Meeting Mary For The First Time

Mary makes us nervous. Some Christians have exalted Mary so high that we feel like we can never attain her level of virtue. She is (as I heard one university student call her) "the saint of all saints." She stands in dramatic contrast to the failure and struggle we experience every day. We stutter in the presence of such perfection.

   Other Christians have ignored Mary. They aren't interested in looking seriously at her life or character. For many of us Mary is little more than a figurine in the nativity set that we dust off each year and put away.

   Who is this woman? Is she a saint of such perfect character that we can't even begin to identify with her? Was she above all of the personal problems and insecurities that we wrestle with? How can we simply ignore her when the Bible tells us so much about her godliness and courageous obedience to God? One

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part of the Christian community lifts Mary almost to the level of deity while another part finds it easier to confine her to Christmas pageants and sentimental Christmas cards. I'm afraid that if most of us were asked to name the great women of faith in the Bible we would quickly picture Ruth gleaning in the fields of Boaz or Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus with precious oil, but we would not even think of Jesus' mother.

   My own interest in Mary began as I faced another series of Christmas messages. There just aren't that many ways to tell the same story every year! I had preached on the stable and the shepherds so many times that I could see my congregation lulled to sleep by the familiar scenes and the traditional platitudes. As I thought about how to approach the series, I realized that the Christmas story was wrapped around people — men and women we think we know but who have never taken on much life of their own. I began to ask questions of everyone connected to the birth of Jesus. How did Joseph feel when he discovered that Mary was pregnant? What was the stable really like, and what about that lout of an innkeeper who turned Mary and Joseph away? We've always pictured him as an unshaven, grumpy old guy with a can of Budweiser in his hand, turning our poor heroes out into the cold. But was he being cruel? And was it cold on that night two thousand years ago?

   The questions forced me back to the Bible and into the culture of first-century Palestine. I tried to lay aside everything I had simply believed about the birth of Jesus and I began to look at the story with fresh eyes and a seeking heart. Not only did my study make for some interesting Christmas preaching (at least no one fell asleep!), it also stirred a deep interest in Mary as a model of submission and obedience to God. For years I had just skimmed over the passages that unfold Mary's character. Several times I had pointed to men in the Scriptures as examples of godliness, but here was a woman who challenged

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my commitment to Christ at every turn!

   When I looked at Mary as a parent, she exposed my stunning lack of sacrifice and devotion to my own children. When I looked at Mary as a believer, she marked out a path of obedience to God that I have rarely had the courage to follow. I discovered to my embarrassment that for all the years of my Christian experience I had neglected a powerful role model. Mary is far more than a cold mosaic on a church wall. She draws us into a life of humble vulnerability and courageous loyalty to the Lord God.

   My purpose in writing this book is to take you with me as I walk the path of Mary's life. I will focus on the New Testament and what we can learn about Mary from the record of God's Word. Some of the details we can fill in from our knowledge of Jewish culture in the first century. Questions about other details of Mary's life have to be left unanswered. My goal is to rescue Mary from the centuries of tradition and legend that have wrapped themselves around her. I feel like an art restorationist working on a magnificent portrait. The original beauty and power of the painting can be seen only when the old varnish and dirt have been meticulously removed. I will try to show you the true picture of Mary — a portrait drawn from Scripture with much of the overlay of tradition and the dust of neglect removed.

   I realize that I will be treading on some very controversial ground. As I've talked to friends about this book, they almost immediately raised some tough questions. What about the people who see visions of Mary or claim to receive messages from her? What about the teaching of the Catholic Church or Orthodox churches about Mary? Where does that come from?

   I am writing from the perspective of evangelical Protestant belief. We will look at several of the beliefs of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, but my goal is not simply to criticize the

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teaching of others. I have tried to present their views accurately. I've also tried to examine their beliefs about Mary from a biblical perspective. I will also try to help you evaluate the claims of those who say they have seen visions of Mary, but I am convinced that once you see Mary as she is presented in God's Word, these claimed visions will dim to insignificance.

   My primary focus throughout the book is on the rediscovery of the Mary of the Bible. The clear light of Scripture will equip us to evaluate the traditions that have grown up around Mary and that have at times almost blocked her from view.

   I hope you are ready to look at Mary with fresh eyes and a seeking heart. What you see might just transform your walk with the Lord beyond all recognition. You will never again be able to look at the figurine in the nativity set in the same way. God is still seeking men and women like Mary who will fearlessly respond to his call.

