Mary, the Mother of Our Lord

Delivered at the North East Gathering, October 2004 in Canton, Ohio

My dear brothers and sisters, of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

I’d like to extend to all of you the loving greetings from your brothers and sisters in Austin, TX.

As announced, our subject this evening is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This is the woman specially chosen by God to raise His son and our savior, Jesus. The woman chosen to fulfill so much of Bible prophesy as regards the redemption of all mankind. The woman specially chosen by God as a sign of salvation and redemption for God’s especial people, Israel. And it is in Bible prophesy that we first come in contact with her, though of course at this time we do not know her name.

In Genesis three we read of the curse that God brought on the world through sin, first to the serpent and then to the woman.

Gen 3:14-16 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Here is this curse upon mankind because of sin, and here also we have a prophesy of deliverance through the seed of the woman, and that woman who was to bring forth this seed, Jesus to bruise the sin/serpent’s head, was Mary.

The apostle Paul, writing about this curse in 1 Tim. 2 said:

1 Tim 2:14-15 "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

That verse might better be translated, "she shall be saved through childbearing" rather than "in" childbearing, though either way it means the same thing. The idea the apostle is trying to make is that there would be a child born through women who would bring salvation to all of us, and that child of course was Jesus, the son of Mary, and the son of God.

It was fundamental, according to the plan and purpose of God, that the one who should come and bear away our sins, would be one from the same stock and root as all of us, one born of our nature, down in the misery brought on by sin; not excluded or protected from it. This was so deemed by God, as he explains in

Heb 4:14-15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus had to be able to be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, our temptations and trial, our sickness, weakness and pain. He had to be able to have great sympathy for our misery, that he could act as a mediator between us and God. This required close attentiveness to the world around, to be able to look at the people around us and recognize that all is not well. We ourselves tend to be terrible at this. If things are going well in our life, we tend to become blind to the misery that is in the world. Living in this country, surrounded by such wealth and opulence previously unknown to any peoples or even any kings that have gone before us, we can become insensitive to the famine and plagues and poverty that exist in so much of the world around us.

The world, daily describes the injustices that are taking place, even here in our country; but the tendency of human nature is pretty much to ignore it, because, after all, it doesn’t affect us. We should never allow those feelings in ourselves, though we do; but Jesus never could have these feelings of ambivalence for mankind, for his very purpose was to make the removal of such injustices a reality. And that could not be done by letting down his guard for even a minute, or letting himself become insensitive to how truly sinful, sin is. And we see from the Scriptural account of Mary, that she too was very introspective, very aware and meditative on what was going on around her. One of the things said twice about her, when certain things were celebrated concerning her son Jesus, was, "she kept these things in her heart." That is, she observed the events taking place in the life of her son, with a great awareness, and she thought about them, reflected on them, meditated on them often, to keep these things in the forefront of her mind. They were the things that were dearest to her, hence the expression, she kept them in her heart-- the heart, thought in ancient time to be the center of all affection and what is dear in one’s life.

Her son, taking her cue, also kept a quiet but constant awareness, of how evil the potential within mankind truly was, and why it was so important for him to follow his Father’s direction, even from his earliest times, and to deliver us out of the constitution of sin into which we were born. So the quiet, constantly attentive demeanor of Mary was a fit and proper example to the Son of God, that he might always oppose the sin constitution he was born into; that he might be a rebel against the sin-structure of the world, and defeat it, ultimately taking it out of the way, all the while intensely feeling the misery that sin creates.

So as the first condition of salvation, it was necessary that a mediator for us be born of our same stock. Mary, a descendent of Adam was therefore a fit and proper tool for this to be accomplished. Mary’s idolatrous worshipers miss this very first point. They think to honor her, claiming that she herself was immaculate, and outside the sin constitution of the world. Instead they disqualify her for the special calling she had. They cannot stand the teaching of Job who asked:

Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Of course the true answer was that such cannot be done. Job’s evaluation of man was true of all men, and especially true of Mary’s son.

