A Tale of Two Mothers
Good morning and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers here today. This morning, in pulpits around the country, pastors will be singing the praises of their mothers and the mothers of their children. They will probably talk about the impact their mothers had on their lives and some of the life lessons she imparted to them. Traditionally this is typical of a Mother’s Day message.
But this morning, we’re not going to do a traditional Mother’s Day message – although we will talk about the impact mothers have. The impact we will focus on are the decisions that two mothers made that changed the world. The mothers we’re going to look at this morning, and not in a great deal of depth, are Eve and Mary. Each made decisions that changed the course of human history.
And before I move on, let me say this: the mother is in a coveted position as far as God is concerned. She has an influence in the lives of children that a husband does not. Now listen to me: that’s the way God designed it. That’s why mothers are nurturing and fathers less so. That’s why mothers feel more empathy and fathers less so.
Now Genesis 4:1 says “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.”
We see in this verse the very first birth of a human being. Eve is the mother of the human race and we see this in Genesis 3:20. “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” But I want you to notice something. She gives birth to her first son in Genesis 4. What happened in Genesis 3 before this occurred?
We know the story. The serpent enters the Garden of Eden and, over a period of time, deceives Eve into questioning God’s Word. In dialogue that’s reminiscent of an attorney questioning a witness, the serpent finds out that Eve is willing to change God’s commandment and she is also willing to add to it.
But before we look at what she does, we must see what God actually said. Turn to Genesis 2. We’re going to read verses 16 and 17.
(16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
(17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God gives Adam and Eve permission to eat from every tree except one – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And, God also says that if they ate of that tree, if they disobeyed Him, they will die. Are you with me?
Okay, now let’s see how Eve responds in Genesis 3.
(2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
(3) But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Now I ask you, is that what God said? No! God was very clear. Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because if you do, you shall surely die – no maybe, no perhaps. You will die.
The serpent convinces Eve she will not die and tells her that the only reason God doesn’t want her to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is because if she does, she’ll be like God. I read this and it nearly brings me to tears. You see, spiritually, Eve was already like God and we see this in Genesis 1:26a – “And God said, Let us make man in our image (man will have God’s spiritual life), after our likeness (simply, man will look like God).”
The serpent flat out lied to Eve and she believed him over her Creator. Let that sink in ladies and gentlemen. She sees the fruit. Well, let’s look at verse 6.
(6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that is was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;. And he did eat.
Eve convinces Adam that eating of the forbidden tree will not harm them. So they eat and both immediately die spiritually – they lose God’s spiritual life. God said you will surely die. They surely died!
We then see God walking in the garden and calling out for them. Adam says they were hiding because they were naked. You know the story. God asks “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the forbidden tree?” Adam first blames God (“the woman whom thou gavest to me be with me, she gave me of the tree”) and then he blames Eve and she blames the serpent (“The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.”).
But God’s question to Eve is telling: “What is this that thou hast done?” What had Eve done? She had ignored God’s commandment not to eat of the tree and sinned against Him by doing so anyway. This was a deliberate decision. Then Eve sins again by giving the fruit to Adam to eat. The word “gave” paints the image of Eve persuading Adam to something he really didn’t want to do. And this makes complete sense when we read I Timothy 2:14 – “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
Again, you know the story. Adam and Eve are forced to leave the Garden of Eden. So what do we see here in scripture about the “first” mother? She had great influence over her husband, so much so that she persuaded him to ignore God’s commandment concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She was also rebellious. God’s Word did not have the final say in her life. She made decisions based on her emotions.
The lesson we can learn from our “first” mother: when she ignored God, she set in motion a chain of events that led to the damnation of the entire human race. Mothers today have great influence in the lives of their husbands and children. And based on what we see today, many are raising children who don’t know the Bible and who don’t know God. They are setting their children on a road that will lead them away from eternal salvation. Remember what I said at the beginning of this message about God’s view of mothers? She is in a coveted position because of ability to influence.
Sadly, most mothers use their influence for purposes other than raising their children to trust the Bible and to trust God. What I’m about to say, I say with great sadness. These are not the mothers we should celebrate on Mother’s Day,
Because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God had to step in and activate His plan of salvation – the birth of Jesus, which leads us to the second “mother” we will look at this morning.
Turn with me to 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.
We know the story. Gabriel tells Mary that she has found favor with God and that she would become pregnant and give birth to a son. And the angel said his name would be Jesus. God would be His father and he would be of the line of David. Jesus would be of the line of David because Mary was a descendant of David. Let’s pick it up with verse 34.
(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.
Now I want you to see Mary’s response in verse 38. “And Mary said, Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Mary’s response to the God’s declaration through the angel was simple: “I belong to the Lord and I will do what He asks me to do.” She didn’t question God’s command. She didn’t change God’s command. She simply said “Yes.”
Now we’re going to read some verses that, on first glance, may not appear to have anything to do with Mary’s role as a mother. When Jesus was eight days old, he was circumcised. When Mary was ceremonially clean, she and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord. I have no doubts in my mind that Mary was the one who made sure Jesus was taken to Jerusalem. She was the one who received the Word of the Lord and she would be the one to make sure it was carried out. Can you say “Mother”?
Now jump down to verse 40. “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” Remember how God views mothers? Mothers are in a coveted position with God because of the influence they have on their children. You have to know that Mary played a role in Jesus understanding who He was. I can see her reminding him, over and over again, of the angel’s visit and the declaration that he would be born and that he would be the Son of God. Can you say “Mother”?
Later in the chapter we read that, after traveling for a day, Mary and Joseph thought Jesus was with them in the family’s caravan when he was not. So they spend the next three days in Jerusalem looking for him. You know the story. They find Jesus in the temple listening to the doctors of the law and asking them questions.
Mary was not a happy camper. Can you say “Mother”? She, not Joseph, asks Jesus why he would do such a thing and Jesus says “Mom, remember telling me all those times about the angel saying I would be the Son of God? Mom, of all people, I thought you’d know I would be about my Father’s business.”
Now I want end with verse 51 and it’s important.
“And he went down with them (Mary and Joseph), and came to Nazareth, [now this is what I want you to see] and was subject unto them; but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.”
What we didn’t read was the encounter the family had with Simeon. The Lord had told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the “Lord’s Christ” (verse 26). We also didn’t read about the family’s encounter with Anna, the 84 year old prophetess who, upon seeing Jesus, gave thanks unto the Lord for the people’s redemption.
Verse 51 says Jesus was “subject unto them” (his parents). Although he knew he had “business” to attend to, he also knew that he was under Mary and Joseph’s authority.
What am I saying? Just like Eve, Mary had great influence in her family. But unlike Eve, Mary’s influence came from a place of knowing that God’s Word is true and that she had the responsibility of constantly communicating that truth to Jesus, day after day after day.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you see that mothers like Mary are the type of mothers that we celebrate and honor on “Mother’s Day.”
God bless!