An Awakening Heart

When Mary was born, the golden age of Israel's proud history was past. No king of David's family had ruled in Jerusalem for well over five hundred years. Centuries of time and decades of upheaval had allowed the branches of the royal family tree to scatter into oblivion. The people of Israel, however, had not forgotten God's promise that a deliverer would come from David's seed. As proud as the Jews were of their glorious past, they were looking for an even more glorious future. Every believing heart in Israel longed for the Messiah.

   Very little is known for certain about Mary's early life. The hints we have from the New Testament and the inferences we can draw from our knowledge of the culture into which she was born point to a humble, godly upbringing. Mary's father, apparently, was a descendant of the great king David through David's son Nathan. Undoubtedly her father was very proud

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of his family's lineage and tried to bear the weight of his heritage with dignity.

   Mary's mother had ties directly or indirectly to the clan of Levi, the priests of Israel. Mary's relative, Elizabeth, was of the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. The spiritual devotion in Mary's childhood home would have been intensified by the priestly influence from her mother's family. The Sabbath and feast days were observed with joyful obedience. God's Word in the Law and Psalms was read and sung and discussed around the table or in the quiet evenings. Mary's character was formed and refined by what she saw modeled in her home.

   The Protoevangelium of James, a book written long after the New Testament was completed, claims to tell the story of Mary's birth and early life. The document is an apocryphal gospel; it was never considered accurate or authoritative by early Christians. Most apocryphal books of the second or third century were more romance novel than historical record. From this source we are told that Mary's parents were Joachim and Anne.

   Another tradition centered on Mary's family is that Mary was an only child. The apostle John, however, says that as Mary stood near Jesus' cross, her sister stood with her (John 19:25). Because Mary is in Galilee when she first appears in the biblical story, more interpreters of Scripture believe that Mary was born in Nazareth. But there are other fairly reliable traditions that Mary was born in Bethlehem, in Sepphoris (a city near Nazareth) or even in Jerusalem. Mary came to Nazareth (so the tradition tells us) when her parents died early in her life.

   I am convinced that Mary's first impressions as a child were centered on devotion to God and to God's Word. Her own knowledge of Scripture and her later godly character point to early years of biblical instruction and faithful observance of God's Law. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord"

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were the opening words of the Shema, the Jewish affirmation of faith recited by the father of the household twice every day. The prayers of adoration and the stories of the Bible were spoken with enthusiasm and were heard with eagerness. These were the life stories of Mary's own people. Most of the biblical events took place within a hundred miles of her front door.

   The proper education of children was considered a solemn responsibility of the entire community. Synagogue schools were free, supported by the contributions of the local congregation. Boys and girls were taught (in separate classrooms) to read and probably to write. The Jews were people of the Book, and every member of the covenant community needed to be able to read the precepts and promises in the Scriptures.

   A large part of Mary's education was conducted at home. Women married at a young age, and they had to be equipped to manage a household. Mary learned to prepare meals and to weave fabric for clothes. The sophisticated citizens of Jerusalem had their pick of fine linen and wool and even finished garments from India or Egypt, but in the rural areas of Galilee most fabrics were still made by hand and lovingly fashioned into a family's wardrobe. There was nothing glamorous or romantic about a woman's life in Palestine in the first century. She worked long hours just to maintain her household.

   Long weeks of work were broken only by the rest of the sabbath day and by the cycle of festivals designed to remind the Jews of God's great power and daily provision. The feast of Passover in the spring, the celebration of Pentecost in the summer and the festival of Tabernacles in the fall provided time for focused worship and social pleasure. Probably Mary's older relative Elizabeth visited often enough for a warm bond of love and trust to develop between the two women. Later, in a time of crisis, Elizabeth was the woman Mary turned to for strength and encouragement.

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Making It Personal

Long, relatively uneventful years of teaching and parenting laid the foundation of Mary's character. We don't know who God may be preparing in our homes or in the Sunday-school class we teach. We may spend our lives in relative obscurity, but we may also be the instruments God uses to develop a man or woman who will mark a generation — or the rest of human history — for good and for God. Mary's parents and teachers and role models are virtually unknown, but their combined influence produced a woman of remarkable strength.

   As Mary reached her early teens, her parents began to plan for her marriage to a suitable young man. Most marriage agreements were made when the children were very young. Mary's parents chose wisely. Their daughter was promised to a man training to be a carpenter. Joseph was a gentle, hardworking man, fully committed to the Lord. When he completed training in his trade, the announcement was made in the synagogue that Joseph and Mary were officially engaged. Family and friends showered congratulations on the young couple, and preparations began for the wedding one year later. Within a few months, however, circumstances would dramatically change for the couple. God would break in on their lives with astonishing news — news that would alter their lives forever.

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