Job 14:1-2 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

If Mary was immaculate, outside the constitution of sin, it would have disqualified her for the work she was chosen to do. She was to bring forth the lamb without blemish, and without spot, but one of the same flock we all exist in. She was to bring forth one who could understand our infirmities, and our weaknesses, and to do so, he had to be one of us, though a morally perfect one, who could understand our fight with sin and weakness and death.

We see this clearly in the life of Mary at shortly after the birth of Jesus. It was necessary, under the law, that all things associated with death were considered defiled, and in need of purification. And the giving of birth was the bringing of another dying creature into the world, and so even this act was considered defiling, and in need of purification. Rather than see Mary and Jesus outside of these ordinances, which would be the case if they were both immaculate, we see them directly involved in them.

The American Revised Version tells us of these ordinances:

Luke 2:22-24 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

So we see Jesus and Mary down in the defilement that was brought on the world through sin, to redeem man out of that defilement. Not aloof. Not separate. But in it, to carry it away.

The next time we see Mary in another prophesy is in Isaiah:

Isa 7:14-16 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Here, Mary the virgin, is again brought to our attention in Bible prophesy, and again it is a prophesy of deliverance. Israel was reaching a very low ebb in it’s history. The kings of Israel, or the ten tribes, had sunk Israel in the mire of idolatry and were on the verge of being removed. The kings of Judah were now, for the most part following the example of the kings of Israel. It was prophesied that both these kings were to be removed, which we know eventually happened as Israel fell to the Assyrians, and Judah to the Babylonians. Both kings were removed, exactly as God promised.

But with the prophesy of punishment, God always provides the prophesy of deliverance for those who remain faithful, And this prophesy concerning Mary is a prophesy of deliverance. The emphasis on the virginity in this prophesy, is a testimony to Israel that it was God who would bring them redemption, not mankind himself. Throughout the sieges brought against Israel and Judah, God has been continually appealing to those left in Israel to quit leaning on their own understandings, that is to quit the idolatry brought in amongst them, and return to the worship the One True God. The people left in the city continually complained that things were well, when they worshiped the queen of heavens, and other idols; but since they left off this, things have turned poorly. Therefore they would increase their idolatries,

This is human nature at its finest, thinking it knows better than God. Human nature is completely unwilling to be constrained in what it may believe and do. But the prophesy by God is repeated back to them, that they cannot bring about their own salvation. Salvation can only come through God. And though the redeemer would be son of a woman, he would not be the direct descendent of a man. God would provide.

In this we see the full meaning in Mary’s expression to her cousin Elisabeth after she was found with child:

Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

God my Saviour, was Mary’s expression. Mary understood. It was God who was bringing redemption to Israel. As the apostle Paul explained:

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

The purpose of a virgin bringing forth the son of God, was to do what man in his invented idolatry thought he could do: but he couldn’t. Man couldn’t save himself. It was God our Saviour, who would provide the lamb without spot for the redemption of sins. God had provided man, a law for his redemption, but that law couldn’t redeem us. Why? What was it that the law could not do, that Paul was referring to?

The law could not give life. And the reason that the law could not give life, was that no one could keep it, because of the weakness of the flesh. But now God was going to do what the law couldn’t do and provide His own son who would be able to keep it, and by dying carry the curse of the law away. And He would do this through a virgin, that the sign would be clear to Israel that it was God Himself who was bringing about salvation, not the will of man.

This great sign, like most of the law, was completely missed by the keepers of the law in the time of Jesus, and has since been denied by most still practicing the law. Jesus is called, in some even more hostile secular instances of History, Jesus ben Pantera, or son of Pantera, a man thought to have been a Roman soldier. It is also worth mentioning, especially at this time of year with the celebration of the dead upon us, called "all hallowed saints eve" or Halloween; with all its associated superstitions, that ben Pantera, translated, is "son of the black cat." The black cat was a part of Egyptian idolatry, thought to possess many magical potions. The Black Cat is also one of the forms the goddess Diana took, in a paganly imagined incestual relationship. So no greater humiliation could be labeled toward Jesus, than to call him the son of the black cat, and to attribute the mighty works God did through him, to pagan magic.

