Lessons to Learn From Mary

As we enjoy this most magical time of the year, I’d like to share with you what I consider the true meaning of Christmas. I want to look at what happened before the star, before the stable, before the shepherds, before the wise men, and therefore, before the baby. The following verses from Luke reveal things that sometimes we miss or take for granted. Read it with me afresh and allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth something new in your thinking.

Luke 1:26-56 KJV  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,  (27)  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  (28)  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.  (29)  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  (30)  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  (31)  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.  (32)  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:  (33)  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  (34)  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  (35)  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  (36)  And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.  (37)  For with God nothing shall be impossible.  (38)  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.  (39)  And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;  (40)  And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.  (41)  And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:  (42)  And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  (43)  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  (44)  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  (45)  And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.  (46)  And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,  (47)  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.  (48)  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.  (49)  For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.  (50)  And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.  (51)  He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  (52)  He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.  (53)  He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.  (54)  He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;  (55)  As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.  (56)  And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

The above passage of scripture comprises 3 distinct elements known as The Annunciation, The Visitation, and The Magnificat.  It’s important to remember that this all precedes the birth of Jesus on that first Christmas morn. What can we learn from this to help us in our Christian walk? Let’s look at several lessons as we deconstruct the story.

First of all, who is Mary? We know that Mary was a young virgin teenage girl from the town of Nazareth, in Galilee, engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. But what about the social and political ramifications of what we know? Mary was one of the least important persons in her social structure. She was female, she was young, and she was Jewish. Rome ruled over them, tolerating their religion only so much as it helped them control the populace. She had low social status, low family status, and her parents most likely arranged for her marriage to Joseph, who at least had a good trade as a carpenter. Mary was the most unlikely candidate for a visitation from an angel of the Lord. But visit the angel did. And as with many angelic visitations recorded in scripture, the circumstances and timing were not the best. Barely into puberty with her marriage and life ahead of her, here comes Gabriel with a message on behalf of God that would majorly complicate her plans.

And Gabriel wasn’t very subtle in his approach. “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” As we read what happened, it wasn’t the presence of the angel had shook Mary up as much as what he said. She wondered what kind of greeting this was and it troubled her. Often when God uses an angel in the guise of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher to bring us a word of the Lord it troubles us. We look at ourselves, our circumstances, our social status and think, “Is he talking to me?” Look back at Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, Gideon, and others, who when the word of God came, were a bit troubled in their minds about it. We, along with Mary, can be so glad that God knows our fears and is always ready with a word of comfort. “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”  The favor of God can take us where money, status, and all the rest the world has to offer can never take us.

But Gabriel didn’t stop there. He dropped the bomb. “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.” Now we must remember Mary wasn’t schooled in the scriptures, she was schooled in keeping a home and becoming a good Jewish wife. She had to take Gabriel’s words at face value without scriptural reference. So we really can’t blame her when she asks, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The girl knew where babies come from and this wasn’t making sense.  But patient Gabriel had that covered, too. “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.  For with God nothing shall be impossible.” So not only is this new paradigm of conception explained to her, but the news of her cousin’s pregnancy in her old age continues to mess with Mary’s knowledge of reproductive propriety. In the natural, neither of these occurrences could have happened, but with God all things are possible.

How often do we look at why something can’t happen? If we are focused on the natural facts of a matter, we will oftentimes miss the supernatural truth that God wants to reveal.  Mary knew, that for different reasons, neither she or Elisabeth could conceive. But even in her knowledge of the natural facts, a little encouragement from Gabriel in telling her of Elisabeth’s condition and saying, “For with God nothing shall be impossible,” opened up the realm of possibility for her. God unwrapped this revelation in such a way that faith arose within her. To me, her next statement stands as the most important in this entire passage.  “And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’”  

Mary knew what her decision would mean. She knew the questioning that would come, the remarks and gossip that would follow. She also knew that her life could be taken by stoning for her “offense”. She hadn’t talked this over with Joseph or her parents, although she must have considered what this would do to them. No, we see that in spite of Mary’s fear and questions, when the word of the Lord came to her, it was her turn to bring an annunciation, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord!” Oh, if faith would rise up in us to face the fears and ask the questions, and then say, in spite of them, “Behold the servant of the Lord.”  But the second half of Mary’s statement is as important and revealing as the first; “be it unto me according to thy word.”  Because in making that declaration, Mary was embracing her cross. Her son, the one she would bear, would have His own moment of decision and faith in the Garden of Gethsemane years later and say, “ nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42).” It is one thing to say we are His servants, quite another to submit according to His word.

The church in the United States has been so slow in responding in faith to God’s word. If something is going to cost us in God’s unveiling of kingdom principles and practices, we draw the line and flatly refuse, or half-heartedly agree, knowing that for God to ask that of us, surely He will rapture us out of here so we won’t have to face the consequences of our choice. Oh, Lord, give us the grace to see our hard, backslidden hearts and come clean with you in repentance.

Although the Annunciation is full of splendor, the Visitation sublime, and the Magnificat beautiful in so many ways, this simple yes that Mary uttered is the true Christmas story to me. Everything else comes after heaven coming to earth and earth responding in faith.