Mary is one of the most incredible women in the Bible to study, not because she was perfect or superhuman, but because she was a common young girl with exceptional character—willing to be used of God. She was submissive to His will for her life. Most scholars believe she was a young teenager. In Mary's day, it was the custom for parents to choose whom their daughters should marry. A girl could be married once she reached twelve years old.
Although Mary was only a young girl, God chose her to be the mother of Jesus for several reasons.
What would Joseph say when he found out she was going to have a baby? At first Joseph considered a private divorce (Matthew 1:19), but the Lord sent an angel to let him know God had a special plan for Mary.
The Bible says that Mary pondered or kept all "these things in her heart."
What things? The early days of Jesus' life were filled with unusual events:
At the end of the day His parents began checking, and they discovered Jesus was not with them. Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem. They looked for three days and finally found Jesus in the temple. Mary wanted to know why Jesus had done this to them (Luke 2:48). Jesus calmly said, "Didn't you know, I had to be in my Father's house?" Mary must have begun to understand that Jesus did not just belong to her but was sent by God to be the Savior of the world.
Jesus' public ministry began when He was thirty years old. His mother wanted to be a part of His ministry, but He had to obey His heavenly Father and left home. His mother checked on Him (Mark 3:31-35), but she had to share Him with the people of the world.
Mary's final heartbreak concerning her Son would come as she stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified (John 19:25). While on the cross Jesus told His disciple John to take care of His mother. John took Mary into his own home from that time.
The last mention of Mary is in Acts 1:14. She was gathered with the believers waiting for the Holy Spirit. This means she had accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. Mary was an exceptional lady who was willing to live in submission to God’s plan as it unfolded in a very personal way.
"And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to Thy Word" (Luke 1:38).
For me personally, I think the two most difficult things Mary had to submit to was:
2 Comments
The initial announcement; When Mary ponders it's almost a year later and so much has happened. She's beginning to understand who her child his though she had an inkling when she spoke her magnificat (Luke 1:46-56)
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Debbie
12/27/2019 05:19:19 pm
Love the Magnificat. She obviously had her faith in the coming Messiah and was excited to be a part of its fulfillment.
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