In other instances by the keepers of the law who claim to accept Jesus as a savior, they still deny his virgin birth, and the entire biblical account. Jesus is said to be the son of Joseph. They view him as a person, a mere man who was especially capable of keeping the law and doing what Paul said couldn’t be done.

But in both cases, the hand of God in bringing about salvation is denied, one in outward and complete idolatry: and the other in the elevation of man to the position of providing for his own salvation. We recently have had contact with individuals who had known the truth, but have tried to return to the Mosaic law, and we have been impressed with what a powerful influence it is to man, to believe he can save himself. They imagine how the lessons from Jesus, deal with how we need to keep the law perfectly, and if we can just perform the law perfect enough, we can save ourselves by the keeping of the law.

And since God is so far excluded as the initiator and operator of our salvation-- "God my Saviour" is so far from their thoughts--they too just naturally adopt the Jewish thinking that Jesus is not the son of God in a literal sense. But to those who were paying attention, Mary, the virgin, was the great sign of redemption through the hand of God.

It is said of this child of the virgin, Emmanuel or God with Us; that butter and honey would he eat. This is a reference to a love of learning. In Israel, as the mothers taught their children the law they encouraged them with treats of butter and honey (where possible) for correct answers and learning. We know nothing about Jesus’ early training except for the small glimpse we are given at age twelve when he stayed talking with the elders in Israel about spiritual things; but from this reference to butter and honey we see that his training was to be careful, and Mary was the woman chosen to guide Jesus along the way with his learning.

The Biblical account next brings us into contact with Mary herself. We read of the exchange between the angel Gabriel and Mary in Luke 1:

Luke 1:26-29 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

The sixth month of course was the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. This pronouncement by Gabriel had an unusual affect on Mary. It troubled her greatly. As a person of poor means in Israel, it would indeed seem strange for a stranger to come up and pronounce these words to her. Humbleness and humility, the meekness bro. Steve spoke of this afternoon, is a key and necessary behavior trait for all of God’s people. And these words were far from humbling. And they set her back, and caused her to withdraw from such high praise.

The angel sensing this calms her:

Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

Here is the simplicity that the true servants of God long to hear. This is what we are all striving to hear at the judgment seat of Christ. "Fear not, for thou has found favor with God." Without this, all the praise that a person might get in this lifetime is meaningless and empty. But with it, then all the praise is reflective of God Himself, and a glory.

There can be no doubt that Mary had sought to walk in the paths that had been set before her through the true meanings of the law. That is why she was specially chosen by God. That is why she found favor with God. And hearing that she had found favor with God, she could go on to do all the things that were required of her.

The angel continued to explain:

Luke 1:31-34 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Mary’s reaction here is different and more faithful than most. Even different than many Scriptural examples. There is no hint of disbelief. No mocking of the angel before here. Mary is just asking a simple question, and probably to confirm the point in her own mind that this prophesy is really about to be accomplished in her. "How can this be seeing I know not a man?" There appears to be little room for doubt that the prophesy from Isaiah which we have already looked at, was well known and discussed among the daughters of Israel, much as like all the Jews knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So much more would be the case of the woman who found favor with God.

The angel then confirmed to her that the power of God would accomplish this, and her response was immediate and complete:

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Mary’s steadfastness and earnest obedience here is inspiring, and no doubt one of the characteristics that made her God’s choice to bear His son. No need to consult with others. No fear of social repercussions, which would be great. No thought for consequences of any kind. Just a firm and solid faith in and obedience to God.

Immediately following this, she leaves for the Hill Country of Judea to visit Elisabeth, the one person who would understand fully what had just taken place. Elisabeth was previously called barren, but now she too was with child.

