But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)
And a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:35)
In the next few weeks we will continue to explore the topic of how Jesus treated women. The most important woman in His life, humanly speaking, was of course His own mother, Mary.
Many people have written stories about Mary the mother of Jesus. She is still the most revered woman who ever lived. Some have exalted her to a place that she herself would say in all humility that she would not accept. Mary exalted God alone. Mary would wish us to keep Christ on the throne.
There is so much to praise in Mary who as an ordinary human being had great faith, courage, and piety. She proved her faith with obedience, her courage with humility, and her piety with thoughtfulness, prayer, and submission.
We learn the most about Mary in Luke’s Gospel. Doctor Luke took it upon himself to interview many disciples of Jesus in order to write his story. Luke wanted everyone to know that he was giving the exact truth of the events surrounding Jesus’ life, and so he wrote the things “just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,” (Luke 1:2). The main eyewitness was of course Mary who was there from Christ’s conception until His death.
It should not surprise us then that there are so many details about Mary’s interaction with Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Mary was still alive and probably shared all of the stories with Luke personally. Even after the resurrection Mary continued to be a faithful witness. That explains how we know the very conversations that Mary had with the angel, Elizabeth, Jesus, and others.
We first meet this humble peasant girl when an angel of the Lord goes to Mary’s home and announces God’s plan for Mary to bear Jesus. Most scholars agree that Mary was probably 13 to 15 years of age, the age of betrothal for many Jewish girls.
Having an angel suddenly show up in your room would be amazing, perplexing, and frightening. Mary felt all of these emotions, but she humbly submitted to God.
Some people think that Mary did not believe the angel when she was questioning, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Luke had already told the story of Zacharias who did not believe the angel. When the angel told Zacharias that he and his barren wife would have a child, it was just too hard for him to believe. (Luke 1:5-25)
But this was not the motive behind Mary’s question. Mary was not questioning the angel because she did not believe God. She merely wanted to know how a virgin could get pregnant. Though the Bible doesn’t say, I have to wonder if the humble maiden also wondered why she was the one who was chosen. After all, the Israelites had been waiting for their Savior for hundreds of years. Perhaps Mary thought that she wasn’t good enough to be the mother of the Messiah, nevertheless she believed God.
The angel then explained to her that God would be the Father of Jesus. The Holy Spirit would cause the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. Indeed Jesus would be the King who would sit on David’s throne. Mary’s response was of total submission to God, “Behold the bondservant of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
And so, Mary’s faith is an example to us. She proved her faith by 
responding with humble obedience. Her cousin Elizabeth confirms this, “and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” (Luke 2:45)
In other words, while it was an unspeakable privilege for Mary to have been chosen to bear the Savior, it was not her motherhood that we should exalt, but her belief in the promises of God.
Mary herself says as much in her beautiful prayer that we have called the Magnificat. (Luke 2:46-55)
After Elizabeth calls Mary blessed, meaning that Mary has received a special favor from God, Mary lifts her voice in praise to God. God is the One who should be praised for all that He has done. Mary wants people to praise God for His mighty acts.
Some scholars have portrayed Mary as an ignorant peasant girl with little understanding of the Scriptures. But Mary’s song of praise reveals that she had studied the Scriptures. She speaks of the promise to Abraham and her Jewish ancestors. She knows that the child she carries is the Savior that everyone has been waiting for. Jesus is the promised king, the promised son of David.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months then returned home. When it was very nearly the time for Jesus to be born, Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem. Women did not usually travel during the advanced stages of their pregnancies. Was she aware of the prophecy that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem? We don’t know. We do know that angels spoke to Joseph as well. Perhaps the angel directed Joseph to take Mary with him. We know that whatever came her way, Mary responded in obedience and with great courage.
Even upon arriving in Bethlehem Mary could have wondered if she did the right thing when she and Joseph found that there was no room for them at the inn. Still she humbly obeyed. It would not have been easy to give birth in a stable. Mary trusted God. Though barely out of childbed, she graciously entertained visitors – rugged shepherds who came by to rejoice in the birth of Jesus. All of these things she pondered in her heart.
When Jesus was eight days old, Mary and Joseph took Him to Jerusalem to be circumcised. Simeon gave praise to God for allowing him to see the Savior before he died. He also prophesied that Jesus would be a “light of revelation to the Gentiles.” Simeon also gently told Mary that, “this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34, 35) Mary was amazed at these words, but continued to ponder all of these things in her heart – something Luke would mention many times in his Gospel. Mary was truly a thoughtful, pious woman.
From the announcement of Jesus’ birth to His circumcision Mary humbly served God. In the next several weeks we will see how she continued to demonstrate her faith in obedience, her courage with humility, and her piety with wisdom and love. As Jesus grew older His relationship with His mother changed in all the ways that human relationships usually do. He respected His mother and yet began to do things His own way.
Jesus did not treat women the way the Pharisees did. This includes the treatment of His mother. The Pharisees twisted and perverted many things with their traditions. On of those things was their treatment of women. We will see how Jesus brought change beginning with His treatment of His own mother, Mary.
