood is a significant calling that is valuable to the Lord, even in the mundane and unseen moments.
Finally, when there are concepts about God that are mysterious to us or He teaches us something new in His Word, we, like Mary, should take the time to ponder it in our own hearts and treasure our Savior too.
As we prepare for Christmas, may the life of Mary remind us that God sees us, and our faithfulness to Him in the mundane moments matter. He has a plan for each of His followers and we can excitedly surrender and follow Him in faith like Mary.
More from this series
The Inn Keeper
Joseph
Baby Jesus
The Angels
The Animals
The Shepherds
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Liliboas
Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) and multiple books and devotionals for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com and check out her Instagram @Emmadanzey.