In this we see, as we would expect from one chosen by God, that her priorities were all together in line with God’s counsel and teachings. She associated herself with ones who had like sympathy with her. We call it today, fellowship. At times of great joy, and at times of great sorrow, and essentially at all times, the true servants of God will seek out each other’s fellowship, and companionship. There is no true joy in celebrating and associating with the world. There is nothing meaningful or even acceptable there. They don’t truly even understand what the celebration is. And so Mary as she set off to visit Elisabeth, the place where she knew she would be welcomed and understood.

Here we see a remarkable conjoining of two women in similar positions, both chosen by God to rejoice and ultimately to suffer the loss of their chosen children; but at this time, both rejoicing in the declarations of salvation through the Holy Spirit.

It is here that Mary shows her identity with all Israel, and their hardships and poverty. Mary harkens back to the prayer of Hannah, (which bro. Mike spoke to us about this morning) and makes a similar response as did Hannah as she was found with the child Samuel. There are many similarities between Mary, and Hannah. Both lived in a time of great persecution, Hannah by the Philistines, and Mary through the Romans. And both recognize God as the instigator of this salvation, and not man.

We have seen before that Mary begins her praise:

Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Hannah too, understood who was bringing salvation to mankind:

1Sa 2:1-2 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any Rock like our God.

Both Hannah and Mary recognized the hand of God in providing for their birth of children. Mary declared:

Luke 1:48-49 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

While Hannah prayed:

1Sam. 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

I don’t think it is possible to overestimate the power of the promise in Genesis–(that the woman will be saved through child bearing)--had on the minds of Jewish women before Christ. This was a very powerful prophesy in their minds, before the believing women fully understood the correct manner in which salvation would be achieved through child bearing. And so being barren was regarded as a sort of a curse, and a ridicule by the world around them. It is not unlike our comparative poverty as a tiny, weak, ineffective fellowship of brethren, compared to the wealthier Christadelphian groups who do very visible works on a world wide basis. The unenlightened, misunderstand these things, and ridicule us for our helplessness, just as the barren women of that age were ridiculed by the superficial Jews of their day.

In this light, this validation through God had the recorded response, a great joy, and a vindication that God will Save those who set their whole hearts on Him, regardless of how impotent it looks to the world around us. No doubt the faith of both women was such that no validation was needed for themselves to remain true and faithful. But this public removal of shame gives us an inkling of what acceptance at the judgment will be like, and inversely, how bitter rejection will be.

Which leads us to the end of this prayer/prophesy by Mary and Hannah, where they both focus on the judgment seat of Christ. Hannah spoke:

1 Sam. 2:6-10 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

And Mary concluded her prophesy thus:

Luke 1:51-55 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Here we have the hope of Israel defined by two women who’s sons would bring salvation to Israel. (Samuel in a more immediate sense as the last judge, and the anointer of the first and second kings of Israel, he being the one who anointed Jesus’ royal antecedent King David.)

But here we have them looking forward to another day altogether different than the one that consumed them in their mortality. Looking forward to the day when God shall bring us up from the graves, as Hannah says. A day in which those that are despised in this lifetime, will sit with Kings and princes; and to inherit with those other kings and princes, thrones of Glory on the pillars or foundations provided by God.

Mary sums this up in simply connecting these events to the promises made to Abraham. It is only natural that these promises weighed so heavily on her at this time. The angel, in declaring to her, her special position had made reference to the promises made to David which are in connection with Abraham’s promises. To Mary the angel said:

Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

It would have been impossible to miss the connection of this to the promise to David, and that later prophesied in relationship to him. To David it was promised:

1 Chron. 17:11-14 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

I will establish his throne for ever, said God about the descendent of David that God would bring forth. This rules out any discussion of this being a reference to Solomon, David’s direct heir who built the first temple that is now gone without a trace left behind, (at least so far.) And this promise was repeated through the prophet Isaiah in a way so celebrated by the so called Christian world in the up coming months, and yet so thoroughly disbelieved by them at the same time. The prophet wrote:

