The title for our message comes from a song written by the Christian comedian Mark Lowry, and originally sung by the Christian vocalist Michael English; and the song is entitled, “Mary, Did You Know?” One stanza of the song says:
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that you baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
That this child that you delivered, would soon deliver you?
These are some intriguing questions posed in this song. First of all, as the song suggested, was Mary in need of deliverance and salvation, although she bore the holy Christ child? Secondly, “did Mary know” as the song asks? Did she ever know why the child that she delivered had come into the world? These are some interesting things to ask, and this morning we are going to try to answer the question of “Mary, did you know?” We will begin with Luke 1:26-29.
Mary Was Troubled (Luke 1:26-29)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Verse 29 is the one we’re going to focus on at this moment. We see that Mary was troubled at the angel’s saying, and she considered what manner of salutation it was. The first question we might have is “why was she troubled?” Gabriel had just called Mary “favored” and “blessed.” Well, Mary likely would have been troubled at these statements, because of her own humility. Mary worshipped the Lord and was humble before Him, and she realized her state of unrighteousness before a holy God; and she couldn’t figure out why an angel would appear to her and call her favored and blessed.
The reason why Mary was favored and blessed is not just that she would be the one to carry and give birth to the Son of God, but that she had received the revelation concerning whom the Savior is; and I want to stop here and make a crucial and tremendous point: “Jesus Christ is the Savior of all who know and understand who He is, and who accept Him as their personal Savior and Lord.”
If you look down in verses 30-33, Mary was told that her child would be named Jesus, that He would receive the throne of David, and that His kingdom would have no end. She was being let in on the fact that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah, the coming King, and Savior. Mary thought to herself, “How can this be?” (v. 34); and therefore, she considered deeply what she had been told. Beginning with verse 45, and continuing through what is called the Song of Mary, we see that Mary had faith to believe; but as we will come to see, she never stopped pondering the things she had been told.
The New King James Version says that Mary “considered” the greeting and the news that she heard. The New American Standard Bible says that she “kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.” She “pondered” what she had been told. In other words, she did not forget what had been shared with her, but she kept replaying the words over and over again in her mind. These words would stick in her mind until the day that she would eventually see them unfold as reality.
Mary believed in faith that what she had heard would come to pass, but she clung to those words through the years, as she tried to piece them together, as different parts of the prophecy came true. Mary wanted to see her faith become reality. She wanted to understand more about what she had heard.
Mary Kept the Words (Luke 2:15-19)
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Verse 19 is the one we’re going to focus on in this passage. Before we look at this verse, it must be noted how verse 17 says the shepherds made known what had been told them concerning the child born unto Mary. Back in verse eleven, they were told, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” When Mary was told by the shepherds that Jesus is “Christ the Lord,” she “kept” this information in her heart (v. 19).
So, did Mary understand the significance of what she heard? Mary, being a Jew, surely knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah, but the Old Testament revelations were not enough to help her understand what the Messiah could do for her personally. Many of us are aware of how the Old Testament understanding of the Messiah was of a militant warrior who would vindicate Israel, and seek revenge for the Jewish people. As Michael Card stated in his song entitled “Scandalon,” “They were looking for a king to conquer and to kill; who’d have ever thought He’d be so meek and humble?”(1)
Mary did know that Christ, the Messiah would be a deliverer, but she didn’t fully know in what sense. There was no way that she could have known at that point in time that the child living inside her womb would be a deliverer of one’s soul. So what did she do? She “kept” the words in her heart.
The American Standard Bible says, “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” She treasured what was heard, as though the words were extremely valuable. Bible commentator Matthew Henry says, “She laid the evidences together, and kept them in reserve, to be compared with the discoveries that should afterwards be made [to] her.”(2) By comparing what she had heard with what she would eventually behold, she would then come to understand in what way her child was the Christ, and Savior.
Mary’s Soul Would Be Pierced (Luke 2:33-35)
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
In verse 34, we see how Jesus was prophesied to cause many people to fall. 1 Peter 2:8 says that Christ is, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” Jesus would cause many to fall as they rejected Him; but He would also cause many people in Israel to rise. This means that those who heed His words will be exalted; and this was a revelation that had yet to be realized with Mary.
What does verse 35 mean when it says that a sword will pierce through Mary’s own soul? It means that she would one day be convicted by the revelation of who Jesus is. In John 19:26, Mary was faced with the reality of who her Son really was. This verse tells us, “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son’!” I am sure that at that moment Mary’s heart was pierced, as she saw her son hanging on the cross to pay the sins of all mankind. Her heart was pierced by both astonishment and grief. However, I believe that Mary was at some point pierced and convicted of who the child within her really was.
What would the revelation of Jesus accomplish within Mary, and anyone else who understands? Well, look at verse 34 again, when it says that Jesus will cause the “rising of many in Israel.” Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ will “rise.” This word rise is the Greek word “anastasin.” Have you ever seen the movie Anastasia? Well, the main character’s name comes from this word, and it means “resurrected.” Anastasia was resurrected and found from where she was thought to be lost; therefore, all who understand who Jesus is, will be found; they will no longer be lost in sin. Also, they will be resurrected into eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Mary Remembered His Words (Luke 24:1-10)
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” 8 And they remembered His words.
9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
In verse 9, we are told that one of the women at the tomb was Mary the mother of James. James was one of Jesus’ half-brothers, according to Matthew 13:55. Therefore, Mary the mother of James was also Mary the mother of Jesus. Verse 8 is the essential verse to consider. It says, “And they remembered His words.” Mary remembered the words that her son, Jesus, had spoken during His public ministry, and there can be no doubt that she pondered every word spoken by Jesus during his thirty-three years on earth. For instance, in Luke 2:49, Jesus said that He had to be about His Father’s business, and in verse 50 we are told that Mary and Joseph did not understand what He meant. Luke 2:51, however, says that His “mother kept all these things in her heart.”
In Luke 24:1-10, Mary was shown the true nature of her son, Jesus. She learned the truth about the Messiah. Instead of understanding Him as someone who would cause people to fall and rise by and earthly and militant form of power, Mary remembered what she had kept in her heart. She made the connection between what she had been pondering to what actually happened in this instance. Mary realized that Jesus would cause many people to anastasis or rise, not to earthly prestige and glory, but to rise into an eternal existence. You see, anyone who understands Jesus as the resurrected Lord, and who believes that He overcame death, will be resurrected with Him.
Time of Reflection
I want to ask you this morning: Have you heard about Jesus? Has the Word of God pierced your soul as it did Mary’s? Are you pondering in your heart the meaning about who Jesus is? Are you questioning whether He rose from the grave, in order to conquer sin and death for us?
We see right here that Mary was just like many of us before we came to know Christ as our Savior and Lord. She had many questions in her heart, but she eventually came to understand that Jesus is the anastasis and the life; or the resurrection and the life.
This morning, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord; if you are pondering in your heart who He is; then be assured that if you believe in Him as the resurrected Lord, and put your faith and trust in Him, then you too will be resurrected into new life in heaven.
NOTES
(1) Michael Card, “Scandalon,” taken from the songbook Joy in the Journey (Brentwood: Sparrow, 1994), 40.
(2) Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers) 1991.
