Editor’s Note: Please enjoy this encore publication of an article first posted on December 11, 2023.
Today we are just two weeks away from celebrating Christmas. For many of us the craziness has begun, and we find our focus distracted over many things. However, during the busyness of this season let’s stop and ponder about that very first Christmas. Let us marvel more at God’s great story and specifically take a look at a few highlight reels from Mary’s life and how she marveled. I love the metanarrative of scripture because it is one big story with many stories that all point to one central theme: Redemption. God from the very beginning had a plan to rescue us, you and me. Stop and take that in for a moment. We were all created in His image to live in fellowship with Him; but, because of sin we broke fellowship. But God. He had a plan. And that plan involves awe and wonder. In other words, marveling.
Dictionary. com describes wonder as feeling excited by something strange; a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and sometimes awe; something that causes such a feeling, such as a miracle. Wonder and awe are a gift of the Holy Spirit that allow us to see the glory of God. It often leaves us awestruck. Join me as we see marveling through the eyes of Mary. But first, let’s set the stage.
All of history was waiting, longing and wondering where and when the Messiah would come. In the Old Testament we see numerous prophecies that predict a coming Messiah. For instance, in Micah 5:2 we read, “ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come a ruler who will rule over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” And so, with the prophecy, Micah establishes that the Messiah, whom he identifies with the word ruler, will be born in the town of Bethlehem. In Isaiah 7:14, we read, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call him Immanuel.” We meet that virgin in chapters 1 and 2 of Luke and Matthew. Mary was a young virgin, maybe 13 to 16 years of age, betrothed to be married to Joseph, who belonged to the house of David and was from Bethlehem. A betrothal was binding, even though not performed at a ceremony, and it was only broken by divorce. The gospels tell us of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, when she found out that she would be the mother of the Messiah. She is a central character in the Christmas Story.
Mary is greeted by the Angel Gabriel in Luke 1:28-29. “And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting that this might be.” Mary has this high calling, a privilege. She would be the mother of the Messiah. She is told she is highly favored; The Lord is with her and she is blessed. Mary was favored with grace; she was both a recipient and an extender of grace.
Can you even imagine? Think for a second, what if an angel came to you? How would you respond? Mary was engaged to Joseph, but now her life would take an abrupt change in direction. She could be the talk of the town as she was pregnant and not married. Those might be my first initial responses, but Mary embraces this calling. In Luke 1:28 and 30 we see that she knew she was favored and that God was with her.
In Luke 1:30 The Angel says to her, “Mary! Do not be afraid for you have found favor with God.” We read that her child will be the Son of the Most High. Gabriel is taking the focus off of Mary here and puts it on Jesus, this Son who was conceived miraculously. Mary knew that her son who would be named Jesus, meaning savior. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
We read that when Mary saw Gabriel she was troubled. Fear would be a normal response when confronted by an angel. Because Gabriel’s appearance brought with him the presence of God. The fact that Mary was troubled shows both her humility and God’s majesty. She was surprised to hear these words, especially knowing they were coming from the mouth of God Himself through Gabriel.
And how did Mary respond? She sang a song of praise: the Magnificat. In Luke 1:46-55 we see a woman who considers herself blessed, and she magnifies the Lord. These verses are filled with Old Testament phrasing, which illustrates what a Godly woman she was. She loved God’s word, and she knew how to praise God. She referred to Him as her Savior. She recognized a need for a Savior. All through these verses we see her humility, made possible by the grace and love of God.
As believers in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, we also are blessed (highly favored). The Greek word used here is used only one other time in the Bible. Ephesians 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places . . .” And Matthew 28:20 tells us that Jesus will be with us “always, to the end of the age.”
Friends as we ponder Mary, her responses and awe, may it cause us to look upward and inward. May we make room for marveling. Let’s ponder what the Lord shows us as we unpack the Christmas story and look forward to His return. Let’s reflect on Mary and her dramatic greeting from Gabriel. She was highly favored and blessed. She lived a life of humble sacrifice in the middle of hardship, she was the maidservant of the Lord and with her great privilege had great burden. Yet, she worshipped. Because she knew that the God she worshipped could be trusted. Do you trust Him that much? Let’s worship our great God today with the awe, wonder, trust, and submission of Mary. Then, join us next week as we join the shepherds in their awestruck wonder the night that Jesus was born.
— Sue M. Lindsey © December 2023