Isa. 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Mary was about to give birth to that son that was to be born, who would sit upon the throne of David ruling the world in peace, and so her mind was naturally taken back to those promises. The promise made to Abraham was the land that the son of David would rule over. It is the promise that Mary knew was about to be confirmed through the life of her son, and it is those promises that we are still looking for today. As we read of those promises in Gen. 13

Gen 13:14-16 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

All the land that thou seest was the promise to Abraham and to his seed. This is the promise that Mary was longing to see fulfilled, and in which she was rejoicing as the fulfillment was to be established through her seed. But it is Abraham’s and his seed to whom this promise was made. This the apostle Paul explains to us:

Gal. 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

So the longing of these two righteous women was the same. The desire to declare the glory of God our Saviour as redeeming the human race from sin, and the Jewish people from captivity. And ultimately, the bringing in of a righteous age in which those who love God will be brought again from their graves and celebrated in the earth, rather than despised–such as was the case in their lifetime, and is more and more the case in this country.

Next we come to the events surrounding Mary’s deliverance of Jesus. First the shepherds appear to them soon after Jesus’s birth, telling them remarkable events about the angel which appeared to them in the field.

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

Mary, it is said, pondered these things in her heart as the shepherd related them to her. A further confirmation to her, to Joseph, and to all the world of all that had gone before in this past nine months, that the Messiah had indeed been born to Israel. But a about a month later, when they offered for their purification, (33 days after Jesus’ birth- itself a prophesy of Jesus death) she was to receive a different prophesy concerning her son.

Luke 2:25-35 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law, then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel. And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him; and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against; yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.

With all the wonderful things that had been said of Mary’s child, here was a dark cloud. Here was the reality of what Jesus was really to accomplish, and for the first time, Mary is warned that she herself will suffer "that the thoughts of many may be revealed."

How would suffering bring any revealing? Because God tries the hearts of men, to see who is faithful and who is not. And what could be more trying for the followers of Christ than to witness the tragedy that was about to overtake both the Messiah and Mary. It would take great faith and commitment, a complete and total conviction to watch and understand all the things that were about to happen to the Messiah and his family; and still have faith that God would bring righteousness out of the trials that they were to endure. And it was a fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah, that Messiah must first suffer, and appear to us in total helplessness and nothing to be desired according to the flesh. As Isaiah said:

Isa 53:1-5 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Next we see Mary the mother, concerned for Jesus, when at age 12, he was not in the company of his family following a trip to Jerusalem to keep Passover. We see a remarkable statement in all this as regards both Mary and Joseph. We read:

Luke 2:48-50 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

Mary is acting as any mother in such a situation would act. She seeks to impose on him his responsibility to his family, not to cause the concern that Jesus has generated, causing his mother and father to seek for him sorrowingly, as for three agonizing days they have not been able to find him. Jesus responds that he must be about his father’s business. And this statement puzzles Mary and Joseph. The text says they understood not the saying that he said to them. But this might better be translated they "understood not the significance of what he said to them." Mary knew he was the Son of God. She knew he had been called to be the Messiah. She knew he was her special care to raise, But at this time, exactly what this meant was not clear, nor made any clearer to them through Jesus’ statements to them.

Jesus was focused on growing in grace and knowledge before God and man. Mary was focused on her care for her child. And these two things now began to conflict, as they must as any young man begins to feel his way in the world. Still, as Jesus grew he subjected himself to Mary and Joseph–though Joseph is never mentioned again following this incident.

