Women of the New Testamentনমুনা

Day 1
Mary of Nazareth

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
– Luke 1:38a (NLT)

Many of the women we read about in the New Testament knew Jesus personally. They saw firsthand how He lived and how He died. A few of them didn’t get to meet Jesus personally, but they heard about Him from those who did, and they started following Him, too. Their stories have a lot to teach us about who Jesus is.

Jesus came to earth at a time when women were not valued the way men were. They weren’t treated equally and didn’t always have the same rights or opportunities as men. But Jesus treated women differently. Over and over again, He showed He cared about women. He included them. Jesus treated women in a way that affirmed that both women and men were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). And He expected His followers to treat women the way He treated them.

Meanwhile, the women who are part of the New Testament story showed how God was working in their lives. Their stories point to how amazing God is and remind us that God loves all of us and is at work in our lives, too.

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One of the most important characters in the story of Jesus’ birth is His mom, Mary. Mary was from the small town of Nazareth in Israel. She was probably just a young teenager when an angel named Gabriel appeared to her. He said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) The Bible says Mary was confused and disturbed—just like most of us would be if an angel showed up and started talking to us out of nowhere!

But Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid. He had an important message for her: even though she was a virgin, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she was going to conceive and have a son and name Him Jesus. Gabriel went on to say, “He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:32-33)

This is how Mary responded. She said: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38) Let’s think about that for a minute. Mary’s response was pretty impressive. She was just an ordinary girl from a small town, but these were extraordinary circumstances that were going to turn her life upside-down. She had every right to be afraid, but instead, she accepted the mission God gave her.

There was nothing really special about Mary, except for the fact that God chose to let her be part of His story in an amazing way—and she said yes. At the time, she couldn’t fully comprehend all that was being asked of her, but she decided to trust the Lord. It took courage, humility, and a whole lot of faith to say yes.

Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 shows she knew that what God was asking was bigger than just her. He was going to use her child to save her people. She didn’t know exactly how, or that He’d actually end up saving the rest of the world, too, but she believed that allowing God to do this through her was worth any risks or fears she might have to face.

Reflect: How would I respond if God asked me to do something completely unexpected like He asked Mary to do?

Read: Luke 1:26-2:19