How Much Did Mary Know?

Tomorrow we are exploring the beautiful Christmas lullaby, "Away in a Manger." It got me thinking about little baby Jesus in Mary's arms that first Christmas.

I remember bringing home my daughter when I was a new parent. I could not believe that a tiny human was put in my care. On her first night home, I stood over her cradle and occasionally placed my hand on her chest just to make sure she was breathing.

If it was that way for me, what would it have been like for Mary? Not only was she given the responsibility of a tiny human by God, but that tiny human was God! Mary was an incredible woman.

The song "Mary Did You Know?" explores what could have been going through Mary's thoughts as she held her newborn, and today I want to point out what the Scriptures do and do not tell us Mary knew.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
No, she did not know the specifics of his future life, miracles, and ministry, so she did not know this exact event. There is even an argument to be made that she may not have known this happened until she read one of the gospels.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Yes! If you read her song she knows her child will be the savior of God's people (Luke 1:46-55). She was even told to name him Jesus, which means "God is salvation." Later in Jesus's life she seemed confused about his mission and ministry, and perhaps, early in his ministry, did not know the type of Messiah he would be (Mark 3:21; 31).

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
Yes and no. She saw him as savior, but may not have thought of him as making her a "new person." These ideas will become explicit as Paul begins to unpack the life and ministry of Jesus in his writings. Much later in Revelation Jesus will go on to say he will make "all things new" (Revelation 21:5).

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm the storm with his hand?
No on both of these. Again, she was not given insight into the specific events of Jesus's  ministry.

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
It's complicated, but it is hard to tell how much she understood about the eternal nature of Jesus. She was told by the angel that he was the "Son of the Most High." He would receive the "throne of his father David." He would "Reign over the house of Jacob forever," and rule over an eternal kingdom. Her cousin Elizabeth prophesied that Mary was the mother of The Lord (Luke 1:43). So she knew this baby was really important, but did she know that Jesus walked with angels? Hard to tell.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Yes. Mary's song tells us that she knew he would rule over the "house of Jessie" (A euphemism for the kingly line of Israel). And Old Testament prophecies point that the Messiah was the king of the whole world (Psalm 98:2-3; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 52:10; Isaiah 66:18-23; Habakkuk 2:14). While she did not yet fully know the nature of his kingdom, and I am not sure she had an encyclopedic memory of the Old Testament, she would have been raised learning of a Messiah that would rule the world.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Yes! This is explicit in her song, and this is the way most first-century Jews thought about the Messiah. Yet again, she probably did not understand the complete picture until Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
It's complicated. She knew he was the savior and Messiah. Does she put those two things together and realize, as John the Baptist would say, that he is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29)? It is hard to tell if she thought of salvation in physical terms (Salvation from Rome), or spiritual terms (Salvation from sin). But if she was at the dedication of John the Baptist, and the Bible is silent on if she was, she would have heard Zechariah's prophecy that John would teach the people that the Messiah would give "salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (John 1:77).

So now you know what Mary knew, according to the Scriptures! Worship with us as we contemplate what it means for Christ to be the "Little Lord Jesus."