So Christmas has come & gone, trees & stockings have come down, and the all so familiar Christmas tunes have run their course. This season, with the ever increasing popularity of the a-capella vocal sensation, Pentatonix, "Mary Did You Know?" has become many people's new favorite Carol - mine included.
As I have listened and sung along, over & over, I have begun to think about Mary, the mother of the Christ child. Did she really know that Jesus would walk on water, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, heal the lame? Did she know that the baby she held and kissed and rocked to sleep at night was God in flesh? The Great I AM?
I propose that she probably did know.
First of all, In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel brings Mary the word of the LORD and says, "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever...The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1.31-35) This was a mouthful from the angel. But it gives us some background to see that Mary did know who it was that she would carry, where the baby she would birth came from, & where He was going. She had some history and information about baby Jesus - she was not in the dark.
My second reasoning for Mary's potential "knowledge" is that she was Jesus' mom. I have 2 boys and although I didn't have a visit from the Arch Angel to declare their births or tell me about their futures, I did spend almost every minute with them once they took their first breath of air. I rocked them and fed them. I kissed their boo-boos and gave them baths. I helped them get dressed and taught them how to count and say their ABC's. We played "Peek-A-Boo" and colored and sang many a song together. And in this process of being their mom, I know them. Maybe I don't know the exact job they will hold, but I know where their skills, talents, and passions lie. I might not know who they will marry, but I know the character qualities that they will most likely be attracted to. I know my boys because I am their mom.
I believe that although Mary may not have known specifically that Jesus would walk on water or heal the deaf, she did know who He was. She knew His potential - not only from Gabriel's words, but because she was His mom. In Jesus' first recorded miracle, Mary was there. They were at a wedding in Cana. Mary comes to Jesus and tells him that the wine supply is low. Jesus explains to her that this is not their problem for "My time has not yet come." However, Mary knows who Jesus is. I don't think she "foresaw" anything. I don't think she even knew exactly what He could or would do. But based on what happens next, she had faith in who He was. She looks at the servants, after Jesus said it wasn't His time, and says, "Do whatever He tells you." At this, in obedience to His mom, Jesus gives instructions for the water jugs to be filled with water and dipped out for the master and this "water" is now the best wine of the celebration. (John 2.1-11)
I am not saying that Mary is divine. I'm not saying she should be honored or worshiped. I'm just saying that she was a mom. I'm realizing that, as a mom, she probably did have at least a glimpse of what Jesus was capable of. She probably caught sight of his divinity seeping through His humanity. I think that we may wonder about her knowledge because the Bible doesn't really give us a lot of detailed information about Mary - she isn't quoted much or even mentioned much, past the birth & early life of Jesus. However, when she saw and felt and experienced Her Son and the things surrounding Him, she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2.19)
God looked down through all eternity and picked Mary to be Jesus' mom. She was the one who would know and love him best. He did the same with you and your young'ns. He knows that you are the best mom for those hearts and lives he's placed in your home. Love them well. Know them well. Encourage their dreams. And always treasure up all these things and ponder them in your heart.
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