The Lord’s Maidservant

Mary of Nazareth might have been no more than fifteen years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her (Luke 1:26, 27), and his startling announcement that she would soon bear the Son of God signaled the end of her normal life. Mary would be the subject of rumors and gossip from that moment on. Her husband-to-be had every right to publically end their betrothal, exposing her to public humiliation. Even if Joseph “put her away secretly” (Matt. 1:19), circumstances would force her to return in shame to her father’s house or to survive on her own by whatever means she could.

Faced with a bleak future through no fault of her own, Mary had plenty of reason to balk at Gabriel’s message. Yet she instead accepted her assignment without reservation. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord!” Mary replied. “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She no doubt found a safe haven in Joseph, who committed to walking beside her on the strange and difficult path ahead.

Mary also found relief in visiting her relative Elizabeth. Mary arrived during the third trimester of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (1:39–56) and likely helped Elizabeth prepare for her baby at the same time that she acquired what she needed to set up a home with Joseph. Mary must have soaked up wisdom by listening to this older, righteous woman and observing her marriage to Zacharias.

Once Jesus was born and the family had established themselves in Nazareth (2:39, 40), Mary probably settled into a routine as a homemaker. With her baby strapped to her back or slung over her shoulder, she drew water, baked bread, spun wool, and more (see “Jewish Homemaking” at Mark 1:29–31).

Luke recorded the family’s obedience to Jewish law—having Jesus circumcised (Luke 2:21), observing Mary’s ritual purification (2:22), and presenting their son along with an appropriate sacrifice at the temple (2:22–24). Mary likely provided Jesus’ earliest instruction in the Scriptures.

The New Testament reveals little of Mary after Jesus was born. She is not listed among Jesus’ earliest followers, and when she does appear in the narrative, her son seemed to treat her with detachment (8:19–21; 11:27, 28). Nevertheless, she stood at the cross (John 19:25–27) and was among those who gathered together to await the Holy Spirit’s arrival (Acts 1:14).

Taken from The Modern Life Study Bible