Yes, and what about Mary?  Christians study Ruth, Esther, and many other great women of the bible, but I don’t ever remember studying about Mary.  We all know that Mary was the virgin mother of Jesus.  Can you imagine an angel coming to your 13 or 14 year old daughter and telling her as it says in Luke 1:26-38:

 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

I am sure Mary had to go into shock and say, “Now just wait a minute! I’m going to do what?”  But from that moment on, she knew.  She knew HER son would be the blessed Son of God.

In Matthew 1:21 and angel appeared to Joseph and said, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Joseph was told.  We have both Mary and Joseph being foretold the destiny of their child.  If you go back and study the scripture surrounding the foretelling of His birth, the angels always say, “Do not be afraid.”  But were they afraid?  Were they afraid as they travelled from city to city to hide from Herrod? I think they were probably afraid for their child.

We do not know a lot about how Mary was as a mother to Jesus during his adolescent years.  But we do know from scripture that he was obedient to his parents as they would travel to Jerusalem once a year.  He wondered through the temple as a result of his Father’s knowledge and would question the elders, not out of disrespect but out of the role of a student.  I can see Mary outside the temple watching her son as He made His way through the temple.

As most mothers do, Mary had to let her son go on His life journey.  She knew this was the will of God.  There is scripture in Mark that refers to Mary and the family when Jesus is teaching the crowds.  Why would she not want to be where He was? I sure would.  Wouldn’t she want to sneak to listen and learn from the Son of God.  He told his disciples in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  Do you think Mary would share with her friends what she would hear from Jesus?  Sometimes maybe not out of fear for his safety.

So many can quote John 3:16, but do you know what comes before John 3:16 and what Jesus is trying to teach Nichodemus?  For me now, it’s so much easier to understand because I do NOT understand what we will see the other side of heaven. With Trey in heaven, it takes a large amount of faith to comprehend what the scriptures teach us!  This is what Jesus tells him in John 3:9-17.

^“Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

You are thinking, what in the WORLD does this have to do with MARY? Or ME, OR TREY? Our FAMILY?  A lot.  Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it.”  AMEN! That is a verse that I had to repeat to myself from the time our children were BORN! As hard as Mary must have suffered with worry and anguish during the years they were apart, she did train her child in the way that HE should go.  Preaching and teaching God’s word of salvation to His death.  I know she had to go back to what the angels told her and Joseph in the beginning, “Do not be afraid…”

Then Mary experiences the fate of why her son was born, to die for the sins of all mankind.  Remember as the angel told Joseph that He would save His people from their sins.  John 19:25-27

“But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.  After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.  Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

Oh, how Mary must have grieved for her son.  She watched her son be crucified for my sins.  I have thought about Mary a lot lately.  I cannot wait to meet her and to hug her as the mother of Jesus who died such a horrific death so that I can live.  Jesus died so that MY son could live.  Were we afraid the last six months, of course.  But scripture would come to us over and over again ~ Ps. 56:3 “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”  Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”  Hebrews 13:6 “…so that we confidently say, “ THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” 

And now, how do we survive?  By reminding ourselves to not be afraid.  Knowing that Jesus has gone before us.

What a sacrifice of love, for Mary, for Joseph, for God ~ Their son.

CROSS OF LOVE

Blood and sorrow flow

From the languid brow of Jesus dying

And tears from heaven’s eyes

Are the anguished drops of a Father crying

Oh why?

This must be a cross of love

For God to bruise His only Son

Jesus, what a sacrifice to reach us

It had to be a cross of love