Advent | A Family ReflectionSample

Mary’s Powerful Yes

by Tracey Bianchi

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Luke 1:38

The angel basically says to Mary, “Even though you are not married and still a virgin, you are going to give birth to the savior of the world. You, an unknown girl from an unknown place, will do this very thing, and it is going to interrupt your life. It is going to wreck your peace and your sleep and your friendships, and every inch of your world is going to change. You are the one who is going to do this. His name is going to be Jesus, and one day he will sit on the throne of God and rule forever.”

Mary nods her head in consent. “I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38).

Mary’s yes was not a muffled consent that led her to a joyful pregnancy, filled with adoring friends and sweet baby showers. Her life instantly became a cascade of gossip and drama—and her very decision to say yes was met with the threat of death. 

A woman pregnant before the wedding was assumed to be an adulteress. Scot McKnight points out that at this time, if a suspected adulteress maintained her innocence—as Mary would have done—she would be taken to a public place (perhaps the gate to the city), her clothing would be torn, and her hair let down (which was how prostitutes at that time wore their hair). She would be left there to be mocked and open to public humiliation. The cultural expectation was that passersby would mock and humiliate her to make a public example of her. In Deuteronomy 22, the penalty, if she was taken as an adulteress, could be death by stoning. Mary’s yes to God came with great risk—as a yes to God often does.

There was great power in her yes. Mary knew the story of her people, God’s people, and the way God took care of his people—and in particular, the women who came before her. Women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba. While Mary knew her situation was dire, she also worshiped a God who cared for his people as they faced dire circumstances. God does not promise relief from trouble, but he promises his presence in times of trouble. Mary worshiped this God and could say yes with great confidence in that God.

Meditate on Luke 1:26–38. How does Mary’s response to God convict, inspire, or challenge you?

Tracey Bianchi is a writer, speaker, and the worship and teaching pastor at Christ Church of Oak Brook, Illinois.