Mary - Hand-maid of the Lord

We Protestants don’t quite know what to do with the Virgin Mary do we? For us, she is something of a problem. At Christmas, we grant her a place on our greeting cards, in our putzes, and in our Christmas carols. But for the rest of the year, Mary is the forgotten figure of the Bible.

We don’t want to appear to over-emphasize her, like some churches do. So we under-emphasize her instead. It’s almost as though we put Mary up in the attic, along with all our other Christmas decorations, to be brought out once a year.

Today, I’d like to think about Mary as a real person. What was she really like? What can we learn about God’s dealings with us from the way that God dealt with her?

The first thing we know about Mary is her name. Did you know that the name Mary comes from the Hebrew word “marah” which means “bitter”?

In the OT book of Exodus, chapter 15, the children of Israel had just crossed through the Red Sea. They had traveled three days into the desert without finding any water. Then they came to a place where there was a spring. They were thirsty, but when they drank the water of the spring, they found it to be bitter.

So they grumbled to Moses about it, and Moses cried out to the Lord. The Lord showed Moses a piece of wood. When Moses threw that piece of wood into the water, the water became sweet, and the people were able to drink it.

They called that place Marah, which means “bitter”, because that is where the Lord made bitter water sweet.

Mary was well-named, because if Mary’s life was anything, it was bittersweet. She experienced the blessing of God in a way that nobody ever has before or since. She was the “highly favored one”. She was able to hold the Son of God in her arms.

But Mary was also the one who, thirty years later, had to look up at the terrible sight of her son hanging on a cross, dying.

She knew both fame and shame. Her eyes cried tears of amazement but also tears of agony. But through it all, she never stopped trusting God. And in the end, she saw the fulfilment of God’s purpose.

There are three important lessons that we can learn today from Mary’s life:

1. Every work that God does in our lives comes with two things: joy and pain.

You cannot help but notice this as you read what happened to Mary. Throughout the Christmas story, there is a mixture of great joy and great pain.

There was great joy and honor in that Mary was chosen to be the mother of the Savior. But there was great pain and shame in the way it happened. God called on Mary, who was almost certainly only a teenager, to become an unwed mother.

Now in our society, where over 1 million teenage girls per year are having babies out of wedlock, perhaps there isn’t so much stigma to that. But in first century Judea, a betrothed young woman who became pregnant could be accused of adultery and stoned to death.

That’s why Joseph, who was a righteous man, decided to divorce her quietly so as not to expose Mary to public disgrace. But the angel intervened with Joseph and told him that Mary had not been unfaithful to him. This child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

But who, in a small town like Nazareth, would believe a story like that? As her pregnancy became obvious, Mary would have to endure the knowing looks—the whispered remarks—of the other women in the village.

It’s no wonder that she went and stayed with her relative Elizabeth for three whole months. She probably just wanted to get away from the gossip.

There was great joy when she went to be with Elizabeth, who herself was pregnant with John the Baptist.

Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

There was great joy in Mary’s heart when she uttered her hymn of praise to God—a hymn we call the Magnificat, which we find in Luke 1:46-55.

Luke 1:46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.

But there was great pain when the days drew near for her to give birth. She and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to register for Caesar’s census. And when they got there, all the accommodations were taken. There was no room for them. No medical care. No midwife to deliver the baby. No family standing by to lend assistance.

They were alone and outcast. God’s work in Mary’s life brought with it great joy, but it also brought great pain.

The angels announced to the shepherds “Good tidings of great joy…” and the shepherds glorified God and rejoiced after they had seen the baby.

And when Mary and Joseph took the baby to be dedicated in the Temple, 40 days after his birth, old Simeon took little Jesus in his arms and praised God. But then he said something very troubling to Mary…

Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

A sword will pierce your own soul too. What kind of pain lay ahead that they hadn’t already experienced? Mary was soon to find out.

Many months later, with Mary and Joseph still in Bethlehem, a delegation of wise men from the east showed up in Jerusalem asking about the birth of a new king. They were directed to Bethlehem. And when they saw the star guiding them there…

Matthew 2:10 …they were overjoyed.

But their visit had aroused the suspicions of an insane king, Herod the Great. He sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to seek out and murder this new king. And just to be sure he got him, he ordered that they kill all the little boys two years of age and under.

Joseph was warned in a dream of this impending disaster, and he took Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt as refugees.

But the Christmas story ends in Bethlehem on a note of tragedy.

Matthew 2:18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

The work of God brought great joy, but it also brought great pain.

Do you want God to work in your life? Then you’d better be ready for some pain. Somehow we’ve gotten the idea that following God’s will is always going to be pleasant. But that simply isn’t true.

