BibleQuestionsBlog

Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In old-fashioned hardware stores or in industrial supply houses you will find bins of nuts and bolts. If we could put some other things in those bins,  the song, “Mary, Did You Know”, would be in a bin next to another bin titled “noisy and obnoxious toys”. Those who create “noisy and obnoxious” toys clearly are clueless as to how unpleasant those toys can be.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31). Skip the noisy and obnoxious toys so parents and caregivers can have a little peace.

The point is, it is possible to create a toy or narrative that might have unwelcome consequences or repercussions.

Did Mary know?

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

If a UPS truck pulls up, people recognize that there is a company called UPS behind it. If a FedEx truck pulls up, people recognize that there is a company called FedEx behind it.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the administration of the Kingdom of Heaven, ruled by the Lord God, was behind the angel’s appearance.  Mary was not ignorant of the interaction of angels in the historical life of the Jewish people.  If you read through the Old Testament, you will see the ministry of angels from time to time.

When Mary went on to see Elizabeth, we see that they both were aware at some level of what was happening. Elizabeth was aware. Mary was aware. She was aware of the promises. “As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. (Luke 1:55)”

Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

The reason I bring this up is because the song makes it sound like God the Father just picked up some ignorant waif off the side of the road who was clueless as to what was going on that and turned that person into the Mother of Jesus.  Scripture does not indicate that.

And while above point probably needs to be made, there is another point that also needs to be made, and the above is simply the preamble.

There is a lot of canceling of women today.  We see it in sports, where men pretend to be women so those men, who would lose against other men, can win against women.  We also see the equivalent of male castration done to women.

Proverbs 26:2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

So what might be the cause of this?

In the past there have been certain denominations that thought it fashionable to bash Mary.

I would propose that the denominations and people that do that have set up or opened the door to a spiritual judgment against girls / women. If you are going to bash the Mother of Jesus, what kind of spiritual effect does that have on society?  And while these scriptures below may make it sound like God is weighing out the balances one way or the other, it is better to liken it to a cause and effect relationship like gravity.  If you drop an apple, it will fall.  God doesn’t have to interact with each apple that you drop.  The law of gravity takes care of it.  Jesus came for our redemption.  Cause and effect happens under the law.

Numbers 14:28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Look at it this way.  There is the church of the firstborn.

Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Who are some of the “greats” we expect to be there in the church of the firstborn?  Jesus of course, and then … Moses, Paul, David … you could list off a number of them.

And what about Mary?

Do you think it pleases Jesus when people dishonor his Mother when one of the Ten Commandments, repeated in the New Testament is:

Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

Are the consequences for the dishonoring of Mary being seen in the way that human girls and women are treated on the earth?

Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity show more respect to Mother Mary than their Protestant counterparts.  And could it be that the disrespect from other branches of Christianity is part of the disunity within Christianity overall?

There are prayers for unity, and usually these prayers are intended within a certain church body or denomination.  But there should also be unity among all branches of Christianity even if they do not see eye to eye on everything.  If they are seeking to bring people to Jesus, to experience the new birth, isn’t that the main thing, and shouldn’t the main thing be the main thing?

Luke 9:49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.

50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.