Mary in the Bible

Mary, the mother of Jesus, holds a unique place in the Bible as the young woman chosen by God to bear his Son into the world. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her in Nazareth, he greeted her with the words, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28), and announced, "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus" (Luke 1:31). Though the message was overwhelming, Mary answered in humble submission: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Her surrender to God's will, despite the cost to her reputation and her plans, marks her as a model of faith. Mary responded to her calling not only with obedience but with worship. Her song, often called the Magnificat, begins, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46). These words reveal a heart saturated in Scripture and exalting in God's mercy to the humble. Significantly, she calls God her "Savior," confessing that she too needed redemption through the Son she would bear. The Gospels show Mary treasuring the events of Jesus' life. At Bethlehem she "gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger" (Luke 2:7), and after the shepherds came, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). At the wedding in Cana she directed the servants with words that still guide every disciple: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). Mary's faith was tested most severely at the cross, where "standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister" (John 19:25). She who had cradled him as an infant now watched him die. Her steadfast presence reveals a love that endured to the end. Mary's enduring significance is her example of humble, believing obedience; she points always away from herself and toward her Son, urging all to do whatever he says.