Next we see Jesus, shortly after his baptism, coming to a marriage in Cana. Some see in this exchange a conflict between the grown man Jesus, now embarking on his ministry, and that of the more practical concerns of his mother. The text reads:

John 2:3-5 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

It is not hard to figure out Jesus’ reference here, in saying my hour is not yet come. He had just been baptized by John, and in so doing had committed himself to the death on the cross, this commitment of which was a prerequisite to his baptism. In so doing, the pouring out of his blood, prophesied in all the law and prophets was very much a reality to him now. Surely this weighed heavily upon him, and it becomes a constant theme in his teaching, The pouring out of wine, symbolized the shedding of his blood, and Mary asking him to create wine to be poured out brought this symbology to his mind, hence his answer "What have I to do with thee? My hour is not yet.come."

But why did Mary take from this response that he would perform her request? Some suggest that there must have been something in his mannerism, and perhaps that is the answer. But Jesus was often speaking to his disciples about his ultimate death and crucifixion–his becoming the Messiah--though much of it seems to have gone over their heads. It did not all come together in their minds till after the crucifixion itself, though following the gospel accounts, we see that Jesus tried to teach them so.

Mary, his mother, and companion now for thirty years, pondering these things in her heart as is several times recorded must too have been familiar with Jesus’ teaching and by this time understood the end, even if only in a superficial manner of both Jesus and herself. No doubt, like Abraham earlier, she would face the upcoming events willing to accept what God deemed necessary to come, while believing "God will provide" as Abraham told Isaac.

Jesus answering her and making this reference to her of his Messiahship, making this reference to his death in pouring out his blood; perhaps this signaled Mary that as the Messiah, God was permitting him to perform his miracle. As Jesus said, he did nothing of himself, but rather all things were of God. He couldn’t perform this miracle because he so desired, but only as a part of his Messiahship, and the tying of these thoughts together convinced Mary that the first of his miracles in showing himself to Israel was about to be performed. The expression, what have I to do with thee, is a testimony to his mother that he was not free to do her bidding, or even his own bidding in these things, but only the work of the Father.

Next we see his mother and brethren come to him, during the early stages of his ministry, and they cannot reach him, because of the thronging mobs. They tell Jesus of their presence, and again he seems to put them off.

Luke 8:20-21 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

At this point in his ministry, Jesus had inflamed the powerful Jewish political structures against him. He had greatly offended them, for telling them the truth. And the common people heard him gladly, while the ruling classes watched him closely, hoping for some reason to condemn him, and throwing constant traps at him to aid their effort.

Surely his mother and brethren thought to talk to him, to make sure what was taking place was as expected. And Jesus makes it clear to them, that this is in fact the case. Only those who hear the word of God and do it, can be his mother and brethren.

And we see Mary accepted this to the end. Mary is at the awful scene of his crucifixion, going where the disciples, all but John, themselves for the most part feared to tread. We read of this tragedy:

John 19:25-27 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

How bitter sweet now must have seemed that first miracle that Jesus had done, in the presence of Mary. Now his time had come, that his blood had to be shed for the redemption of us, and all mankind. But how miserable must Mary have felt as she watched her charge expire on the cross. She saw the writing over the cross, Jesus of Nazereth, King of the Jews–and she still believed it, though this end was not the joyful end expected when the angel Gabriel first appeared to her, some 34 years previous. She saw the mocking, and the humiliation of death with the common criminals. Her recital of Hannah’s prayer testified of her own belief in the resurrection and the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, though for this instant, it must have seen very distant and hard to comprehend.

But the sadness was just for a moment as joy cometh in the morning. Our last contact with Mary is following Jesus’ ascending up to heaven, following Jesus’ testimony to the disciples for 40 days following his resurrection. She knew of his resurrection, and now so many of the things that she had kept in her heart all made sense. He was set for the fall and rise of many in Israel. He was now sitting on the right hand of God, and would do so till God made all the enemies whose destruction Mary had sung about, was complete,

And that is where we find ourselves today, brothers and sisters. Waiting for the revealing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus that we, with all the followers, the faithful men and women who worked to declare God’s glory, who despised the shame and endured the cross; can attain to those promises and that kingdom when Jesus sits in Jerusalem, before all his saints gloriously, ruling the world in true peace.