People in the Bible Who Pleased God – Mary, the mother of Jesus

    About 800 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah prophesied that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14-15) and about 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah* (Micah 5:2). *Ancient name for the town of Bethlehem

    A young woman enters the pages of history described as one betrothed to Joseph (Matthew 1:18). Betrothal in these times meant that there was an agreement between both families and that Joseph and Mary were considered engaged to be married – but it was more than that – Mary was, from the time of the betrothal, considered Joseph’s wife, and he her husband, though they did not live together nor know one another until after the wedding.

    When Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant. Joseph did not want Mary to be made a public spectacle so he thought about dissolving their agreement secretly, but an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit; he was also told that Mary would have a Son and that he was to call him Jesus (literally means Saviour, Matthew 1:18-25).

    We are given more background to Mary’s story in the gospel of Luke. The angel, Gabriel, was sent by God, and he spoke to Mary saying, “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Mary didn’t know what to think about such a greeting as this, but Gabriel told her to not be afraid because she had found favour with God – she pleased God. 

Side note: This same ‘favour’ is used in speaking of David in Acts 7:45-47 – he found favour before God. 

    Mary is told that she will conceive and bring forth a Son and He will be called Jesus (read Luke 1:31-33 to see how Gabriel describes Jesus). Mary asks how it could be possible because she was a virgin, and Gabriel tells her simply that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Highest would overshadow her – that the Holy One she would bear will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). He goes on to tell her that her relative, Elizabeth, once barren and now old, was 6 months pregnant (with a son, John the baptizer, Luke 1:5-25, 57-80) – “For with God nothing will be impossible”  (Luke 1:37) – and Mary’s response? “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). In saying this, Mary declared herself a willing servant, wholly submitting to God and His will.

    We see a beautiful facet of Mary’s heart and mind, as well as her knowledge of the Scriptures, in Luke 1:46-55 – take the time to read this passage. Mary sings that her soul magnifies the Lord – declares His greatness – and that her spirit rejoices in God her Saviour. She goes on to describe God as One who regards the lowly people who serve Him, One who is mighty, who does great things, who is merciful on those who fear Him; One who is strong and powerful, who is able to pull down the mighty and exalt the lowly, able to fill the hungry with good things, and the One who helped Israel, and in His mercy, He remembered His promise to Abraham and his seed.

Side note: Mary sings words similar to Hannah’s prayer, when Hannah offered a prayer of rejoicing after being blessed with her son, Samuel – see 1 Samuel 2:1-10, specifically verses 5-8

    Mary pleased God. He chose her to be the mother of Jesus. And from what we can learn from the rest of the gospels and the beginning of Acts, Mary remained a faithful maidservant to God: She quietly considered matters she didn’t yet understand (Luke 2:41-51), she stood by the cross while Jesus hung there (John 19:25-27), and she (and Jesus’ brothers) continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the apostles after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9-14). I think it is good to note that her only recorded words after Jesus began His ministry were, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5). She submitted to God, followed Jesus, and pointed others to Him, as He pointed all to God.

What can we learn from Mary?  

    When we are prepared, God can use us. Mary, likely never considering how God would/could use her, was faithful to His law and kept herself pure, and because of this was prepared for the role she was to have in Jesus’ birth. We, too, need to seek God’s will (Ephesians 5:10, 17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) so we can study and show ourselves approved by God, being a worker who is pure in heart and motive (does not need to be ashamed), and who knows the Truth (not carried away by winds of doctrine, Ephesians 4:13-15, 1 Timothy 4:12-16). Read and consider Hebrews 5:12-14. God gave us work to do: good works (Ephesians 2:10, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Titus 3:8, 14, Matthew 5:14-16, Hebrews 13:16), proclaiming His praises (1 Peter 2:9, Hebrews 13:15), bearing fruit (John 15:8, Galatians 5:22-23), and teaching others (Matthew 28:18-20, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-4). When we are prepared to do the work, God can use us to light the way for those seeking Him, and He can use us to strengthen our brethren (Ephesians 4:29, 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11). Let’s determine to keep our vessels filled with oil so that we are ready and prepared to do the work (Matthew 25:1-13).  

    We can trust God and willingly submit to His will. I’m sure Mary didn’t fully understand what Gabriel meant by the overshadowing power of the Highest, but she knew that the Highest was God, and with Him she would be okay. Can we trust Him like Mary did?  YES! He is the same God. He loves us and gives us instructions and commands that are for our good always (Deuteronomy 6:24-25), He has provided all we need to succeed in our walk along the difficult path (John 3:16-21, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:14-16, 1 John 2:3-6), He longs to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18), and to welcome us home. Trust Him. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good, blessed is the man who trust in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)

    We can tell others to follow Jesus, as we continue to follow Him all our days. There are many people in the religious world who want to give great significance to Mary, but Mary’s words were “Whatever He says to you, do it” – these simple words are potent because they clearly say that it is Jesus who needs to be listened to, and His words should be our command. Consider also the woman who wanted to venerate Jesus’ mother in Luke 11:27, then look at Jesus’ response in verse 28. Mary pointed others to Jesus the Christ, not in a loud way, but in a clear, concise way, and we can do that too. We can also hear God’s word and keep it, just as she did. The last we hear of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was after Jesus’ ascension, and we find her with the apostles and brethren (about 120 people, Acts 1:15) earnestly praying; they all had the same mind to serve God and they continued in it together.

    Mary was a woman prepared to obey God and willing to submit to His will. She was one who listened to Jesus and pointed others to Him. She faithfully served God, and when there were times that she didn’t understand, she still trusted Him and continued in obedience to Him. Let’s hear Mary’s words: “Whatever He says to you, do it” as she points us to Jesus and let’s submit to God’s will so that we are prepared to be a useful vessel that can help others come to know Jesus, and let’s follow Him all of our days.

You can do it! So can I!!