In Psalm 23, David wrote of the Lord leading him through green pastures and beside still waters. But he also spoke of walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and of having a table set in the presence of his enemies.

God allows us to experience pain, because pain deepens our walk with Him as no other experience does. Pain is like a fire that purges us spiritually, and it works in us what no amount of pleasure can ever accomplish.

That’s why Jesus said that we need to be willing to take up a cross, not a cushion, to follow Him. Mary’s life teaches us that the work of God in our lives brings great joy, but it also brings great pain.

2. God deals with each of us differently.

Let’s think about Elizabeth for a moment. I would remind you that there are not one, but two miraculous pregnancies in the Christmas story—that of Mary’s, and that of Elizabeth’s.

Now we don’t know for sure what relation Elizabeth was to Mary. The KJV says that she was her cousin, but the Greek word simply means “relative”. We do know that she was considerably older than Mary—Luke 1:7 says that she and her husband were both well along in years.

They had not been able to have any children. Her womb was barren, and that was a great sorrow to a woman in those days.

But one day an angel appeared to Zechariah and announced that Elizabeth would bear a son, whom they were to name John. Zechariah couldn’t believe it. He said “I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” And because he didn’t believe, the Lord struck him dumb until the baby was born.

Now consider this situation. You have two women; one of them’s a young woman and the other one is old. Both of them become pregnant because of a miraculous work of God in their life. Remarkable similarity, right?

But look at how it all worked out. For Mary, her pregnancy was a disgrace. The more she showed, the worse she felt.

But for Elizabeth, her pregnancy took away her disgrace—the disgrace of being childless. The more she showed, the happier she got.

Mary’s pregnancy meant shame, but Elizabeth’s pregnancy brought acclaim. The whole community was talking about it. The whole community was talking about Mary’s pregnancy too, but not in the same way.

And consider the birth. When Mary gave birth, it was alone in a strange town, in a place where they kept animals. When Elizabeth gave birth, it was at home, with the help of midwives and family, and her neighbors and relatives shared her joy. The only people who shared the joy with Joseph and Mary were a bunch of grubby shepherds whom they didn’t even know.

The point is this: God did a work in both their lives, but he did it differently. Both of these women were key players in God’s program, but God had a different agenda for each of them.

And that’s how God deals with us, too. He deals with each of us differently. Each one of us is incredibly valuable to God. He has a plan for our lives. But it isn’t the same plan. So we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves with each other.

And we shouldn’t be complaining to God if we think that He’s blessing some other Christian better than he’s blessing us. God knows just what we each need. And that’s what he’s going to give us if we follow Him.

In John 21, Jesus was telling Peter what was going to happen to him when he became an old man.

John 21:18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”

When you’re tempted to compare the way God has dealt with you with the way He has dealt with someone else, it’s worth remembering these words in John 21:22: “What is that to you? You must follow me.”

3. God’s purpose for us is certain in spite of the uncertainty of our circumstances.

One of the characteristics of women when they are pregnant is that their need for security is heightened. They become more prone to worrying about things. They are more likely to get after their husbands for the way they drive, because they are so conscious of this life that they are carrying in their womb.

Now I ask you: How do you think Mary felt when they arrived in Bethlehem only to find that there wasn’t going to be a place to stay? How do you think she felt when the best place that they could come up with to have this baby was an animal shelter?

And how do you think she felt when she and Joseph had to pick up and run for their lives to Egypt with their little son? How do you think she felt knowing that her son had a price on his head?

Do you think that her circumstances led her to believe that God was still in control? I mean, they were living on the edge of disaster! It must have been terrifying.

And yet think about this: How certain was God’s purpose for her and for her son? That little boy she held in her arms was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. God had determined in eternity past that he would come at this time and under these very circumstances. There was absolutely no uncertainty about anything, as far as God was concerned.

I wonder if you have that same certainty about your life? You say, “Well, I’m not exactly the mother or the father of the Messiah!”

But you are a child of God, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior. You are every bit as precious in God’s sight. And He has made some decisions about you—some plans and purposes that he is working to carry out right now, even as we speak.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

In 586 BC, the last of the Jews were carried off in exile to Babylon. Judah was a wasteland; Jerusalem lay destroyed. The Temple was a smouldering ruin. The people who had been taken to Babylon were essentially slaves. If they looked at their circumstances, they would have had no cause for hope at all.

But what did God say to them at this very moment, when all hope seemed gone? He said, through Jeremiah the prophet…

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

It may be that you feel that God has abandoned you. The circumstances of your life may spell failure and defeat and hopelessness. But God hasn’t forgotten you. Don’t look at your circumstances, look at his promises! Say with Mary…

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”