Series: Renewal
Matthew 1:18-23 ESV
Luke 1:39-45 (Mary went to stay with Elizabeth)
Luke 2:1-7 ESV
Matthew 2:1-2 ESV
John 19:25-27 ESV
John 19:18-19 ESV
John 19:28-30 ESV
As we turn our thoughts to Mothers, we think of Mothers. Today we think of the Mother of God. Mary, Mother of God WAS chosen!
We are told in Matthew 1:18-23, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).”
Not only was the immaculate conception a shock to Joseph, it would have been unsettling, confusing, and even scary for Mary.
Think about it…
She had never been with a man, and she was a young Jewish woman. Did Mothers tell their daughters the real facts about the wedding night and how a child was conceived?
Had Mary been told what to expect on the wedding night?
Or did Mary possibly think other women had conceived the same way she conceived?
Did she think a baby appeared in the womb for other women?
Then, once she really knew she was with child, how did she break the news to her parents?
Wouldn’t her parents have been concerned about the timing? If Mary was slender and her stomach was growing to the point where others might notice that could have been a concern.
We know from Luke 1:39-45 that Mary went to see her aunt and uncle Elizabeth and Zechariah (parents of John the Baptist) and stayed for three months and that must have been long enough to take care of what the neighbors would have thought.
When it was time for Mary to give birth we know from Luke 2:1-7, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
A birth in the 1st Century would not have been anything like a birth today (no hospitals or doctors), but we would expect other women would be there to help a young girl give birth to her first child. In ancient times, there were midwives who helped with a birth, especially a first child and it was common for older women to be there to offer support.
Because they were traveling Mary had no help or support from other women or from a midwife. In addition to that, she wasn’t even at home so she didn’t have her Mother nearby. AND she gave birth to her first child in a stable!
To say that Mary faced many many difficult situations with the birth of Jesus is an understatement. We do talk about Jesus being born under humble circumstances, but we don’t talk about lot about what His Mother went through, especially at such a young age.
While Mary and Joseph were not specifically mentioned they would have been there when the wisemen came from the East and worshipped the child.
In Matthew 2:1-2 we read, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
We might wonder how Mary (and Joseph) felt when the wisemen visited and brought expensive gifts to the child. In addition to the gifts, scripture tells us that the wisemen worshipped the child. They knew Jesus was THE child.
It makes sense that after Jesus began His ministry that Mary would have followed Jesus’ time of teaching and healing and she would have been with Him when He was nearby. Since it was common at that time for a man to be nearly twenty years older than his young bride, we can estimate that Joseph could have been 18-20 years older than Mary. When Jesus was teaching there was no mention of Joseph. We know that life expectancy in the 1st Century was 30-40 years.
Theologians believe Mary was a widow, and she would have faced the arrest and brutality of her son alone as Jesus’ only surviving parent. I’ve been told there is nothing that compares to watching your child die. The only consolation would have come from the women who followed Jesus.
John 19:25-27 says, “standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
It was the custom at the time for a surviving male to care for a Mother when their child died. Historically some believe that Mary had other children, but we are not certain about how many children she had. What we do know is that John was there and he was called ‘the beloved’ and Jesus asked John to care for His Mother.
We cannot begin to imagine what Mary went through when her Son was arrested and crucified.
John 19:18-19 we are told, “There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Even though Mary had suffered with Jesus in life, she now had to suffer with Jesus in death.
In John 19:28-30 we read, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
As we celebrate our own Mothers at this time of year, we also remember Mother of God who suffered with her Son who was nailed to a cross. He had committed no crime. He loved. He healed. He brought hope, but he was crucified.
We do know that her pain would have been short lived because early on Sunday morning her boy Arose from the dead. On Friday she didn’t know about what was going to happen o Sunday morning.
Spiritual Practice: Mary
Consider what Mary endured at the cross…then think about what she would have felt on Sunday morning.
In God, Deborah
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