The song Mary, Did You Know has become one of my favorites. It has a beautiful melody, but much more beautiful are the lyrics that raise so many interesting questions. Have you ever thought about what Mary did or did not know about her precious baby boy?
As a mother, I remember looking intently into the faces of my beautiful babies with hopes and dreams for their futures. I wondered what kind of people they would be and what they would do with their lives. I prayed for each of them to become faithful Christians and use their lives in His service. Mary certainly knew her child was different due to His miraculous conception (Luke 1:26-46). But how much did she understand about Him, His importance to humanity, and His earthly life? We are told that she pondered, marveled, and kept (or “treasured” as the ESV says) things in her heart that she saw and heard about her Son (Luke 2:19, 2:33, 2:51).
I realize my questions far exceed the revelation of Scripture, but I like to meditate on them. Consider:
- What emotions and fears did Mary have when she found out that she was expecting a child? Did she fully believe that she was “highly favored” and “blessed among women” when she had to tell her parents and friends that while still a virgin, she was going to have a baby (Luke 1:28-30)?
- Every faithful mother has prayed for her children, as I’m sure Mary did. But have you ever wondered what she might have prayed? How many prayers did she pray for herself to be the kind of mother God wanted her to be for His Son?
- We know that Mary and Joseph saved their little boy’s life when Herod sought to kill him, but did Mary understand that He was going to save her soul (Matthew 2:13-15, John 3:17)?
- As a little boy, Jesus would have come to Mary for comfort. While she must have realized He was the “Messiah,” did she realize that when she kissed her little boy, she was kissing the “face of God?”
- Did Mary’s heart hurt when she saw her other children engage in sibling disputes and rivalry with Jesus (John 7:5)?
- Did Mary know that her Son had created the universe (Colossians 1:16)?
- What kind of “proud mama” moments would Mary have experienced when she saw her Son teaching adults in the temple as a 12-year-old (Luke 2:46-47)? What about when He showed compassion and healed the sick and disabled (Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:30)?
- What would it have been like for Mary to watch her precious child be tortured and brutally murdered before her eyes (John 19:25)?
The Bible says Mary “was blessed by God,” “highly favored,” that “the Lord was with her” (Luke 1:28), and that God “has done great things for her” (Luke 1:49). However, with privilege comes responsibility. Mary had to be a parent to God who lived in her home. As a mother, she had responsibilities to care for His needs. Behind closed doors, her words, conduct, and attitudes were observed by Jesus daily. She must have felt sick and brokenhearted as she watched her child suffer on the cross, not only for those sinners who were putting Him to death, but also because she knew that she was a sinner, and she too, was responsible for his death.
Mary…did you know?